Eclipse – The most convenient process-free printing plate
Just as easy to use as a conventional plate
Thanks to Eclipse’s process-free technology, the coating of the plate gets transferred to the first few printed sheets, instead of to the fountain, ink or rollers.
Eclipse enables quick visual image inspection as well as recognition by a punch & bending system. This avoids mix-ups on press or costly plate remakes.
Eclipse is the only printing process-free printing plate that still has a great contrast after 24 hours in office light. That means you don’t need to store your plates in dark conditions. That is highly convenient ánd it will save you time!
You can handle Eclipse plate without having to worry about damaging them. Better scratch resistance means less plates need to be remade, less press downtime and faster operations.
“This plate is as hard-wearing as it is high-quality, even for longer print runs. Thanks to Agfa, we can offer our customers excactly the quality that they want.” Read more
Frank Teso, Company Owner
Imprimerie Gutenberg, France
“Four of my six pressmen preferred the Agfa plate. Eclipse cleans up faster; we’re talking 15 sheets, and it comes up to color quicker than the other process-free plates. The make-ready difference between our previous process-free plate and Agfa’s Eclipse equates to 400 sheets, a game-changer on our six-color press.” Read more
Derek Landheer, Plant Manager
Color House Graphics, USA
“With Eclipse, we start up 40% faster. Combined with ANTURA fount, we waste 15% less paper while saving 25% on press cleaning. The plate has a good and stable contrast. There are absolutely no mix-ups on press. Its scratch resistance is great too, and we see no fingerprints on the plate.” Read more
Thomas Thomsen, Company Owner
Kandrup, Denmark
“Eclipse helps us reduce print production costs. There is no processor to maintain, chemistry to store, or water or waste to dispose; and I pick up valuable floor space. Eclipse's image contrast is better than that of other process-free plates we’ve tried. We’re happy with our move to Eclipse. It is the right decision for our business needs.”
Jo DeLio, Print Production Manager
Mankato Packaging - USA
“In addition to being a printing plate with good technical characteristics, such as easy development, Eclipse is also very stable and its great contrast enables an easy visual inspection before printing. The plate’s high resistance to scratches and to light exposure make handling it really convenient.”
Roberto Moreira, Director
Gráfica 7 Cores, Brazil
“We save a lot of time by not having to clean the plate, and by avoiding jobs with errors or scratches ... We have seen that the Eclipse plates hold the dot very well on press which allows u to obtain color stability throughout the print run. This generates greater trust for our clients because we can offer them color consistency for each of their products.” Read more
Jenny Urquina Motta, General Manager
Litografía Francisco Jaramillo, Colombia
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Eclipse live demo
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First of all, you need to know that Eclipse consists of:
- a scratch-resistant substrate
- a photolayer
- a protective overcoat
The plate goes through different steps during the printing process:
Dampening
The fountain solution makes the overcoat swell.
Most of the overcoat and photolayer remain on the plate for now (see edge view image).
Inking
The plate is covered with ink. There is almost no difference between image and non-image parts, which indicates that the coating is still on the plate. It doesn’t dissolve in the fountain solution nor in the ink.
Printing
Only now is the remaining coating removed from the plate. It gets transferred to the blanket, and finally to the paper. The press stays clean!
Edge view after 10 revolutions of dampening. This image is enlarged 2000 times and shows that the overcoat and photo layer do not dissolve with the fountain solution but are still present.
Top view after 10 revolutions of inking. This image is enlarged 2000 times.
Edge view (2000 x enlarged) after the plate gets in contact with the blanket. Top: no image, bottom: image.
Dampening
The fountain solution makes the overcoat swell. Most of the overcoat and photolayer remain on the plate for now.
Inking
The plate is covered with ink. There is almost no difference between image and non-image parts, which indicates that the coating is still on the plate. It doesn’t dissolve in the fountain solution nor in the ink.
Printing
Only now is the remaining coating removed from the plate. It gets transferred to the blanket, and finally to the paper. The press stays clean!
Eclipse has a superior and stable image contrast, setting it apart from other process-free printing plates. This makes the plate easy to handle:
- Punch & bending units, as well as plate sorting systems, use a printing plate’s contrast to perform a number of automated tasks.
- Great contrast also helps operators to mount the plates correctly on the press.
Contrast immediately after exposure >
Brand A
Brand B
Eclipse
A smooth process without hiccups or mistakes will save you time and money.
No costly plate remakes and lost press time!
Brand A
Brand B
Eclipse
In addition, Eclipse’s contrast is stable. Commercial printers often prepare printing plates a number of days before printing. While other process-free plates lose their contrast after a mere two hours, Eclipse keeps its great image contrast thanks to Agfa’s unique and irreversible color-forming mechanism. It does so for a week when stored in a dark box, but also after 24 hours in office light! This is particularly convenient as you don’t need to spend time on storing the plates safely.
< Contrast after one week in dark conditions (storage)
Eclipse has a superior and stable image contrast, setting it apart from other process-free printing plates. This makes the plate easy to handle:
- Punch & bending units, as well as plate sorting systems, use a printing plate’s contrast to perform a number of automated tasks.
- Great contrast also helps operators to mount the plates correctly on the press.
Contrast immediately after exposure
In addition, Eclipse’s contrast is stable. Commercial printers often prepare printing plates a number of days before printing. While other process-free plates lose their contrast after a more two hours, Eclipse keeps its great image contrast thanks to Agfa’s unique and irreversible color-forming mechanism. It does so for a week when stored in a dark box, but also after 24 hours in office light! This is particularly convenient as you don’t need to spend time on storing the plates safely.
Contrast after one week in dark conditions (storage)
A smooth process without hiccups or mistakes will save you time and money.
No costly plate remakes and lost press time!
Eclipse keeps its great contrast even after 24 hours in office light, which makes an enormous difference compared to the two hours of other process-free plates. It means you don’t need to store your plates in their box or in other dark conditions, which is time-consuming.
Contrast after 24 hours of office light >
Brand A
Brand B
Eclipse
Brand A
Brand B
Eclipse
But there is more… Even out of the box, under office light, print quality will be fully preserved in terms of dot gain, background toning, and start-up time… Other process-free plates will score significantly worse on these parameters when left out of the box.
< Images of print samples made with a plate that has been left in office light for 24 hours
Eclipse keeps its great contrast even after 24 hours in office light, which makes an enormous difference compared to the two hours of other process-free plates. It means you don’t need to store your plates in their box or in other dark conditions, which is time-consuming.
Contrast after 24 hours of office light
But there is more… Even out of the box, under office light, print quality will be fully preserved in terms of dot gain, background toning, and start-up time… Other process-free plates will score significantly worse on these parameters when left out of the box.
Images of print samples made with a plate that has been left in office light for 24 hours
Eclipse only starts to show scratches when a weight of 200 g is applied, while its main competitors already get scratched by much smaller weights – 50 g for brand B and as little as 25 g for brand A.
If a plate is not very robust, it might get damaged, and will need to be remade. That might mean stopping the press and losing time and money. For a commercial printing company with a plate consumption of 20,000 m²/year, costs caused by a scratch-sensitive plate can easily amount to €0.40 per m².
No such issues will occur with Eclipse. This plate is highly resistant to scratches as well as fingerprints. That means you can handle it with confidence.