CRON has taken on more stand space at drupa to accommodate several new products as it continues to expand its product portfolio from its original CTP-centric foundations. Once its CTP products were established, the company diversified to take on the broader issue of retaining offset competitiveness against the growth of digital print. The response was the opening of a high-tech plant for lower-cost, precision plate production, a focus on CTP automation from plate loading to quality controlled processing and the creation of colour management links to the actual press run. At drupa, CRON will advance these concepts further with a series of new products which will have positive impact for all offset printers from two-page to VLF.

“CRON has set itself the ambitious target of being the ‘guardian angel’ of offset. This will continue to excel in volume print but also has much more potential in short runs,” says Mike Xiang, Founder and CEO. “We are working towards the ultimate and perfect solution: eco-friendly, high quality, economic returns, simplicity of operation and faster turnarounds. The CRON stand, located in a prominent position at the front of Hall 5, will run live demonstrations incorporating the benefits of each element of its integrated approach to offset competitiveness.

Since its founding in 1992, CRON has set its sights on redefining the direction of conventional offset print. Starting with imagesetting and moving to CTP, the company now provides a portfolio of integrated digital prepress technologies that improves the quality and efficiency of print workflows while reducing turnaround times and costs, as well as the point at which print runs become profitable.

Today, CRON has three major strands to its business: Advanced CTP solutions for both UV, thermal and flexo plate exposure. Precision offset plates for UV and thermal exposure sold under the Blackwood brand. Integrated prepress peripherals – workflow software, autoloaders, bridges, processors, punch systems, delivery conveyors and color measurement ancillaries.Together these products not only streamline the platemaking process but also provide measurement and control of the final printed products.