Synectix Limited, the Cheltenham based developer of products for the graphic arts
industry, is pressing ahead with the development of technology for the exposure of thermal plates with support from the UK Government's prestigious SMART scheme. In this annual competition to encourage
innovation the Synectix entry has passed the stringent selection procedures involving innovation and industrial relevance, and won maximum grant support of £45,000. The company is already in receipt of
a SPUR award relating to their work on certain aspect of HighWater's Platinum plate-setter.
Synectix, which employs a reputation as an innovator in the graphic arts, is using the funding to evaluate two
new, patented technologies. These will be incorporated in large format internal drum plate setters for thermal plates. The ultimate aim is to make large format plate setters that offer better
price/performance than anything available at present.
The two technologies to be evaluated are carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) for the drum, and beam shaping used to harness laser power more
efficiently. The combination allows a thermal plate-setter to be built as an internal drum machine, always the preferred format for speed and quality film-setters, using a single laser and writing
spot. It will be the first plate setter designer for thermal plates, and the internal drum architecture will make it a compact, fast, simple, reliable, and low cost thermal plate-setter.
With CFRP
the drum, with the plate inside, can be small, light and therefore demountable. The plate occupies 90% of the drum's circumference, making efficient use of the available laser power. That the
drum is demountable is a unique feature, and because thermal materials can be handled in daylight, loading a plate into the drum itself is simple.
Beam shaping allows metal cutting laser s to cut more
quickly, by directing the energy more efficiently at the cutting point. Using it in similar manner for exposing thermal plates means less power is required to expose the plate, or conversely the same
power can expose the plate more quickly, this is the first time that this technology will have applied to the graphic arts.
"The SMART award is a welcome recognition of the novel solutions that we apply
to the problems presented by new printing techniques", said Bill Davy, technical director. ! Although the work has only just begun, the information being derived is encouraging." Discussions are
underway with some equipment and plate suppliers for the development of technologies and product ideas, so you can expect to hear some announcements about products using these technologies later.
