Computer-to-plate by ink jet

Details Computer-to-plate by ink jet Computer-to-plate by ink jet

2001-05-23

2002-10-01

Funk, Stephen R. (Department: 2854)

Printing

Planographic

Lithographic plate making, and processes of making or using...

Reexamination Certificate

active

06457413

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for the preparation of a lithographic printing plate by means of ink jet printing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Traditional techniques of printing include letterpress printing, gravure printing and offset lithography. All of these printing methods require a plate, usually loaded onto a plate cylinder of a rotary press for efficiency, to transfer ink in the pattern of the image. In letterpress printing, the image pattern is represented on the plate in the form of raised areas that accept ink and transfer it onto the recording medium by impression. Gravure printing cylinders, in contrast, contain series of wells or indentations that accept ink for deposit onto the recording medium.
In the case of traditional offset lithography the image to be printed is present on a plate as a pattern of ink accepting (oleophilic) areas on an ink repellent (oleophobic or hydrophilic) background. In the wet system the required ink repellency is provided by an initial application of a dampening (or “fountain) solution prior to inking. Conventional presensitized lithographic printing plates bear a UV sensitive coating based on photopolymer or diazonium chemistry. The plates have to be UV-exposed through a mask carrying the image. The mask is a graphic arts film prepared by photographic techniques based on silver halide chemistry and involving exposure by a camera or by an image-setter, and further involving wet processing. Depending on the type of plate used (negative or positive) the non-image areas or the image areas are solubilized thereby differentiating the plate into oleophilic and hydrophilic areas. A disadvantage of this traditional method is the necessary cumbersome preparation of the photographic intermediate film involving wet processing. A further drawback is the wet processing of the printing plate itself.
With the advent of the computer in revolutionizing the graphics design process leading to printing, there have been extensive efforts to develop a convenient and inexpensive computer-to-plate system wherein a photographic intermediate is no longer required. In recent years some of these systems are introduced into the market based on different chemical systems and exposure methods. For instance, the SETPRTINT material, trade mark of Agfa-Gevaert N.V. is based on silver halide DTR chemistry and consists of a polyethylene terephthalate base carrying a photographic coating which after photo-mode exposure and processing produces complementary oleophilic and hydrophilic areas. Another system based on photo-mode exposure but with a hydrophilic aluminum base is LITHOSTAR, trade mark of Agfa-Gevaert N.V.. A system based on heat mode exposure by means of an intense infra-red laser is called THERMOSTAR, also a trade mark of Agfa-Gevaert N.V..
Many of the new computer-to-plate system are large, complex, and expensive. They are designed for use by large printing companies as a means to streamline the prepress process of their printing operations and to take advantage of the rapid exchange and response to the digital information of graphics designs provided by their customers. There remains a strong need for an economical and efficient computer-to-plate system for the many smaller printers who utilize lithographic printing.
A number of electronic, non-impact printing systems have been investigated for use in making lithographic printing plates to satisfy the needs of these smaller printers. Foremost among these have been laser printing systems, for example as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,443 and references therein. Another non-impact printing system which has received attention for economical and convenient computer-to-plate preparation for lithographic printing is thermal transfer printing, for example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,564.
In recent years, ink jet printers have replaced laser printers as the most popular hard copy output printers for computers. Some of the competitive advantages of ink jet printers are low cost and reliability. The ink jet printing system is a relatively rapid image output system and has a simple construction because it does not require any complex optical system. In recent times, there have been some reports in the literature proposing the use of ink jet printers to make lithographic printing plates.
In Japanese Kokai 62-25081, an oleophilic liquid or fluid ink was printed by ink jet printing onto a hydrophilic aluminum surface of a lithographic printing plate. Titanate or silane coupling agents were present in the ink.
An ink jet printing apparatus to make lithographic printing plates is described in PCT WO 94/11191. It is directed to depositing hydrophobic or hydrophilic substances on hydrophobic printing plates.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,150, a fluid ink and hydrophilic media set containing materials to produce a silver-reducible image by ink jet printing are used to make a metallic silver image which, following wet processing to make the silver image sufficiently hydrophobic, is said to provide a lithographic printing plate.
Ink jet printing wherein the ink is a solid or phase change type ink instead of a liquid or fluid type ink is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,486 to deposit a hot wax on a surface of an offset plate. Upon cooling of the wax, it solidifies, thereby providing a printing plate. Solid ink jet printing has serious disadvantages for lithographic plates in that the wax or resin image has limited durability due to its thermoplastic, chemical, and adhesive properties and the amount and rounded shape of the solidified ink jet droplet on the media do not have the intrinsic image resolution properties found in liquid ink jet printing.
There is also prior art in the use of ink jet printing to apply an opaque image or mask pattern to a photosensitive lithographic printing plate blank, as for example, in Japanese Kokai 63-109,052. The blank is then exposed through the ink jet imaged mask pattern and then processed by conventional means to provide a lithographic printing plate. This approach retains the materials and processing of conventional lithographic printing plates and only uses ink jet printing as an alternative for the photomask through which the conventional plates are exposed. Thus this approach adds to the complexity and expense of the platemaking process and does not depend on the ink jet ink image for the hydrophobic image of the plate. U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,803 describes a solid or phase change type of ink jet printing to form a photomask for a printing plate.
As a further example of the methods for preparing printing plates by using the ink jet printing system, Japanese Kokai Publication 113456/1981 proposes methods for preparing printing plates whereby ink-repelling materials (e.g. curable silicones) are printed on a printing plate by ink jet printing. The printing plate obtained by this method is an intaglio printing plate in which the ink-repelling material formed on the surface of the substrate serves as a non-image part. As a result, the resolution of the printed images at shadow area or reversed lines is not so good. Moreover, a large amount of ink is needed in this method because the ink-repelling material must be deposited on the whole non-image part which occupies most of the surface of the printing plate, thereby delaying the printing process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5 511 477 discloses a method for the production of photopolymeric relief-type printing plates comprising: forming a positive or a negative image on a substrate by ink jet printing with a photopolymeric ink composition, optionally preheated to a temperature of about 30°-260° C., and subjecting the resulting printed substrate to UV radiation, thereby curing said ink composition forming said image. This is an obnoxious method due to the sometimes high vapour pressure and toxicity of said inks.
U.S. Pat. No. 5 312 654 discloses a method for making lithographic printing plates comprising: forming an image on a substrate having an ink absorbing layer and a hydrophilized layer between the substrate and the absorb

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