Computer to Film is a print workflow involving the printing from a computer, straight to film. This film is then burned onto a lithographic plate, using a plate burner

Plate burner

A plate burner is part of the CTF print workflow. In a CTF workflow, a sheet of light sensitive film is imaged directly from a RIP. The film must then be developed immediately after wards. This film is then placed onto a printing plate, on the plate burner. Registration of the plate and film is...

. The plate is then put on an offset printing

Offset printing

Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface...

 press to make a product (usually thousands of copies). This process requires a clean environment, skilled workers, and a well thought out proofing system / workflow to maximize quality.

CTF is being replaced with the more advanced CTP (Computer to Plate)

Computer to plate

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

technology.