The best placement for the Plate Control Strip is in the nonprinting clamp margin of the plate.
Place the Plate Control Strip on the leading or trailing edge of the plate, wherever there is the most space. Place it as close as possible to the printing area and as far away as possible from the edge of the plate. Staying away from the edge of the plate will avoid areas where plate imaging and processing may not be optimal. Place the Plate Control Strip in a consistent location on each plate.
Use the same processing for the Plate Control Strip as you use for the printing areas of the plate.
Plate Control Strip and color
The Plate Control Strip appears on all separations, including spot colors. Except in the upper row of the Tone Scales section, it produces exactly the same patterns on all separations.
If you place the Plate Control Strip in the printing area, the identical patterns in all colors will cause some unusual effects on the press:
- The total area coverage (TAC) will exceed normal values for printing four or more colors. Ink build-up and excessive gain may occur.
- The slightest change in registration can produce abrupt color shifts in the printed fine linework and FM reference screens.
These effects may alarm a press operator who doesn’t realize that the Plate Control Strip is not intended to be printed. If you can't avoid placing the Plate Control Strip in the printing area of multicolor work, advise the press operator to ignore its appearance on press.