As per a sample survey by PrintWeek India there are 25 BasyPrint systems in Rest of Tamil Nadu (also known as Greater Tamil Nadu); and 3-4 Amsky systems.

Amsky platesetters from China which offer resolutions of 1-99% at 175lpi is gaining in ascendancy in Tamil Nadu due to the lower cost. A four-up model is available in two models, UV-32 and UV-48, capable of outputting up to 16 or 22 plates per hour, respectively.

According to TP Jain of Monotech, Amsky platesetters which is pegged at approximately half the price of BasysPrint will open up the UV CTP market to smaller firms, which were unable to afford systems from the likes of Swiss-based Luscher and Netherlands-based BasysPrint.

"The investment in these devices was [previously] only justified with a certain high volume plate usage, but with the price of the UV-setter being pegged at Rs 80 lakh, the plate volume is secondary to the investment," he said.

This is where UV setters seem to score.

Consider BasysPrint. For more than a decade, BasysPrint has ploughed a lonely furrow, selling platesetters that expose conventional UV-sensitive plates instead of the laser-sensitive thermal and violet materials – generally referred to as CTCP (computer to conventional plate). The economic argument seems sound: conventional plates are about half the price of CTP material. Set up in 1992 specifically to develop UV setters, BasysPrint showed its first machine at Drupa 1995 and has shipped more than 250 units since then. 

A CTP plate specialist said, "One of the basic considerations to invest in UV CTP is the running cost and therefore ROI.”

When we did a survey of the market, we realised, the difference is 30% to 40% lower running cost against thermal and violet. This can accrue significant savings for the small and medium print firm in these trying times.

However, advocates of thermal and violet and CTP are quick to point out that "The big players continue to opt for quality and superior systems." Both Lovely and Safire in Sivakasi who deal with premium clientele, are the biggest thermal CTP consumers in Sivakasi with 2,500 plates/month. SFA, Srinivas Fine Prints Standard and Gopsons are other big consumers in Sivakasi.

Where UV-CTCP scores is, it recognises that running costs hold the key. TP Jain, a chartered accountant, explains the economic case for UV plates on the grounds of total cost of ownership. “BasysPrint allows access to a variety of plate types; including re-grained plates in India. We are not linked to any supplier so there is lots of scope for negotiating consumables deals. UV setters cut operating costs – they are not the cheapest to buy, but they can integrate with lower cost RIPs and the plates are the cheapest.”

This means the return on investment for a BasysPrint UV-Setter can typically be one year or so, and “in the second year, you’re saving money”. The setters have a long working life too, Jain stated. “Plus the strength of the diodes have been improved.”

Potential UVCTP customers are explained the merits of costing through a cost analysis program, which allows them to feed in their own plate, chemistry and running costs and work out whether UV or thermal/violet would be cheaper. This makes a lot of sense when one considers 80% of the plate requirement is provided by exclusive CTP service bureaus. Only 20% of the CTP systems are in-house.

This is primarily because of the low cost of plate production. Two years ago, when I visited Sivakasi it was dominated by 26,000 sq/metres of wipe-on plates. This method continues to be prevalent what with the cost of making a single wipe-on plate equal to Rs 30 to Rs 35. This includes: laser print, electricity and manpower. This means a four-colour set (or three colour set, as is the norm among some print firms) can be procured at Rs 400-600 including margins and hidden costs. 

The new range of UV platesetters is able to handle a range of plate treatments for different applications in a single device. This includes re-graining of plates which is a common practise in this market. A CTP service bureau head we met in Sivakasi said, "Some printers re-grain the plate 10 times." The reasons are: power cuts has made them spend Rs 13 (minimum) or Rs 23 per unit (maximim) on a diesel gen-set; as opposed to Rs 6-7 for regular power.

With the power cuts ranging from 14 to 16 hours, print has become rather expensive what with a CTP plate set costing Rs 1400 or Rs 1650 (at 2400 dpi); as opposed to Rs 600 for wipe-ons. Most of the printers are cutting down their costs. They prefer to go to special trade shops to get these low-cost imaged plates.

A Balasubramanian, past president of SMPA said: "The work has picked up. And the in-bound job flow has not reduced."

A typical service bureau in Sivakasi or any of the print clusters in Coimbatore or Madurai has 20 customers and produces 60-70 plates in a shift. A healthy number is 180-200 plates per day.

According to Jain, where a Basyprint or Amsky helps is, "Now if they can make plates on one and the same engine." Which is why the system is gaining in currency, among trade shops. He said: "The ability to provide an array of sensible applications that will differentiate their offering in an increasingly commodity-based industry is of the utmost importance."

In spite of the power problem and the slowdown in the market, the plate consumption for thermal and violet CTP has grown by 7-8%. The Sivakasi Master Printer's Association attributes this to natural growth and remain "very optimistic" about the future.

And so, even as industry experts have dismissed UV-Setters for using digital data to image conventional UV-sensitive plates; the economic justification which is founded on current plate prices over-rides the advance of digital techniques and its inherent cost disadvantages.

This article was originally published on 31 May 2013