Anew Superia range of prepress products from Fujifilm will help printers adapt to increasing cost and environmental pressures by reducing wastage, emissions, water use, energy use, labour and materials in the offset litho printing sector. “Superia is all about doing more with less,” says Lindsay Barnes, general manager, Fujifilm Graphic Systems.
“Superia is a brand for twenty-first century offset businesses. Litho offset is still incredibly strong in global printing but must adapt to cost and environmental pressures to remain viable from the point where digital cuts out due to run length. We believe that the Superia system delivers the right answers in the five key areas where every cent saved counts,” says Barnes.
The five key areas, says Barnes, are: saving on materials; saving on labour (man-hours); energy savings; reduction of emissions; and, reduction of water use. “Fujifilm’s new Superia range addresses all of these savings with processless and processed CtP plates, low energy-use hardware, press chemistry without IPA, Superia XMF workflow and hybrid screening. Each of these key technologies can contribute towards the printer achieving more stable quality, improved productivity and cost reductions.”
“Superia is all about doing more with less,” says Barnes, “and that will translate into a reduction in costs.” Several Superia products have already proved their worth with offset printers around the world and in India, such as the ZAC low-chemistry system that monitors plate developer replenishment needs, calculates the exact dosage required using advanced sensors and software, and meters out only the precise amount. Printers have experienced chemistry usage savings of up to 80%. Sidney-based Heroprint’s prepress manager Brad Sampson commented at the time of ramping up the ZAC system.
“Immediately, we noticed a remarkable reduction in replenisher chemistry usage and this has been sustained in the first six months of using the ZAC Lo-Chem system. In tandem with this, our water usage has plummeted, and yet we are making more plates.”
Within the Fujifilm prepress product range, those that make contributions towards the Superia philosophy will bear the Superia brand name, a brand that Fujifilm has readopted from its popular camera film range used more than 10 years ago. “Superia is a total solution,” says Barnes, “and the thrill of it all is that we can look back at customers who have converted or upgraded to Superia, and clearly demonstrate measured cost savings that any finance manager or business owner would be very pleased with.”
