Photography – Fluid-treating apparatus – Having testing – calibration – or indicating
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-16
2001-11-13
Rutledge, D (Department: 2851)
Photography
Fluid-treating apparatus
Having testing, calibration, or indicating
C396S626000, C396S611000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06315467
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for developing a photosensitive resin composition supported on a substrate used in the production of a lithographic printing plate, a printed wiring substrate or an integrated circuit. In particular, the present invention relates to a developing method and a development processing apparatus, where a material having a plurality of photosensitive resin composition sheets can be stably processed using an automatic developing machine. More specifically, the present invention relates to a developing method and a development processing apparatus, where a lithographic printing plate precursor such as PS plate can be stably developed in the plate-making process.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to a plate-making method of a heat mode-type photosensitive image recording material which can be used as an offset printing master. In particular, the present invention relates to a plate-making method of a lithographic printing plate having a photosensitive layer comprising an infrared laser use positive photosensitive composition, which can be used in the so-called direct plate-making process of directly producing a printing plate based on digital signals of a computer or the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the production of a lithographic printing plate precursor, a printed wiring substrate or an integrated circuit, such as photosensitive lithographic printing plate (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as “PS plate”), the step of developing a layer of a material having a photosensitive resin composition provided on a substrate generally proceeds in such a manner that a part of the photosensitive resin composition of a printing plate precursor including a photosensitive lithographic printing plate precursor dissolves out into an alkali developer and thereby the development is performed. Therefore, the alkaline developer in the development tank diminishes in the activity due to the consumption of the alkali agent component. Even at the dead time where the development of the printing plate precursor or the like is not performed, the surface of the developer is always contacting with air and the developer absorbs carbon dioxide gas in air, as a result, the alkali agent component contained in the developer is consumed and the activity similarly decreases. In other words, the processing exhaustion occurring with the development of a photosensitive resin composition of a printing plate precursor or the like and the aging deterioration (or aging exhaustion) caused by the contacting of the developer with air simultaneously proceed more or less in the development processing apparatus. If the deterioration proceeds over a certain level, the development cannot be properly performed, therefore, a method of performing the development while preventing the deterioration by appropriately supplying a development replenisher is usually used.
For preventing the developer from diminishing in the activity, a method of supplying a replenisher containing an alkali agent or a buffer in a higher concentration than the developer in the development tank and thereby compensating the alkali consumption is usually used. This replenishing method is necessary for stably developing a large amount of a light-sensitive resin composition using a development processing apparatus but this method has the following problems.
1) Along with the replenishment, an overflow is discharged from the development tank and works out to a development waste solution which cannot be exhausted into sewage, therefore, means for treating the waste solution is necessary. The treatment of waste solution costs high and the treatment itself has an impact on the environment.
2) In addition to the above-described problem, the replenishment is accompanied by useless discharge of the developer components such as alkali agent and this imposes a burden in view of profitability.
3) The photosensitive resin composition dissolved out into the developer precipitates in the developer having a high salt concentration and adheres to the transportation system such as roller to cause abnormal transferability in the development processing apparatus or stopping of the development processing apparatus. Furthermore, the development processing apparatus is stopped at the time of removing the precipitate by cleaning the apparatus, therefore, the productivity decreases and additional labors and times are necessary for the cleaning operation.
4) The chemicals added as an alkali agent or a buffer (e.g., silicate, phosphate) increase the salt concentration and the components dissolved out from the photosensitive resin composition readily precipitate in the transportation system or a tank (particularly in the case of silicate).
For overcoming the problems 1) and 2) above, it may be considered to add only necessary components and thereby reduce the loss by the overflow. For adding only the necessary components, a method of adding the components consumed directly to the developer on use may be thought out. Although the problems 1) and 2) may be solved to a certain extent by this method, the problems in the replenishment cannot be substantially solved, because the dissolution of developer takes a time to cause troubles and in the case of problems 3) and 4), the problems are more intensified.
A technique of dipping an inactive electrode in an aqueous solution of neutral salt and causing electrolysis of water to generate hydrogen ion in the anode and hydroxy ion in the cathode is well known. The electrolysis of water does not elevate the salt concentration, therefore, this seems to be more preferred as a means for overcoming the problems 1) and 2). Actually, it is known to use the hydroxy ion generated in the cathode for increasing the pH of a developer used in the processing of a silver halide photographic material.
However, feeding of an alkali agent utilizing the electrolysis is generally not used in the development of a material having a photosensitive resin composition, such as a photosensitive material for printing, where photolysis of quinonediazide or diazo coupling of a diazonium salt is used. This seems to be ascribable to the following reasons. Although it is called a developer, the developer for materials having a photosensitive resin composition is fundamentally different in the composition from the developer for silver halide light-sensitive materials. The developer for materials having a photosensitive resin composition contains organic polymer components water-solubilized and dissolved out from the photosensitive resin composition or contains siloxane-based resin components dissolved out from the aluminum printing plate precursor, therefore, poisoning of the electrode, namely, organic contamination is caused. Then, it is duty expected that the electrolysis operation cannot be stably continued.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,541,488 discloses a diazo image formation method of forming a dye by the diazo coupling reaction using hydroxy ion generated on the electrolysis. Differently from the developer, this method is realized in a newly prepared reaction system not having organic and inorganic resin components and free of a fear for poisoning. This system is different from the photosensitive resin composition as an object of the present invention.
The development of a material having a photosensitive resin composition accompanied with replenishment has another problem that when the replenishment is controlled using the pH as usual, high precision of replenishment cannot be satisfactorily maintained. The developer for materials having a photosensitive resin composition is designed to maintain a low salt concentration and a high pH in practice so as to accelerate the dissolving out of unnecessary composition components. Accordingly, generation of even a slight amount of hydroxy ion or hydrogen ion in the developer affects the performance of the developer. Nevertheless, due to the high pH of developer, the pH insensibly responds to the fluctuation in the alkali component concentration.
Nakamura Takashi
Oishi Chikashi
Sasayama Hiroyuki
Takamiya Shuichi
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Rutledge D
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
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