Process Print Duction, a Pretoria-based printer, has achieved increased efficiencies with a new range of printing plates from Thunderbolt: the TD-G Plus processless thermal CTP plates.
Process Print Duction founder Sarel Pretorius commented, ‘As a team we are completely hands-on with every aspect of production from the installation and maintenance of our own machinery and equipment through to the prepress, printing and finishing. We pride ourselves on being able to offer our clients print of the highest quality with short turnaround times and the best levels of service.’
This demanding philosophy leaves very little room for error, and as such, problems with printing plates is not something that Pretorius or his team could accept. Process Print Duction had been using processless plates from another manufacturer and supplier but kept experiencing problems with plates going blind, marking and loss of image quality. Pretorius added, ‘We found that we were regularly having to make replacement plates, this not only cost us time, which resulted in with the presses standing while waiting for a new plate, but it also impacted our costs, which was not acceptable.’
Following an investigation of the plates on the market, Pretorius opted for the TD-G Plus plate from Thunderbolt. He stated, ‘The quality of these plates is far superior to the plates we were using. They are quick and easy to image and require no special handling. We simply mount them on the press and begin production. They achieve colour and image stability in a few impressions and then hold that throughout the run, even on long runs up to 100,000 impressions.’
Gavin van Rensburg, National Prepress and Digital Press Sales Manager for Thunderbolt, commented, ‘We are proud that Process Print Duction has selected the TD-G Plus plate for their print requirements. It is a testament to the quality of these plates and we expect to see a number of other printers adopting these plates in future because of the outstanding advantages they offer.’
