Computer-to-plate (CTP) Operator Interview Questions And Answers

Computer-to-plate (CTP) is an imaging technology used in modern printing processes. In this technology, an image created in a Desktop Publishing (DTP) application is output directly to a printing plate.

Agfa Advantage DL violet laser fotosetter with VPP68 plate processor
This compares with the older technology, computer-to-film (CTF), where the computer file is output onto a photographic film. This film is then used to make a printing plate, in a similar manner to a contact proof in darkroom photography.

☛ Transfer images from master plates to unexposed plates, and immerse plates in developing solutions to develop images.
☛ Examine unexposed photographic plates to detect flaws or foreign particles prior to printing.
☛ Lower vacuum frames onto plate-film assemblies, activate vacuums to establish contact between film and plates, and set timers to activate ultraviolet lights that expose plates.
☛ Examine finished plates to detect flaws, verify conformity with master plates, and measure dot sizes and centers, using light-boxes and microscopes.
☛ Perform close alignment or registration of double and single flats to sensitized plates prior to exposure, in order to produce composite images.
☛ Remove plate-film assemblies from vacuum frames, and place exposed plates in automatic processors to develop images and dry plates

☛ Enter, store, and retrieve information on computer-aided equipment.
☛ Enter, position, and alter text size, using computers, to make up and arrange pages so that printed materials can be produced.
☛ Maintain, adjust, and clean equipment, and perform minor repairs.
☛ Operate and maintain laser plate-making equipment that converts electronic data to plates without the use of film.
☛ Examine photographic images for obvious imperfections prior to plate making.
☛ Operate presses to print proofs of plates, monitoring printing quality to ensure that it is adequate.
☛ Monitor contact between cover glass and masks inside vacuum frames, in order to prevent flaws resulting from overexposure or light reflection.

☛ Position and angle screens for proper exposure.
☛ Inspect developed film for specified results and quality, using magnifying glasses and scopes; forward acceptable negatives or positives to other workers or to customers.
☛ Punch holes in light-sensitive plates and insert pins in holes to prepare plates for contact with positive or negative film.
☛ Unload exposed film from scanners, and place film in automatic processors to develop images.
☛ Place masking paper on areas of plates not covered by positives or negatives, in order to prevent exposure.
☛ Mount negatives and plates in cameras, set exposure controls, and expose plates to light through negatives in order to transfer images onto plates.
☛ Operate and maintain a variety of cameras and equipment, such as process, line, halftone, and color separation cameras, enlargers, electronic scanners, and contact equipment.
☛ Perform tests to determine lengths of exposures, by exposing plates, scanning line copy, and comparing exposures to tone range scales.
☛ Mix solutions such as developing solutions and colored coating solutions.
☛ Activate scanners to produce positive or negative films for the black-and-white, cyan, yellow, and magenta separations from each original copy.
☛ Select proper types of plates according to press run lengths.
☛ Reposition lamps and adjust aperture controls in order to provide high quality images.
☛ Analyze originals to evaluate color density, gradation highlights, middle tones, and shadows, using densitometers and knowledge of light and color.
☛ Set scanners to specific color densities, sizes, screen rulings, and exposure adjustments, using scanner keyboards or computers.
☛ Perform minor deletions, additions, or corrections to completed plates, on or off printing presses, using tusche, printing ink, erasers, and needles.
☛ Correct minor film mask defects with litho tape or opaquing fluid.
☛ Position color transparencies, negatives, or reflection copies on scanning drums, and mount drums and heads on scanners.
☛ Arrange and mount typeset material and illustrations into paste-ups for printing reproduction, based on artists' or editors' layouts.
☛ Scale copy for reductions and enlargements, using proportion wheels.

CTP methods differ according to the construction type of the imagesetter and the light source used to expose the plate surface. In terms of construction type there are three different kinds: internal drum, external drum and flat-bed imagesetters. The two main light sources used to expose the plate are ultraviolet light lamps and laser diodes. The wavelength and energy of the laser diodes depend on the type of plate that is used. This technology is mainly used in newspaper and magazine printing

In an internal drum image setter the plate is put into a cylinder, while the imaging head moves along the axis of the cylinder to expose the plate. The rotating mirror at the end of the imaging head rotates around its axis to beam the laser on the desired part of the fixed plate. The construction type makes it more difficult to use several lasers at the same time, but just using one laser also has advantages such as uniform beam intensity over the whole plate.

The plate is wrapped around a drum that can rotate around its axis, while the imaging head that projects the image on the plate can move along this axis to focus the laser beam on the surface. The simple construction type makes it possible to arrange multiple image heads next to each other and use them simultaneously. This leads to a decrease of the imaging time needed to expose a whole printing plate

The image is reproduced line by line on a fixed flat printing plate by a laser beam that is deflected by a rotating polygon mirror and then onto the printing plate. Because of the setup the laser beam becomes less accurate at the edges of the printing plate and is therefore mainly smaller formats or production with lower quality expectations.

A company will want to see how much you know about company culture and whether you have an understanding about the company culture. For example, if the company emphasises on integrity with customers then you should mention you would like to be in such a team because you believe in integrity.

If however, you are aware that the company values do not fit your thoughts then be honest. The best policy is to be honest with yourself.

☛ At CTP Thermique we work with some of the largest scale machinery in our industry. Tell me about the types of machinery you are most experienced with.
☛ We put a lot of effort into ensuring CTP Thermique uses only the best parts and materials available. What do you know about our cutting edge machinery?
☛ How will the knowledge gained from your most recent position help you succeed in this role with CTP Thermique?
☛ The health and safety of our employees is top priority at CTP Thermique. How would you react if your supervisor asked you to perform a task that you were not comfortable with?
☛ At CTP Thermique we measure productivity in a variety of ways. In your opinion, what are the most important performance metrics for this position?
☛ Our reputation is very important to us. In which ways do you feel CTP Thermique stands out from the crowd?
☛ Some of our competitors use social media to promote their brand. How do you feel about the social media presence at CTP Thermique? Do you feel this type of marketing is relevant to our industry?
☛ Our motto at CTP Thermique is to work smarter, not harder. If you had a workplace motto, what would it be?
☛ We have a variety of shifts at CTP Thermique. Do you have any restrictions on your availability?
☛ Do you have experience working in a unionized environment? What are your thoughts on union based roles?
☛ Tell me about a time that you have helped a co-worker accomplish an important goal.
☛ What was the biggest change you have had to deal with in your career?
☛ Tell us about a time when you were particularly effective on prioritizing tasks and completing a project on schedule.
☛ What are your career aspirations beyond this job?
☛ Why are you the best candidate for us?
☛ How would you describe your written communication skills?
☛ How would you describe your relationship with your customers or clients?
☛ Name me a few things you were asked to do in your last position that you weren't trained for.
☛ When have you had to think outside of the box to solve a problem?
☛ If you were given a choice, which work related task would you leave for last? Why?
☛ Tell me about yourself.
☛ With your experience, what contributions do you believe you will make to our department?
☛ On a scale from 1 to 10, how honest are you?
☛ How can we motivate you on the job?
☛ Give me an example of a time when your communication skills helped you be a more effective leader.
☛ When have you effectively delegated tasks to your employees?
☛ How do you handle situations that could cause you to be late or miss work?
☛ What types of activities keep you busy, outside of work?
☛ What makes you a great problem solver?
☛ Is compensation the most important factor for you when taking a new job?
☛ What part of this career brings you the most stress?
☛ Tell me about a time there was a serious conflict. How did you resolve it?

☛ Describe a time when you had to enter a large amount of data in a short period of time. What did you do to complete the work accurately and within deadline?
☛ How has your attention to detail helped you in the past?
☛ How do you prioritize the documents that must be digitalized?
☛ Tell us about a time you received positive feedback on your work.
☛ This work can be repetitive. What motivates you to do well?
☛ Share an example of dealing with a difficult customer/coworker at your previous jobs. What was the problem? How did you resolve it?

☛ What are you looking for in terms of Computer to Plate Operator (CTP Operator) career development?
☛ Give examples of steps taken to make each team member feel important.
☛ What is good customer service?
☛ How do you make the decision to delegate work?
☛ What kinds of situations do you find most stressful?
☛ What were the steps you needed to take to achieve goals?
☛ Tell me about an important goal that you set in the past.

Review the company's mission statement to understand how it addresses its long-term goals and the way it does business. Think of recent strong strategic examples of work you've done. Talk about your education, work history, recent career experience and future goals.

☛ Describe a recent unpopular decision you made as Computer to Plate Operator (CTP Operator)
☛ What parts of your education do you see as relevant to this Computer to Plate Operator (CTP Operator) position?
☛ What problems have you encountered at work?
☛ What were your starting and final levels of compensation?
☛ What do you do if you disagree with a co-worker?
☛ What was the most difficult period in your life, and how did you deal with it?
☛ Describe how you have balanced your academic work with your extracurricular activities.

The interviewer will not have allocated a lot of time to answer your questions so keep it short. Stay focused on what is critical to the job. Computer to Plate Operator (CTP Operator) interview questions like these demand specifics.

☛ How many words can you type per minute?
☛ How would you rate your touch typing skills?
☛ What word-processing tools have you used before?
☛ How do you ensure accuracy in your data entry?
☛ What kind of technology do you think would be helpful in your job?
☛ How would you approach handling confidential information?
☛ How would you avoid data losses?

☛ How do you keep each member of the team involved and motivated?
☛ What have you done to contribute toward a teamwork environment?
☛ Give some examples of teamwork as Computer to Plate Operator (CTP Operator).
☛ How did you assemble the information?
☛ How do you react to instruction and criticism?
☛ Try to define processes and methodologies you use in your Computer to Plate Operator (CTP Operator) job.
☛ Example when you went above and beyond the call of duty.

☛ Describe a difficult work situation and how you overcame it.
☛ Have you found any ways to make Computer to Plate Operator (CTP Operator) job easier?
☛ What kinds of decisions are most difficult for you?
☛ How did you assign priorities to jobs?
☛ What will be your key target in this Computer to Plate Operator (CTP Operator) job if we appoint you?
☛ What techniques and tools do you use to keep yourself organized?
☛ How do you get a peer or colleague to accept one of your ideas?

Remember, when you're interviewing, you are being screened for a certain skill set and cultural fit. Do your homework before you go to Computer to Plate Operator (CTP Operator) interview. Don't talk about yourself too much.

☛ What were the steps you needed to take to achieve goals?
☛ What do you believe are your key strengths?
☛ Can you describe a time when your work as Computer to Plate Operator (CTP Operator) was criticized?
☛ Do you prefer to work in a small, medium or large company?
☛ What did you like least about your last job?
☛ What do you feel is the best educational preparation for this Computer to Plate Operator (CTP Operator) job?
☛ How have you coordinated the work of your team to achieve target goals?

You can continue by describing specific examples of challenges you have met. How you respond to these Computer to Plate Operator (CTP Operator) interview questions may be a litmus test for how well you'll fit into the organization.
Think of an example where you have had to do something on your own initiative in your current job.

☛ What have you gained from your Computer to Plate Operator (CTP Operator) work experiences?
☛ Have you found any ways to make Computer to Plate Operator (CTP Operator) job easier?
☛ Tell me about how you worked effectively under pressure.
☛ What were your starting and final levels of compensation?
☛ Have you handled a difficult situation with a co-worker? How?
☛ Tell me about a time where you had to deal with conflict on the job.
☛ What do you think, would you be willing to travel for work?

The interviewer wants to see why you think you are the best person for the job. Review the company's mission statement to understand how it addresses its long-term goals and the way it does business. The response to this question usually reveals if the candidate has personal or professional goals.

The salary is an important factor to any job, however should not be the underlying reason of why you are going for a job.

A good answer to this question could be:

“the salary is attractive to me, however the job is more attractive to me.”

☛ Photosensitivity between 400 nm and 550 nm;
☛ low laser energy of 100 to 200 µJ/cm2 needed for exposure;
☛ run lengths of up to 200,000 prints;
☛ negative plate.

☛ Silverhalogen aluminium printing plates;
☛ photosensitivity between 400 nm and 700 nm;
☛ low laser energy of 1 to 2 µJ/cm2 needed for exposure;
☛ run lengths of up to 150,000 prints;
☛ resolution to 250 LPI possible;
☛ dot reproduction 1–99%;
☛ positive plate.

☛ Photosensitivity between 830 nm and 1.070 nm;
☛ high laser energy of up to 500 µJ/cm2 needed for exposure;
☛ run lengths of up to 100,000–500,000 prints;
☛ resolution to 200 LPI–400 LPI possible;
☛ dot reproduction 1–99%;
☛ high process stability;
☛ many providers;
☛ processing in the daylight possible.

Companies want to hire people who are passionate about the job. So you need to have a great answer prepared about why you want the position.

First, identify a couple of key factors that you make fit the job description, then state why you like the company. For example:

“I love the customer support because I love the human interaction and the satisfaction that comes from helping people solve problems. I have always been passionate about working in a busy, hands-on environment, so I want to be a part of this job.”

You may be someone who can handle pressure and that’s great. If you cant handle pressure that well, don’t panic. You can say something like:

“I’m sufficiently experienced to appreciate that there is only so much you can reasonably be expected to be capable of and the solution is not to panic but to remain focused on delivering your very best.”

Working in a warehouse environment especially on the run up to christmas can be stressful.

The key to formulating your answer to this question is to seize this as an opportunity to talk about a situation or an occasion where you were under pressure – and you how rose to the challenge. Try to avoid talking about an occasion when you were totally stressed out – but do acknowledge that you understand stress and are able to deal with it appropriately.

CTP has several advantages over conventional platemaking. In CTP, one generation (transfer of film image to the printing plate) is removed from the printing process (eliminating the need for film and related developer chemicals), increasing sharpness and detail. CTP avoids potential losses in quality that may occur during film processing, including scratches in the film, and variations in the exposure. An imagesetter usually has an accuracy rate of ±2%. Plates are produced in less time, are more consistent, and at a lower cost. CTP can also improve registration and image-to-edge repeatability over traditional methods.

In CTP, the media is registered (held in precise position) in the platesetter during imaging, and does not rely on a separately-aligned pin grid, as is the case with film. Defects due to dust, scratches or other artifacts are minimized.

CTP systems can significantly increase plate production outputs. Platesetters for newspaper production can output up to 300 12-inch (300 mm) plates per hour at 1,270 dpi (dots per inch), whilst for commercial applications a CTP system could output 60 B1 plates at 2,400 dpi for higher screen rulings.

Small portrait presses that typically create 1 or 2 color output can use anything from a standard laser printer, for low quality/low volume, up to a higher-end dedicated platesetter for higher quality and volume.