Waterless version of the water development system and process

Taking Toray's waterless version as an example, its structure is multi-laminated and the bottom layer is aluminum-based, and a layer of photosensitive polymer material (thermosensitive layer) is coated on it. The top layer is 2 micron thick silicone rubber layer. When exposed, the amount of light is controlled so that the light penetrates the silica gel layer onto the intermediate photopolymer layer. After exposure, the silica gel (image section) was removed and the plate was developed. The printing plate is placed in a dedicated waterless automatic plate processor "target="_blank"> in the plate making machine. The process of stencil printing is divided into four steps: pretreatment, water washing, post-processing and re-washing.

Waterless version of the water development system and process

In the pretreatment, the pretreatment liquid is used to break the interface between the photosensitive layer of the photosensitive portion and the silicone layer, and then the surface of the printing plate is brushed with a brush, the silicone layer of the photosensitive portion is peeled off, and the residual pretreatment liquid is rinsed clean. Post-processing is to color the exposed text part to improve the inspection effect of the printing plate. Finally, the plate is re-washed to remove excess dye material.

The device for waterless plate development is different from the conventional developing device in that it applies special chemical reagents and processes the mechanical structure of the printing plate. The treated plate is an ink-repellant silicone layer in the non-graphic area. In the graphic area, the silicone layer has been removed leaving the ink-imprinted photopolymerizable material.