KF152 Photopolymer Plates for Letterpress Finally Arrive in the UK

Bridport, United Kingdom, July 07, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Letterpress forums, communities, blogs and websites have been buzzing for years with frustrated requests and pleas for help in finding the system this side of the Atlantic. Now they'll be buzzing again with the celebrated news - finally both mounting bases and plates have arrived. Lyme Bay Press in Dorset have unveiled the complete system for general distribution.

What difference does this make to the printing industry? "Any letterpress printer will tell you!" Said an excited Mr Bruce the company director today, "Letterpress was always done with lead type, this has to be painstakingly set for every print job and consumes hours of back breaking labour. Photopolymer plates can be imaged from a negative film printed from a Mac, exposed to UV light, washed and dried and ready for use in minutes. But more important is the graphic art potential when you realise you can print anything a computer can draw!"

But Polymer plates have been available for a while even in the UK. "Yes," Mr Bruce agreed but added, "only a limited type, the plate everyone wanted was the KF152 which is much deeper and gives the true heavy letterpress impression which is hugely popular now for everything from weddings to business stationery and packaging. The US have had it for years but now we've got a deal with the manufacturer and they're finally being shipped in bulk to us in the UK. The other big problem was getting these plates to print as they have to be the right height for the ink rollers so we've manufactured the same mounting base system used in the states but it's greatly improved. A precision ground aluminium block anodised black all over with a high contrast white grid on the face, we've branded it the Chase Base."

Isn't letterpress a fairly small market to receive new innovations? "No - the letterpress revival is really growing now that business has caught hold of the potential for this form of media. It's tactile, three dimensional and for only a small increase on the cost of standard litho printing you get the highest quality printed products available anywhere. It's a terrific low budget marketing tool for business in a difficult economic climate - we get now more enquiries for business products than anything else. We've also developed an audited recycling route for used polymer plates, so any customer can post them back and we'll do the rest - litho printing can't offer that either."

Is the new system expensive? "Actually we will be one of the cheapest sources for polymer plates in the UK and the only one of course for the KF152. Additionally to support the drive for the revival of this ancient craft we're heavily subsidising our Chase Bases so they're about half the price of the Stateside version and of course no heavy shipping bill."

The Chase Base Printing system is available for £139 +vat at the company website and KF152 Photopolymer Plates can be ordered using the Plate Making Centre.