Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd established in 1943 in Kyoto, Japan, has been playing a leading role in the graphic arts industry. The company is also one of the industry’s largest suppliers of semiconductor and electronics equipment. The company’s core technologies include image processing, wafer cleaning and photolithography. Using these core technologies, Screen sells its products to semiconductor, flat panel display (FPD) and printed circuit board (PCB) production equipment businesses that form the core of information technology (IT) societies. These businesses are contributing to the creation of an information-based society by expanding modes of communication.

Screen has over 4500 employees throughout the group’s companies, which include Silicon Light Machines.

CTP Business

Dainippon Screen is one of the largest CTP (Computer-To-Plate) manufacturers. The CTP system uses laser beams to directly write images onto printing plates rather than first exposing a film and then transferring the image to the plate. The digital direct imaging method eliminates troublesome film processes and thus ensures a short turnaround time and high-image quality.

The CTP systems are mainly used for offset printing where an image is composed of halftone dots. The CTP systems digitally create halftone dots with bitmap data and thus need to have the capability of handling a huge amount of pixel data. In addition, the CTP systems have to control high-power laser because most CTP plates are thermally reactive and require high energy to respond.

The GLV is a MOEMS device with a great number of addressable diffraction grating pixels constituting a linear array. Unique properties of the GLV allow it to meet market demands for higher productivity and higher image quality. The GLV-based CTP, therefore, hit the market with flying colors.