Information

In order to meet the ever increasing demand for CTP plates both in terms of volume and performance, Fuji Photo Film Co.,Ltd. has started further investment of 200 million euros in total on new plate production lines. These will be situated in Greenwood (USA) and Beijing (China), with additional modification to existing lines in Tilburg (The Netherlands) and Yoshida-Minami(Japan).

This investment demonstrates FUJIFILM’s global commitment to the Graphic Arts business and its desire to strengthen its CTP plate production capabilities. The investment will also make it possible for FUJIFILM to manufacture its unique Brillia thermal and photopolymer plates in each continent.

FUJIFILM’s philosophy is to provide customer benefits in the specific areas of quality,productivity, cost, and reliability. By choosing FUJIFILM, customers will always be competitive, will always be at the leading edge of the industry and will always be supported as part of a global imaging family.

FUJIFILM analysis shows that the CTP plates ratio among plates consumption worldwide in total has gone up 30% and it is predicted that this figure will increase to 50% within three years. This demonstrates the practical benefits that CTP has brought to print production environments in the form of improved quality, reduced costs and shorter production lead times.

Just as the uptake of CTP continues, so does the demand for better performance. This is being seen in the increased use of FM screening technologies for value added quality,the drive to further reduce costs in the form of paper usage, chemistry replenishment and ink⁄water balance and the ever increasing demand for higher productivity.

In order to meet these demands, FUJIFILM has been investing heavily in both the R&D and manufacturing capabilities of its Brillia photopolymer and thermal plate ranges in order to improve product performance and ultimately help drive customer profitability.

FUJIFILM’s new CTP production facilities will come on stream from April 2004 in China,October 2004 in USA, and February 2005 in the Netherlands.