Making CtP Work For You

Cobra 8 News is a 1270 dpi version of our popular manual load-unload CtP engine supporting a range of plate formats from B1/8-up all the way down to B3/2-up and anything in between! It exposes violet metal plates at high speed, using precision internal drum imaging optics and a 120mW laser diode. The plate is placed directly into the drum by the operator and is located in the registration system with options including the most flexible corner/edge registration system making it suitable for any printing press. Vacuum is then applied to hold the plate in perfect register while it is imaged at a resolution of 1270 dpi (50 dpmm) at a speed of 12mm per second. Cobra 8 News can produce up to 26 full size plates per hour.

The Cobra CtP solution includes a high-spec workstation running HighWater’s innovative output console providing all the tools needed to manage your plate imaging. Supplied with the advanced Navigator Harlequin RIP as standard, Cobra 8 News is an open system that can accept 1-bit TIFF files from any source. Software options available include full workflow, imposition, In-RIP trapping and proofing.

A new simple Java-based user interface for ‘point and click’ plate production has been specifically designed for the Cobra 8 News. With ‘at a glance’ multiple views, a home view showing previews and status of current jobs, overviews of all queues and completed plates, it is a powerful and highly effective tool in the plate production process.

The benefits of using Cobra 8 News in your workflow are compelling. Its quality and speed of output let you produce plates to meet the ever increasing demands of today’s printer. Cobra’s simple and effective design, with remote diagnostics, ensures an extremely high level of reliability with minimum downtime. This will put you ahead of your competition in the quest to satisfy your customers’ high expectations.

Combining all these benefits with low cost of ownership, Cobra 8 News provides affordable metal plate production with an excellent price/performance figure. HighWater’s Barcode Plate Requeue is included as standard, a unique identification mark is applied to every plate, users can then easily remake plates by simply scanning the barcode. Additional options such as workflow, CIP3/4 ink-key setting and ROOM proofing help to ensure an investment geared for long-term success.

Specification:

• Laser type Violet 120 mW laser diode (405 nm)
• Drum Internal aluminium alloy with hard anodised finish
• Max plate 1080 (register edge) x 850 mm, 0.3 mm thick (42.5” x 33.4” x 0.012”)
• Min plate 510 (register edge) x 400 mm, 0.15 mm thick (20.1” x 15.75” x 0.006”)
• Grip edge 15 mm (0.6”) minimum at front edge of plate
• Image area 1080 x 835 mm (42.5” x 32.8”) maximum
• Spot size 10 microns
• Resolution 1270 dpi
• Repeatability ± 5 microns image to image; ± 25 microns plate to plate
• Imaging speed 12 mm per second, using 36,000 rpm single-facet spinner
• Throughput Up to 26 B1, 35 B2, and 44 B3 plates per hour
• Plate handling Manual load and unload
• Plate types Violet sensitive aluminium plates - Silver and Photopolymer including low chemistry
• Yellow safe light required for plate handling
• Registration Various combinations of the following are available:
  • 830mm ‘Komori’ press notch registration
  • 780mm ‘Bacher’ press notch registration
  • 425mm ‘Bacher’ press notch registration
  • 3-pin Corner registration
• Approvals CE certification: EN61000 EMC including FCC CFR47, EN60950 LVD, EN60825 Laser
• Dimensions 1725 x 1600 x 900 mm (w x h x d) - 68” x 63” x 35.5”
• Weight 400 kg (engine and front-end PC), 520 kg (in single crate)
• Operating Environment +15oC to +25oC, 20% to 60% relative humidity (non-condensing)
• Platform High spec external Windows PC
• File formats Images 1-bit TIFF bitmap files, compressed formats CCITT Group 4, LZW and PackBits.
• Engine control and plate management software
• Remote diagnostics as standard
• Job Archival Writeable CD ROM