Guy Sasson, president of Presstek for the EMEA region, said: "We've entered the processed plate market with Aeon to become a mass market player. We need to build our supply chain in Europe."

The Aeon plate, which was launched at last week's Print 09 trade show in Chicago, is a long-run, high-resolution non-preheat plate that is compatible with 830nm thermal platesetters.

It can be used for high-volume print runs from 200,000 impressions without the need for baking and up to 1m impressions with the optional post-bake capability.

As such, the Aeon plate far outstrips the ratable run length of Presstek's other open platform plate, the chemistry free Aurora Pro, which is capable of runs up to 25,000.

Presstek vice president and chief marketing officer Kathy McHugh said: "For the first time, with Aeon, Presstek can address a broader market that includes runs of up to 1m impressions.

"This new addition to the Presstek portfolio is part of our strategic growth initiative and it offers print communication providers the ability to deliver a wide range of high-quality, high-volume offset printing applications."