Katana

High-End Imagesetter
2-Up / 4-Up

Product Details (Katana)

Superior registration accuracy
The Katana 5040 and Katana 5055's improved film transport system assures consistent media placement. Thanks to this new system, the Katana 5000 series offer a remarkable registration accuracy of +-25 microns (+-1 mil) for four continuous separations. This makes it easy to get high-quality four-color printed output every time.

In fact, the Katana's superior registration is more than adequate even for difficult tasks, such as quad output onto a single film. In quad output, all four colors are output onto a single sheet of media. Quad output saves both time and materials, but requires much greater registration accuracy than standard four-film four-color output. Thanks to the Katana 5000 series imagesetters' superior imaging and film transport systems, registration is good enough even for high-quality quad output.

The imaging system consists of a spinning five-facet polygon mirror that transmits the imaging beam through an fq lens before allowing the beam to reach the media. The maximum spinning speed of the polygon mirror is 14,400 rpm, which translates across the five facets into an effective spin rate of 72,000 rpm, achieved without the usual accompanying problems of mirror vibration and image deterioration. The fq lens is shaped so that it narrows the beam to a small point, preventing distortion of the image even at the edges of the media.

Even higher speed output
The Katana 5000 series imagesetters also offer remarkable imaging speeds (1,524 mm/min at 1,200 dpi), close to the speeds of the world's fastest imagesetters. The Katana 5040 can image a B3 page in just 22 seconds, while the Katana 5055 can image a B2 page in 30 seconds (at 1,200 dpi). These remarkable new speeds are made possible by extremely high spin speeds in the imaging unit and improved SCSI data transmission capabilities. And with the Katana 5000 series imagesetters, this speed requires no corresponding sacrifice in quality.

The Katana 5000 series imagesetters feature the latest in data transmission technology. Their 16-bit Wide SCSI interfaces make possible a maximum data transmission rate of 20 MB per second. The Katanas also feature a data reception system that can accept data in 2 MB batches. These fast transmission and reception capabilities, enhanced by advanced dedicated buffering technology, support continuous imaging by assuring that data is transmitted to the imagesetter with a minimum of delay.

Superior imaging system
The Katanas' imaging system employs a five-facet polygon mirror that reflects a precision laser diode beam through a specially designed lens to narrow the beam and project it onto an exact point. This precise imaging system, paired with the Katanas' superior transport system, helps these units image at a quality rivaling that of internal drum imagesetters, even at high resolutions and line rulings. Best of all, with the Katana 5000 series, the resulting high repeatability and accuracy is available on a variety of media at high speed.

A variety of advanced options, a variety of punch formats
The Katana 5000 series feature a wide variety of punch formats, including optional tail punch support. Punch formats include Screen, Stoesser, Protocol, Bacher, and Western Lithotech. Custom punch formats can also be supported. On-site punch system installation is available, so users can choose to change punch formats even after the unit has been installed. Internal punch systems take the effort out of registration punching, reducing the strain on operators and increasing productivity even further.

A choice of output media
The Katana 5000 series support media from 10 to 24 inches wide* and can output to a variety of media, including film, RC paper, and flexible plates**. Flexible plates make it easy to get fast, high-quality four-color plate output right from the Katana 5000 series imagesetters. The superior repeatability and registration accuracy of the Katana 5000 series imagesetters assure high quality no matter what the media, and flexible plate support makes it easy to create a fully digital prepress production workflow by turning the Katana 5000 series imagesetters into entry-level CTP output devices.

* 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 inch widths are available for the Katana 5055; 10, 12, 14, and 16 inch widths are available for the Katana 5040.

**Flexible plates can be set in 1 mm increments from a minimum of 254 mm to a maximum of 615 mm.

Optional LD-M1060 processor
The LD-M1060 processor is specially designed for inline use with the Katana 5000 series imagesetters. A compact unit, it keeps the magesetter/processor's combined footprint down even further thanks to its bridgeless design. The processor's internal tank is 20% deeper than those of similar models, making a longer transport stroke possible. The extra length helps the processor keep up with the Katana series imagesetters' extremely high imaging speeds. Furthermore, the LD-M1060's advanced processor tank design reduces chemical evaporation to provide more stable processing quality.