Digital Edition Technology Applied in CTP Plate Making

The best digital version is the first to use high-quality graining and anodizing aluminum-based plate base. This technology has been proven from the use of the regular version. For higher quality plates, high-quality electrochemical sanding and anodizing can ensure strong printability, stable ink and water balance, and high quality prints. The important thing is to make the performance of the press predictable.

The second problem is the apparent coating. Many conventional plates may have only one coating, while digital plates have multiple layers. The chemical element materials used in these coatings determine the laser wavelength sensitivity and are suitable for different printing applications. In the 1980s, these high-sensitivity plate coatings began to invest in research.

The plate coating can be physically or chemically exposed by laser exposure, and each exposure step is very important to any plate. Earlier CTP suppliers believed that thermal exposure could not be exposed, but for all media suppliers, this assumption is no more than a hypothetical one. In fact, the thermal plate requires precise exposure control in order to achieve the best reduction. As with other types of CTP plates and conventional plates, the plate manufacturer recommends using a prescribed exposure for optimal exposure. High-resolution imaging is a very delicate technique that requires strict control, while both the platesetter and the plate must be stable. Once printers choose their favorite CTP technology and suppliers, they will not generally choose the conventional platemaking process.

After the plate is properly imaged, it is developed. For the digital version, there is preheating before development. Pre-heating is commonly used in photopolymerization technology, such as Fuji, Agfa photopolymerization, but also for some thermal plates. Pre-heating is the use of additional energy (which can have several kilowatts) and additional steps, often seen as image enhancement "stages." Preheating has not become a problem for the sale of plates or equipment. For suppliers, the main problem is to ensure the stability and predictability of equipment, and who can meet these conditions who will become the mall winner. Today's CTP market is flourishing. Its purpose is to meet the needs of various printing processes. The thirteen major CTP technology mainstream silver halide, thermal and photopolymerization, the three Park CTP technology have been verified through different manufacturers.

The silver halide CTP plate (MPM or Agfa) has a print resistance of 350,000 prints or more. It is more popular in newspapers and commercial-CTP markets. It has high quality advantages and is equivalent to a heat-sensitive plate to some extent. Can be matched with new purple laser diodes. The silver salt version is still the fastest digital imaging technology with the highest sensitivity, and it is sensitive to any nearby wavelengths. However, silver halide plate manufacturers are not willing to recommend the silver salt plate for long printing, nor will they be recommended for UV printing. Again, there is no digital technology that can meet the needs of various fields.

The thermal plate has a high resolution, which is different from the silver salt plate. After the thermal plate is baked, it can meet the long printing process requirements of the long printing process or the corrosive printing conditions (female UV). The thermal plate has been accepted by many printers and can meet the needs of the printing industry, but there are also some unsatisfactory areas. For example, thermal CTP has tried to show its strength in the newspaper market, but in fact the newspaper CTP installed Most of them are called 'light devices' (or referred to as 'non-thermal' CTP's), and their ten reasons are various. The fast visible CTP (plate media sensitivity is much faster than the thermal plate) means that Fast Press CTP devices are more compatible with silver salt and photopolymer plates, but the thermal plates cannot be compatible with violet CTP devices.

Photopolymerization is used for newspapers but it has also achieved some success in some areas of commercial printing. In terms of resolution, the photopolymerization plate is arranged behind the silver salt and the thermal plate, so the photopolymer plate is not the best choice for high-quality printing. For example, Agfa's N9l photopolymer version has the highest resolution of 1751 pi, while both the thermal and silver salt versions can be imaged at 2001 pi (or higher). Of course, the photopolymerization version has earned its reputation in the field of resistance and mechanics: for latitude, which may be its original reputation in the newspaper CTP market. So what is the heat-sensitiveness for newspapers? This is related to the advantages of thermal technology: high-resolution, after-printing printing of over 1 million prints, under sunlight, suitable for manual platemaking machines. These advantages are all very attractive, but they are not related to the newspaper industry. Why is heat sensitive so favored? Because every CTP technology has a certain advantage and. Suitable for certain printing fields, they do not have any kind of CTP technology to meet all printing job requirements.