Gretzenbach, Switzerland, june 2010. - Lüscher AG Maschinenbau has the pleasure of presenting two global innovations at the FESPA trade fair in Munich, in Hall A – booth A220.
 
Multi DX
The new arrival at Lüscher is called Multi DX which unites the worlds of CTP and CTS and therefore occupies a product category of its very own. Because of the unique design of this CTP system, Lüscher calls it SWISS CTX, Computer-to-Xposure - where the “X” stands for any desired type of plate or substrate. As the only direct exposure system in the world, the Multi DX makes it possible to process printing plates used in all standard printing procedures.
 
The mini multitalent can be used for the production of standard offset plates, waterless offset plates (Toray), letterpress plates (LAMS layer) and flexo plates (LAMS layer), in addition to tampon printing plates and flexible screen-printing systems, such as Screeny by Gallus.
 
The combination of these characteristics, coupled with the ability to expose rigid flat screens, is truly unique. The flatbed design of the machine enables to image anything from a postage stamp to a maximum size of 800 x 600 mm. In particular, the Multi DX can additionally image plates based on rigid materials (steel or aluminum) up to 50mm thick.
 
The new, compact CTX system
There are three types of devices within the Multi DX product line:
- Multi DX^UV with blue UV laser diodes (405 nm)
- Multi DX^IR with infrared thermal laser diodes (940 nm)
- Multi DX^Hybird with a combination of blue UV diodes and IR thermal diodes
 
The Multi DX^UV can image waterless offset plates as well as the time-tested conventional UV plates. It can also handle the Gallus Screeny material (for rotary screen printing) and flat screenprinting screens. The Multi DX^UV is just as well suited for label printers and those who print objects (tubes, bottles, and CDs for example) as it is for technical screen-printing.
 
Because of its new technology, the Multi DX^IR makes possible the production of digital letterpress plates, digital flexo plates, and digital varnish plates (all using ablation layers). Ablation films can also be imaged.
 
The Multi DX^Hybird combines both types of lasers, which makes it a perfect choice for label printers, who generally use more than one printing method.
 
Because of its high-precision engineering and its standard resolution of 2400 dpi, the Multi DX can also be applied in many other industries that use photo-sensitive coatings (such as solar panel technology, flat-screen displays and the production of electronics).
 
All of this is accomplished by a single device. The diversity of imaging options provided by the new CTX system is truly unique. The customer can choose among various configurations of the Multi DX models. They can be equipped with as few as 8 or as many as 64 laser diodes, depending on the application and the type of diode. The modularity of the units makes it easy to update and refit them. The machine can grow along with the user’s requirements, providing the customer with a lot of flexibility and security of investment.
 
Diverse application opportunities – exceptional cost-effectiveness
Plates can be imaged much faster digitally than with conventional processes. Because the Multi DX can be equipped with custom pin-register blocks, very accurate register can be achieved which significantly reduces both job-changeover times and start-up waste. Finally, the quality of the plate itself is significantly improved, resulting in better reproduction, increased color gamut and an overall improvement in print quality.
 
Of course, there is still the question of the cost-effectiveness of such an investment. For many specialized printers, an important factor is the fact that often only a limited volume of a given type of plate is produced. Many plants using multiple printing methods find they can’t manage the high capital cost of CTP, because the relatively small volume of plates makes it impossible to justify the investment. This is particularly true if you need to buy a separate platesetter for each different printing method! At the same time, companies find themselves under increasing pressure to invest in digital technology, in order to make the production process more standardized and the company more competitive.

JetScreen DX
The aim of our development and application engineers was the consistent further development of the Computer-to-Screen system JetScreen DX, which has already enjoyed huge success over the course of two years. This was achieved by continuing to trust in proven technology alongside the implementation of innovative and high-quality technical components.
 
The complete drive system for the exposure axis and head is now operating with highly precise linear motors. This ensures a positioning accuracy of +/- 2 microns, which permits the highgrade standardisation of your processes.
 
Costs are reduced through the elimination of consumable materials for the printing copies, printing machine set-up times are reduced, dimensional accuracy is achieved quicker and macula and defects are minimised. In addition to this, the screen printing capacity is increased as a result of innovative technology which achieves a maximum exposure head speed of 3 m/sec.
 
The blue laser diodes used by Lüscher AG are subjected to a target-orientated development process in order to ensure that a new generation of high-power lasers can be incorporated into our JetScreen DX systems in the future. plates and screens for offset, flexo, letterpress, and screen printing.

 

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Press Release FESPA (June)