The modern printing industry has experienced the initial stage of lead and fire, and is striding over the laser photocopying stage and entering the new prepress field of computer direct plate making. Currently in China, laser photocopying technology is still in a leading position, and the market is still growing. However, from the trend of the global printing industry and the installation of computer-to-plate equipment in China since the 5th Beijing International Printing Exhibition this year, the development of computer-to-platemaking technology in the country is not far off.
So how does the computer-to-platemaking technology develop, and which of the thermal-sensitive computer-to-platemaking technology and the silver-salt computer-to-platemaking technology is more in line with the future direction of the printing industry? Here I would like to share the existing information with you. In the earliest days of the 20th century, the commercialization of computer-to-plate technology was applied to gravure and flexo printing, and it was applied to plain printing in 1990. The development of computer-to-plate technology has gone through two phases. The first phase, which began in about 1975, was first applied to the electrostatic plate in the concept of computer-to-plate. However, neither the resolution nor the exposure speed could meet the commercial printing needs. Seven years later, the silver salt coated polyester version was used for monochromatic low register precision printing. The second phase began in 1990. It is suitable for use in four-color commercial printing of metal lithography using silver salt technology, which has a high photographic speed. However, in the true sense of computer-to-plate technology, heat transfer or thermal cross-linked thermal printing plates were formally introduced in 1995, causing widespread concern in the printing industry. With the continuous progress of laser technology, the production of new low-cost high-energy infrared laser tubes has become possible, which further accelerates the promotion of thermal technologies.
Let us review the development trend of the global printing industry in recent years. With the continuous development of computer-to-plate technology, the entire world's printing and publishing industry is also growing rapidly. In 1999, the global printing and publishing industry, as the third largest industry in the world with 675,000 industry companies, nearly 4 million employees, and 250,000 printing plants, is itself undergoing continuous transformation, including the application and development of computer-to-plate technology. , has been recognized by the industry as the future direction of the printing industry. Vantage Strategic Market and State Street Consultants, with industry research yearbook, predict that by 2003, 18% to 25% of the global demand for printed media will come from computer-to-plate materials. The global installed capacity of computer-to-plate machines will increase from 1,435 units in 1997 to 1,1,500 units in 2003. State Street Consultants also predicts that by 2003, there will be a 53% market share for thermal platesetters in global installed capacity.
From the analysis of market share, it is not difficult to see that direct thermal plate computer technology will become the mainstream of computer-to-plate technology. But what exactly is heat-sensitive technology? Thermal technology refers to the type of energy needed to image the plate, not the processing of the plate. The image is generated by thermal energy rather than light energy. One of the more important concepts in thermal technology is that the critical value is the key to determining whether the plate is imaged or not. In other words, below the critical temperature, the plate does not generate an image and no reaction occurs. When the critical temperature is reached, the plate produces images. And when the temperature exceeds the critical temperature, which is equivalent to the overexposure in the traditional printing process, the dot size and shape that have been generated will not be affected. This fundamentally solved the inaccuracy of copying of outlets due to overexposure, inadequacy, or human factors in the traditional platemaking process. Moreover, the concept of the critical value of heat per technology is also exactly equivalent to the core concept in digital technology. Non-zero is not only a concept of "1". Whether or not the media is imaged depends only on whether or not the critical value is reached. This makes digital computer direct plate making possible.
Thermal computer direct plate making technology can be roughly divided into two categories:
(1) Thermal cross-linking;
(2) Thermal melting.
The first type is thermal cross-linked type, which is a kind of technically mature and has achieved large-scale commercial production of thermal plate. The basic composition of the plate is a roughened aluminum base plate and a thermal crosslinked material coating. The imaging principle of the plate is mainly absorbed by the infrared crosslinked material of the thermal crosslinked coating to absorb infrared energy, which is converted into heat energy, so that the crosslinked reaction occurs when the thermal crosslinked coating reaches a critical temperature, and the exposed plate is developed. A preheating process is then carried out to further promote the cross-linking cure reaction, and then developed in an alkaline developer to remove the bare part of the coating.
The second type is a hot melt type. The basic composition of this plate is a smooth aluminum plate, a hot-melt material-based ink layer, and a PVA layer (or silica gel) that does not require roughening treatment. The imaging principle is mainly to expose the printing plate with a semiconductor diode. The hot melt material of the heated part is combined with the aluminum plate base to form an ink-receptive layer, and no light part can be peeled off or blown off.
The thermal computer-to-plate making technology is still evolving. Currently, it has developed a free-run thermal plate free of chemical liquids and a waterless version without any process. From the research direction of the entire thermal computer direct plate making technology, we can see that thermal plate computer direct plate making technology is developing toward the direction of non-chemical treatment and green environmental protection. This also meets the needs of the entire printing industry for the future of green digital printing trends.
As a relatively mature, large-scale commercial production and application of computer-to-plate technology, thermal technology is increasingly accepted and accepted by customers in the printing industry. What are the outstanding features of the thermal technology that the industry calls the future direction of computer-to-plate making? I will analyze the characteristics of direct thermal plate-making technology for everyone.
(1) Brightroom operation Because of the threshold value concept I mentioned earlier, this makes it possible to operate the thermal plate under the light room, so that there is no need for special cassettes and darkrooms, and the operator can clearly control every step of the process. . For many years, printing plate-making staffs have been trying to move out of the darkroom. One of the key advantages of today's thermal technology is that the plates can be processed under bright yellow or UV-filtered white light. This freed the plate-making staff from the darkness and regained sight.
(2) Abnormal sharp dots, high resolution, and no dot gain Similarly, due to the concept of critical values ​​mentioned earlier, this concept is actually a binary exposure mode, which allows the dot size to be accurately reproduced, and the dot edge is sharp. There is almost no network expansion. After studying the thermal CTP plate, GATF found that the dot reproduction accuracy of the plate can reach 0.5 to 98%, and can reach at least 2% to 97%. This is exactly the result of the 1995 GATF survey of visible light plates. The highest range that can be achieved. The following figure 1 (slightly) are enlarged thermal plate dots and photosensitive plate dots. We can clearly see the sharpness of the edges of the thermal plate on the Internet, and the sharp edges of the dots make it possible to reproduce high-quality dots. Using thermal CTP plate, you can get 1100LPI network cable accuracy image. And when outputting 600LPI images, it can generate 1% dot. This provides a strong guarantee for the fine prints pursued by the printing industry. This feature of thermal technology has made it quickly selected by many commercial printers worldwide who are looking for quality printing.
(3) Printability of Thermal Plates Meets High-Quality Printing Requirements The thermal technology CTP plate format is very stable on the press. After the plate is on the machine, only a small amount of overprinting paper can quickly reach the ink-water balance, and this balance can be maintained during printing, and the water consumption is small. The print surface during the printing process is very clean and free of dirt concerns. The following figure 2 (slightly) is the root of the enlarging printing plate net point, we can clearly contrast, the boundary of the ink-sensitive and hydrophilic areas of the thermal plate is clear, which guarantees its excellent printability. In addition, the heat-resistant printing plate can reach 15-25 million prints without baking, and can be printed with 1 million prints after baking. It is also suitable for frosted paper printing and UV inks.
(4) Non-chemical treatment process to reduce environmental pollution Another advantage of today's thermal imaging systems is that the plate can meet the minimum and non-hazardous development requirements, as well as the development trend without development.
Because the principle of thermal imaging is different from that of photosensitive plates, on the one hand, the use of silver salts in the production of plates is avoided. On the other hand, the silver ions in rinsed chemicals are also prevented from being polluted by the environment during the processing of plates. . And the development and application of the future non-chemical liquid flush or no-clean heat-sensitive plate will further reduce the environmental pollution problem in the plate-making process.
(5) The image is very stable Because the thermal imaging technology only depends on the critical value, so the image generated on the plate after exposure is very stable, the exposed plate can be placed for up to 6 months before the development, the same Affect quality.
(6) Easy-to-use thermal CTP plate is similar to the traditional PS plate in terms of feel and processing, and it is fully applicable to the existing dampening solution and on-press plate adjustment device. This allows plate-making staff, printers can easily accept and operate this digital media, without fear of the conversion of traditional processes to digital processes.
Of course, thermal technology has many disadvantages at the same time, such as the need for high-energy laser to make up for the lack of speed. However, with the rapid development of laser technology and short-term deficiencies, it does not affect the overall advantages of thermal technology for the printing industry. Currently, there is a supply of thermal media on the market that meets the demand for rapid plate-making in the newspaper market. Its plate-making speed can reach 360 thermal plates per hour, which fundamentally changes the view that plate-making speed of thermal plates is slow. State Street surveyed printing customers in 3/4 cities in North America and found that 70% of potential buyers plan to use thermal imaging systems when limiting respondents to indicate only one type of media they like.
The future development trend of the printing and publishing industry will surely be to bid farewell to the dark room, go to the digital, remove environmental pollution, and finally achieve digital green printing. In the process of printing and publishing industry going digitally green, thermal direct computer plate making technology will undoubtedly be the best choice. (Ren Hui) ("China Packaging News and Print Weekly")
So how does the computer-to-platemaking technology develop, and which of the thermal-sensitive computer-to-platemaking technology and the silver-salt computer-to-platemaking technology is more in line with the future direction of the printing industry? Here I would like to share the existing information with you. In the earliest days of the 20th century, the commercialization of computer-to-plate technology was applied to gravure and flexo printing, and it was applied to plain printing in 1990. The development of computer-to-plate technology has gone through two phases. The first phase, which began in about 1975, was first applied to the electrostatic plate in the concept of computer-to-plate. However, neither the resolution nor the exposure speed could meet the commercial printing needs. Seven years later, the silver salt coated polyester version was used for monochromatic low register precision printing. The second phase began in 1990. It is suitable for use in four-color commercial printing of metal lithography using silver salt technology, which has a high photographic speed. However, in the true sense of computer-to-plate technology, heat transfer or thermal cross-linked thermal printing plates were formally introduced in 1995, causing widespread concern in the printing industry. With the continuous progress of laser technology, the production of new low-cost high-energy infrared laser tubes has become possible, which further accelerates the promotion of thermal technologies.
Let us review the development trend of the global printing industry in recent years. With the continuous development of computer-to-plate technology, the entire world's printing and publishing industry is also growing rapidly. In 1999, the global printing and publishing industry, as the third largest industry in the world with 675,000 industry companies, nearly 4 million employees, and 250,000 printing plants, is itself undergoing continuous transformation, including the application and development of computer-to-plate technology. , has been recognized by the industry as the future direction of the printing industry. Vantage Strategic Market and State Street Consultants, with industry research yearbook, predict that by 2003, 18% to 25% of the global demand for printed media will come from computer-to-plate materials. The global installed capacity of computer-to-plate machines will increase from 1,435 units in 1997 to 1,1,500 units in 2003. State Street Consultants also predicts that by 2003, there will be a 53% market share for thermal platesetters in global installed capacity.
From the analysis of market share, it is not difficult to see that direct thermal plate computer technology will become the mainstream of computer-to-plate technology. But what exactly is heat-sensitive technology? Thermal technology refers to the type of energy needed to image the plate, not the processing of the plate. The image is generated by thermal energy rather than light energy. One of the more important concepts in thermal technology is that the critical value is the key to determining whether the plate is imaged or not. In other words, below the critical temperature, the plate does not generate an image and no reaction occurs. When the critical temperature is reached, the plate produces images. And when the temperature exceeds the critical temperature, which is equivalent to the overexposure in the traditional printing process, the dot size and shape that have been generated will not be affected. This fundamentally solved the inaccuracy of copying of outlets due to overexposure, inadequacy, or human factors in the traditional platemaking process. Moreover, the concept of the critical value of heat per technology is also exactly equivalent to the core concept in digital technology. Non-zero is not only a concept of "1". Whether or not the media is imaged depends only on whether or not the critical value is reached. This makes digital computer direct plate making possible.
Thermal computer direct plate making technology can be roughly divided into two categories:
(1) Thermal cross-linking;
(2) Thermal melting.
The first type is thermal cross-linked type, which is a kind of technically mature and has achieved large-scale commercial production of thermal plate. The basic composition of the plate is a roughened aluminum base plate and a thermal crosslinked material coating. The imaging principle of the plate is mainly absorbed by the infrared crosslinked material of the thermal crosslinked coating to absorb infrared energy, which is converted into heat energy, so that the crosslinked reaction occurs when the thermal crosslinked coating reaches a critical temperature, and the exposed plate is developed. A preheating process is then carried out to further promote the cross-linking cure reaction, and then developed in an alkaline developer to remove the bare part of the coating.
The second type is a hot melt type. The basic composition of this plate is a smooth aluminum plate, a hot-melt material-based ink layer, and a PVA layer (or silica gel) that does not require roughening treatment. The imaging principle is mainly to expose the printing plate with a semiconductor diode. The hot melt material of the heated part is combined with the aluminum plate base to form an ink-receptive layer, and no light part can be peeled off or blown off.
The thermal computer-to-plate making technology is still evolving. Currently, it has developed a free-run thermal plate free of chemical liquids and a waterless version without any process. From the research direction of the entire thermal computer direct plate making technology, we can see that thermal plate computer direct plate making technology is developing toward the direction of non-chemical treatment and green environmental protection. This also meets the needs of the entire printing industry for the future of green digital printing trends.
As a relatively mature, large-scale commercial production and application of computer-to-plate technology, thermal technology is increasingly accepted and accepted by customers in the printing industry. What are the outstanding features of the thermal technology that the industry calls the future direction of computer-to-plate making? I will analyze the characteristics of direct thermal plate-making technology for everyone.
(1) Brightroom operation Because of the threshold value concept I mentioned earlier, this makes it possible to operate the thermal plate under the light room, so that there is no need for special cassettes and darkrooms, and the operator can clearly control every step of the process. . For many years, printing plate-making staffs have been trying to move out of the darkroom. One of the key advantages of today's thermal technology is that the plates can be processed under bright yellow or UV-filtered white light. This freed the plate-making staff from the darkness and regained sight.
(2) Abnormal sharp dots, high resolution, and no dot gain Similarly, due to the concept of critical values ​​mentioned earlier, this concept is actually a binary exposure mode, which allows the dot size to be accurately reproduced, and the dot edge is sharp. There is almost no network expansion. After studying the thermal CTP plate, GATF found that the dot reproduction accuracy of the plate can reach 0.5 to 98%, and can reach at least 2% to 97%. This is exactly the result of the 1995 GATF survey of visible light plates. The highest range that can be achieved. The following figure 1 (slightly) are enlarged thermal plate dots and photosensitive plate dots. We can clearly see the sharpness of the edges of the thermal plate on the Internet, and the sharp edges of the dots make it possible to reproduce high-quality dots. Using thermal CTP plate, you can get 1100LPI network cable accuracy image. And when outputting 600LPI images, it can generate 1% dot. This provides a strong guarantee for the fine prints pursued by the printing industry. This feature of thermal technology has made it quickly selected by many commercial printers worldwide who are looking for quality printing.
(3) Printability of Thermal Plates Meets High-Quality Printing Requirements The thermal technology CTP plate format is very stable on the press. After the plate is on the machine, only a small amount of overprinting paper can quickly reach the ink-water balance, and this balance can be maintained during printing, and the water consumption is small. The print surface during the printing process is very clean and free of dirt concerns. The following figure 2 (slightly) is the root of the enlarging printing plate net point, we can clearly contrast, the boundary of the ink-sensitive and hydrophilic areas of the thermal plate is clear, which guarantees its excellent printability. In addition, the heat-resistant printing plate can reach 15-25 million prints without baking, and can be printed with 1 million prints after baking. It is also suitable for frosted paper printing and UV inks.
(4) Non-chemical treatment process to reduce environmental pollution Another advantage of today's thermal imaging systems is that the plate can meet the minimum and non-hazardous development requirements, as well as the development trend without development.
Because the principle of thermal imaging is different from that of photosensitive plates, on the one hand, the use of silver salts in the production of plates is avoided. On the other hand, the silver ions in rinsed chemicals are also prevented from being polluted by the environment during the processing of plates. . And the development and application of the future non-chemical liquid flush or no-clean heat-sensitive plate will further reduce the environmental pollution problem in the plate-making process.
(5) The image is very stable Because the thermal imaging technology only depends on the critical value, so the image generated on the plate after exposure is very stable, the exposed plate can be placed for up to 6 months before the development, the same Affect quality.
(6) Easy-to-use thermal CTP plate is similar to the traditional PS plate in terms of feel and processing, and it is fully applicable to the existing dampening solution and on-press plate adjustment device. This allows plate-making staff, printers can easily accept and operate this digital media, without fear of the conversion of traditional processes to digital processes.
Of course, thermal technology has many disadvantages at the same time, such as the need for high-energy laser to make up for the lack of speed. However, with the rapid development of laser technology and short-term deficiencies, it does not affect the overall advantages of thermal technology for the printing industry. Currently, there is a supply of thermal media on the market that meets the demand for rapid plate-making in the newspaper market. Its plate-making speed can reach 360 thermal plates per hour, which fundamentally changes the view that plate-making speed of thermal plates is slow. State Street surveyed printing customers in 3/4 cities in North America and found that 70% of potential buyers plan to use thermal imaging systems when limiting respondents to indicate only one type of media they like.
The future development trend of the printing and publishing industry will surely be to bid farewell to the dark room, go to the digital, remove environmental pollution, and finally achieve digital green printing. In the process of printing and publishing industry going digitally green, thermal direct computer plate making technology will undoubtedly be the best choice. (Ren Hui) ("China Packaging News and Print Weekly")
Manager, the person in charge of company's daily management and administrative affairs, or maybe he/she is just the leader of a team. Sometimes they may have their own office, sometimes maybe not, so the mid back chairs are suitable for managers to use when they are at work. Manager Chair should be comfortable and concise, multi-functional is the best. When they sit on it, they can focus on their work; when they are tired, they can relax on the chair.
Manager Chair
Manager Chair,Mesh Manager Chair,Plastic Manager Chair,Leather Manager Chair
Hangjian Industrial (Heshan) Co., Ltd. , http://www.hangjianofficefurniture.com