What is an Imagesetter?
A Primer Imagesetters are the professional equivalent of an office desktop laser printer. The typical laser printer outputs its copy at 300 dots per inch and it writes onto paper. The typical imagesetter outputs at 2400 dots per inch and exposes photographic film or photopaper. really high quality imagesetters will output at up to twice that dot rate even the most basic imagesetters will output at around 1200 dots per inch (dpi) and the typical high quality imagesetter will output at a range of resolutions from say 900 dpi to at least 3600 dpi, so that the user can select between productivity and quality for any job and why film? the carbon particles needed in the toners in laser printers are too big to reliably print at 1200 dpi a film base has more stability than a paper base it keeps its size and doesn’t shrink or expand much with changes in temperature or humidity The film output is developed in a film processor, and goes to the printer who uses them to produce printing plates that
Any printing company has to get the words on the paper. Whether newspapers or book publishers, they often do this with an imagesetter. An imagesetter is the middleman machine. Text must be converted into a form that can be used on a press, and the imagesetter does this job. It is responsible for putting digital text on a piece of film that can be burned onto a plate for the printing press. The a priori imagesetter is a completely self-contained unit. The operator loads the machine with a film cassette and loads the chemicals, and the machine goes to work. It is controlled by a computer that is usually linked to the pagination computers. When the desk “rolls” the negative, the information is sent directly to the imagesetter, which outputs the image on a negative slightly larger than the page that will be printed. The film used by an imagesetter is the same as that used in any camera, only in larger sheets. It also goes through the same process. The film is exposed to the text within the
Any printing company has to get the words on the paper. Whether newspapers or book publishers, they often do this with an imagesetter. An imagesetter is the middleman machine. Text must be converted into a form that can be used on a press, and the imagesetter does this job. It is responsible for putting digital text on a piece of film that can be burned onto a plate for the printing press. The a priori imagesetter is a completely self-contained unit. The operator loads the machine with a film cassette and loads the chemicals, and the machine goes to work. It is controlled by a computer that is usually linked to the pagination computers. When the desk “rolls?the negative, the information is sent directly to the imagesetter, which outputs the image on a negative slightly larger than the page that will be printed. The film used by an imagesetter is the same as that used in any camera, only in larger sheets. It also goes through the same process. The film is exposed to the text within the
A Platesetter? An imagesetter is a device which uses a laser to expose photographic film or paper. Platesetters are quite similar,® exposing plate material for use on a press. Our full range of imaging devices can be used as imagesetters or platesetters, simply by loading them with the appropriate media. Used as a platesetter, our imagers can be attached to an online processor, so that they produce cut, processed plates which are ready to hang on a press. How do Imagesetters and Platesetters differ from Laser Printers? Laser printers create an image using toner particles which are fused onto the paper, while imagesetters and platesetters® photographically expose the media, and it is processed chemically. Since toner particles are fairly large in relation to the size of a halftone dot, that limits the resolution and accuracy of toner-based imaging. Typical laser printers are capable of 600dpi resolution, and line screens up to about 85 lines per inch. Screen values can vary substantiall
