Though plates are currently more expensive than conventional aluminum plates this has no major impact on the business model. Both are waterless digital offset presses with the ability to image plates on the press. Some important differences between the two include format, type of plate, sheet transfer and register mechanisms, inking system and imaging system. These are what make the 74 Karat press outstanding in quality and productivity. Quality parameters include the ability to lay down high density, smooth solids over the entire press sheet along with crisp, uniform dot structure, and an imaging resolution sufficient to produce screen rulings up to 200 lpi with no loss in quality of dot structure.
Waterless printing depends upon temperature controls along the entire ink path.
The 74 Karat press has independent temperature control on the Gravuflow roller, form roller and plate cylinder giving consistent, predictable and high quality results. The press and the inking system are designed to be much more consistent and predictable than on a conventional offset press. Color is established by the 74 Karat color management system before imaging. Solid ink densities and dot size characteristics are fixed to optimum print conditions. This consistency and predictability also allows you to match a digital proof more reliably to the output of the 74 Karat press than to the output of a conventional press.