Winter 2004                    return to newsletter contents page

FPPA MEMBER PROFILE

Cortron Corporation Scores with eXact

Cortron Corporation, a 26-year-old manufacturer of graphic arts hardware and software that specializes in UV imaging of plates, was until recently best known for its line of step and repeat machines.

In response to the market shift toward CTP, the company altered its technology and came up with a new product development plan, which concluded with the launch of eXact, a new high definition exposure device. In 2003, Cortron earned FPPA’s Technological Innovator of the Year Award for eXact.

eXact is a uniquely-designed exposure device that produces digital quality plates at analog prices. This is accomplished through a liquid cooled mercury plasma capillary light source that outputs more usable UV energy than any light source ever used in the industry. The multi-faceted reflector collimates the light to 26 degrees, which contributes to perfect shoulder angles resulting in sharper highlights, cleaner mid-tones and shadows. It incorporates a digital integrator that is not available on bank light systems. It guarantees that every plate will receive the same exact amount of energy through the life of the light source ensuring plate-to-plate consistency.

Cortron adapted the mercury plasma light source for use in graphic arts because it has the highest concentration of UV energy available. This is especially important because although the system uses a single light, it does output more UV than any other light in the industry.

eXact comes in two sizes currently with others planned. The 30 x 40 unit has been in the market for a year and the first 52 x 80 unit was delivered in July 2003. The features are very similar between the machines except that the 52 x 80 has the light source above the plate allowing customers to expose in the presence of oxygen for digital plates if they so choose.

Dave Pitzen, Cortron’s president, has been in graphic arts his entire career. He started in the trade and along with his brother Jerry founded Cortron. He successfully identified new product opportunities and with the assistance of a talented engineering staff brought these ideas to market. He had the foresight in the late 90’s to change the direction of the company back to its previous strengths, UV imaging.

Frank Hull has been with the company nearly 14 years as the Vice President of Engineering. Frank has been awarded numerous patents while at Cortron and previously at the Cheslea Carlson Company. Frank has designed and developed over 25 products during his career.

Marc Fioravanti is the company’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He has spent most of his 26-year career in graphic arts. Prior to joining Cortron, Marc was a Regional Manager of Digital Imaging for the Pitman Company. He guided the digital sales efforts of 10 branches for Pitman. Previously he was the VP of Sales for Printware, a pioneer in CTP and Xitron, a subsidiary of Agfa.