Agfa adds a new offset printing plate to its portfolio: the Energy Verve plate. Thanks to its high chemical and mechanical resistance, it allows print runs of up to 1 million copies without baking, the Belgian manufacturer says.
Energy Verve is a photopolymer negative offset printing plate for sheetfed packaging and commercial printing, web dryer printing (such as magazines and catalogues) and web non-heater printing (such as newspapers and books).
"The middle ground between post-cooking and non-cooking."
"Hatset printers are struggling to find ways to increase efficiency and reduce costs. In particular, they are torn between the desire to get rid of their baking oven and the frustration that the print run length of the unbaked plates does not meet their expectations" Iris Bogunovic, Agfa's product manager for plates and CTP systems, explains.
"Energy Verve is the perfect balance between post-cooking and non-cooking, offering higher print life combined with good process efficiency and cost-effectiveness."
A preheating module that reduces energy and maintenance costs
This new plate reduces costs because the post-baking oven is replaced by a preheating module that requires a lower temperature and therefore lower energy consumption.
Energy Verve requires up to half the energy and reduces maintenance costs by up to 65%.
High performance on rotary presses with dryer
One of the key cost factors for dryer presses is paper reel breakage for light paper or multiple format changes. The specific design of Energy Verve eliminates these problems according to Agfa.
Thomas Billiet, R&D Project Manager at Agfa, explains : "The main cause of reel breakage is that the paper is soaked by the excessive use of the fountain solution used during printing to achieve high quality printing. Energy Verve's deep-grained aluminium substrate provides an excellent ink/water balance and allows printers to use a minimum of water and achieve more stable printing conditions, eliminating paper breaks"
"Reducing the frequency of coil breaks leads to huge productivity gains and cost savings." adds Iris Bogunovic. He has calculated that the cost of a single paper break is between 500 and 1,000 euros per stop if you take into account the cost of damaged blankets, washing, paper waste and ink waste.
