No-flush CTP plate application solution
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With the concept of green printing gradually becoming popular, the choice of green materials and the adoption of clean production methods have become the main measures for printing companies to implement green printing. Our company has long recognized the importance of green printing. Combining with the actual situation of the company, we started from the three aspects of prepress, India and India, and launched a green strategy. Introducing the flush-free CTP plate is our prepress green strategy. An important part of it.
Introduction of no-rinse CTP plate
The prepress pollution sources of printing companies are mainly the large amount of development and stencil waste generated during the plate making process. There are two ways to solve such pollution: one is to reduce the amount of development and stencil waste in the production process through technical transformation; the other is to reduce the amount of CTP emissions through new technologies and processes.
In the rushing section, by adding the rushing water circulation processing equipment, the amount of stencil water can be greatly reduced, and the purpose of reducing pollution and reducing emissions can be achieved. In theory, only when the production process does not produce pollution, can we truly achieve clean production. Through technological transformation, we can only reduce the occurrence of pollution, and we must not completely eliminate pollution. So, how to make the production process not polluting? Using the flush-free CTP plate is one of the feasible solutions to solve such problems. The advantages of the flush-free CTP plate compared to the conventional CTP plate are shown in Table 1.
In order to further improve the environmental protection level of prepress production, our company decided to introduce a flush-free CTP plate.
Our company has cooperated with Kodak for many years, and the CTP equipment currently used is Kodak's products. In 2014, our company learned that the first Tenggeri flush-free CTP plate production line of Kodak's Xiamen plant was officially put into production, so we conducted detailed consultation and finally introduced Kodak flush-free CTP plate. Subsequently, Kodak sent engineers and technicians to our company to debug the laser energy of CTP equipment, establish the emission curve of the flush-free CTP plate and conduct small-scale trial tests (such as printing resistance, dot reduction, etc.).
Precautions for using no-rinse CTP media
The flush-free CTP plate adopts the negative pattern exposure mode. Before the official use, the laser energy must be adjusted and tested on the original CTP device to find the exposure curve suitable for the flush-free CTP plate, and the parameters for the no-rinse CTP plate are completed. Settings.
There is a difference between the operation mode of the flush-free CTP plate and the ordinary CTP plate. After the flush-free CTP plate is finished, it needs to be fully wetted by the dampening solution (about 10 turns of the water roller). After the pressure is pressed, the adhesive tape in the non-inking zone is taken away by the plate paper, and the "development" is finally completed.
It is this simple process that subverts the traditional process of sizing, eliminating the wastes generated by the traditional plate making process, such as developer, stenciling water and various polluting gases generated by chemical reactions during the plate making process. Thereby achieving the purpose of environmental protection.
There is a difference between the flush-free CTP plate and the ordinary CTP plate, so the precautions in the use process are different. According to our company's experience, we must pay special attention to the following aspects.
1. Exposure time
Try not to expose the CTP plate for free for long periods of time in daylight. If the exposure is unavoidable, the exposure time in daylight can not exceed 1 hour for plates that have been finished. Therefore, it is best to use the instant production method when making plates, that is, arrange the flush-free CTP plates for about half an hour before the machine.
2. Storage
After using it for a while, our company summarized some storage methods for the flush-free CTP plates. One is to make a special wooden box for flushing CTP plates, apply non-reflective paint inside the wooden box, and cover the built-in cover to protect from light. The second is to simply modify the carton that originally stored the CTP plate: add opaque double-layer black paper (in the original carton) at the opening of the carton. Both methods can save the flush-free CTP plates that have not been put on the machine in time for 2 to 3 days.
3. Loading version
In the process of flush-free CTP plate printing and machine-mounted version, try to avoid grabbing by hand, because it is easy to make the fingerprint on the surface of the printing plate, so it is best to wear gloves when handling.
4. Change edition
When the long version is printed, there is a significant shortage of the flush-free CTP plate if the dot loss or the paste is required to be changed during the development process. Because it is developed by the fountain solution and the ink roller of the printing machine, the plate changing is likely to cause a large area of the non-inking area to be dirty (the ink roller contains ink), which is difficult to handle and causes some loss and inconvenient. So pay special attention.
5. Operating habits
Ordinary CTP plates can be directly loaded after development, stenciling and gluing. However, the flush-free CTP plate needs to be dampened with water roller, that is, the water roller is used first, and the plate is dampened for 2 to 3 minutes (the dampening time will affect the removal rate of the excess glue layer, and the best data should be explored through the machine) Then, the emulsified adhesive layer is transferred onto the overprint paper by the inking roller to complete the development. This operation mode changes the original operating habits of the printing operators. This transitional stage often encounters certain difficulties, but we can enhance employees' awareness of environmental protection and their long-term survival and development through daily publicity and training. Employees consciously abide by the relevant requirements of green printing during the printing process, reduce the operational difficulty of new processes and new operating technologies, and shorten the running-in period in actual production by simplifying, improving and perfecting the operating procedures.
Correct understanding of the shortage of flush-free CTP plates
For the time being, after the no-flush CTP plate is made into a flush-free CTP plate, there are still some shortcomings compared with the ordinary CTP plate, as shown in Table 2. But in the long run, it is the future development trend and direction. Moreover, the shortcomings of its existence can be improved through some measures. Here, the author talks about his own ideas in the following aspects.
1. Printing resistance
Print-resistance is one of the biggest obstacles restricting the use of flush-free CTP plates. In order to improve its print durability, suppliers have made great efforts and achieved certain results, but compared with ordinary CTP plates, The print durability of flushing CTP plates has yet to be improved. According to our company's experience, through the improvement of the photosensitive adhesive, the purpose of improving the printing durability can be achieved. In the future, suppliers and printing companies will also need to work together to solve this problem.
2. Baked version
At present, the flush-free CTP plate cannot be baked, and the problem can be solved by adjusting the formulation of the photoresist in the future. But the solution to this technical problem still requires a process.
3. Storage
The storage time of the flush-free CTP plate is relatively short, which hinders its wide application to a certain extent, but this is not an unsolvable problem. By continuously improving and improving the plate-making process route and scheme of the flush-free CTP plate, the printing company can realize instant ordering and instant printing.
4. Cost of use
At present, the flush-free CTP plate has not been fully used in our company. As far as the current situation is concerned, the price is slightly higher than the price of the ordinary CTP plate, and the plate per square meter is about 2 to 3 yuan higher. This high portion is completely negligible compared to the later processing costs of ordinary CTP plates. In the future, if the flush-free CTP plate completely replaces the ordinary CTP plate, the development waste liquid can be reduced by about 10 tons per year. If the treatment cost per ton of waste liquid is calculated at 8,000 yuan, the waste disposal cost can be saved by about 80,000 yuan a year. Coupled with the cost of purchasing developer, plated water and protective glue, it can save about 200,000 yuan per year.
The use of no-flush CTP plates can reduce or even eliminate pre-press waste (developer, plated water, protective glue, etc.), which is in line with the development requirements of green printing. Although there are still some problems to be solved in the current flush-free CTP plate, suppliers and printing companies are actively exploring. I believe that with the joint efforts of all of you, the day of the flush-free CTP plate will be on the horizon. Let us Wait and see!