Rather like the magazine printing industry, the production process for stainless steel press plates has undergone a major revolution in recent years as the computer age has made its presence felt. Sesa, headquartered in Olgiate Olona, northwest of Milan, says it has always aimed to be at the forefront of the production technology for, and the design of, press plates for the decorative surfaces industry. In pursuit of better production technology, the company completed a switch-over from the old chemical photo-processes to a digital system for transferring designs to press plates in May of this year. "We now work in digital files and transfer the image directly on to the plate; there is no more use of film," explained chief executive Marco Santori. "This has enabled us to make a technological leap with a precision in the detail which was not possible before. We are also able to create very nice finishes with eight or ten steps of etching to give an incredibly realistic finish." The system involves scanning an original surface and splitting it into digital files. The design is then reproduced directly on to the plate in a similar process to that used by printers. "This means we can produce 'Embossed in Register', or 'EIR' [a registered trademark of Sesa] finishes with absolute precision," said Mr Santori. This, he explained, is because the computer is able to adjust the position of the image, whereas it used to be necessary to move the film around by hand-and-eye coordination to get the accurate alignment essential to EIR. Manual repair of plates using a magnifying glass has also been eliminated by the new high-tech process. "We first trialled the system in early 2004 and we now have four digital lines - three for production and one for producing samples. We kept the old system running in parallel until May and then completed the switch-over and destroyed the old plant," said Mr Santori. He also claimed another, environmental, advantage for the digital process, in that it meant his company was able to stop using the chemicals required by the old film-based process. "Our graphic development and our laboratory have been transferred to a new building and we have purchased a new, larger, press that enables us to produce a finished plank size rather than a 400x400mm or 500x500mm sample," explained Mr Santori. "On this press we can produce the minimum quantity of square metres of a new design that the customer requires, for an exhibition or whatever, and after approval of the design, we can produce the full-size plate for them. "So, rather than investing in a full-size plate at the initial stage, the customer buys a 600x1800mm plate and rents the pilot line from us. With maybe 10 or 12 new designs a year for a customer, this represents a considerable saving for them compared with buying full-size plates. "We still produce the 400x400mm or 500x500mm test plate but then the customer has this intermediate size of 600x1800mm. It's a service we offer." Much of the previous technology still remains in use for actual plate production of course. For instance, the chemical etching to engrave the plate, mechanical polishing of the engraved plate and chrome plating to give it wear resistance. Sesa's main market is in Europe, with Germany a particularly important source of business, although Spain, France and Italy are also important. Then there is Russia and Asia - especially India. In 2000, Sesa set up a subsidiary company in India where it refurbishes plates for the Asian market. The company, Sesa-MSF, has its office in New Delhi and factory in Neemrana, 120km south of that city. Last year (2006), the company doubled in size, expanding its market from domestic customers to those in surrounding countries. In fact, reported Mr Santori, 2006 was a very good year for the Sesa company as a whole - much better than 2005 - and he is expecting a very good 2007. Sesa SpA was established in 1950 by Mr Santori's father Antonio and a partner, but has been in the Santori family's sole ownership since 1970. The third generation - in the form of Mr Santori's eldest son - has joined the business and, having trained throughout the company, is now production manager at Olgiate Olona. "We have continued our mission since we began in the press plate business to make plates as good as we possibly can make them," said Mr Santori. "We have continually demonstrated to customers that we can reproduce any kind of surface; our solutions are unlimited. Of course the plate has also to be produced at a reasonable price, but we are confident that we can achieve continuous improvement with contained costs, due largely to our new technology." Sesa produced its first EIR floor tile at the Surfaces exhibition in Las Vegas, US, in 1999 and is now in the fourth generation of EIR finishes - and no longer just for floor tiles, but for any kind of finish, said the chief executive. The secret of EIR is that the surface does not just look realistic, but feels realistic as well. Time moves on and at Surfaces 2007, one of Sesa's finishes won the 'National Floor Trends Styling Excellence Award and Dealer's Choice'. "Everybody was amazed when we produced those first tiles and thought it was not practical in large-scale production, but now everybody has EIR textures in their range," said Mr Santori. "Now we are pushing hard to transfer the concept to the furniture business and have taken the first steps in that market. We exhibited our first EIR surfaces for furniture at a private gala presentation in Milan in 2004." Sesa exhibited at the Interzum exhibition in Cologne, Germany, in May this year and all the finishes presented there were protected by copyright for the first time, with around 40 new designs. Of course the company works very closely with the decor paper printing companies and often exhibits designs in cooperation with companies such as Interprint, Schattdecor, Süddekor and Lamigraf, to name but a few. "Sometimes we are responsible for 90% of the creation of a texture but it varies from case to case," said Mr Santori. Successful realisation of EIR obviously requires not just printers, but press manufacturers and their accurate alignment systems if it is to work and so Sesa also works closely with those manufacturers. So the history of decorative press plates has been exciting, but what about the future? "We can't predict the future but can only try to be one of the wheels going into the future in a good way and leaving something on the record as to what we have achieved. We have always participated very actively in the development of the laminate industry generally: high pressure laminate, low pressure, flooring, every aspect of the industry," concluded Mr Santori.