Free Processing of CTP Opens New Shortcuts for Green Printing
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In the entire printing system, the plate making process is one of the more important ones, and it is also an important way to implement green printing. At present, the more advanced plate making process is CTP technology, which fundamentally solves the silver salt pollution problem of the developer liquid waste generated during the use of the PS plate. However, an ordinary CTP plate must undergo development processing, and during the development process, a waste developer solution is generated. The various chemical components contained in the CTP plate, especially the strongly alkaline substance, cause environmental pollution and waste of resources. Therefore, the development of environmental protection media that reduces or even completely eliminates developer contamination has become the development direction of CTP technology. At this time, CTP-free printing inks will not be processed.
Strictly speaking, exemption-free CTP technology means that after the plates are imaged on the plate-making equipment, they can be printed on the machine without any subsequent processing, and no liquid or solid waste of any kind will be produced in the process. Broadly speaking, exemption-free CTP technology can be extended to the fact that, after exposure and imaging, the plate needs to go through some low-chemical or non-chemical processing steps before it can be printed on the machine.
Low chemical consumption CTP
Low chemical consumption The development process of the CTP plate still uses chemicals, but the consumption of chemicals is extremely low. Waterless offset CTP plate can be attributed to the low chemical consumption CTP plate. The development process includes four steps of pretreatment, development, coloring, and drying. Only special chemicals are used in the pretreatment step, and the pretreatment drug is It will not be consumed by evaporation during the development process. Subsequently, unwanted silica gel coating on the surface of the plate is mechanically removed by the water and the development brush during the development step, and the falling coating material is directly filtered by the filter element. In addition, the environmental protection of the waterless offset CTP plate is reflected in the printing process. Because it does not require the use of traditional fountain solution for dampening, the use of printed drugs is greatly reduced, and VOC emissions are reduced.
Low chemical treatment CTP
Low-CTP CTP plates are usually divided into two development methods. One is that after the exposure is completed or before the formal printing, the CTP plate is subjected to a development process through a substantially chemical-free water or water glue solution and then used for printing. Due to the need for water or a water glue solution for development, some manufacturers simply separate the development step as a separate cleaning unit. Representative is Agfa's Azura plate, which uses the principle of hot melt, the plastic particles and hydrophilic materials evenly coated on the plate base, before exposure, these independent plastic particles are closely arranged, after exposure, the particles are hot melt The cross-linking reaction forms a graphic, and the unexposed part of the coating material is washed with water glue to expose the publishing base.
In addition, it is also possible to adopt on-machine development, that is, after the CTP plate has been exposed, it is directly loaded onto the printing press without performing the usual development. Before the start of printing, the non-graphical portion of the surface of the plate is removed by the combined action of water and ink, and printing is resumed. A portion of the dissolved non-graphical material is carried away by the offset paper, and the other part is dissolved and dispersed in the fountain solution. On-machine development technology is represented by Kodak's Themal Direct and Fujifilm's Brillia HD PRO-T.
Free Development CTP
The CTP technology without developing treatment means that the plate material is directly used for printing after being exposed without development, and the coating material on the surface of the plate material will not be dissolved or peeled off during the entire printing process. This technology was first realized by the principle of thermal ablation. Plates are generally coated with two layers - the bottom layer is ink-receptive, the surface is hydrophilic, and then the surface layer is ablated by laser to expose the ink-receptive layer to form a printed graphic area. After exposure, it can be used directly for printing. However, due to the dust generated in the imaging process, which affects the accuracy of the optical part of the plate making machine, it poses a certain harm to the environment and human health, and thus it has not been applied to large-scale commercial applications.
The inkjet CTP technology can also be considered as a type of CTP technology free of development processing. It uses a printer to apply ink to a specially processed plate, and uses the principle of water-ink balance—the blank part is hydrophilic and the graphic part is ink-receiving, so that the ink is finally transferred from the plate to the substrate on the printer. process. Inkjet CTP technology began to appear in the 70s of the last century, but due to the low resolution of the printer at that time, it has not been truly commercialized. With the advancement of science and technology, the improvement of printers and media production technology, inkjet CTP technology has begun to get some development, the current plate-making precision of this type of technology can reach 180Lpi. Inkjet printing is currently not widely promoted in the printing industry due to limitations in platemaking accuracy, plate making speed, and plate format. However, for some small and fast printing companies, this technology is an environmentally friendly exemption-free solution. At present, Chengdu Xintu is cooperating with foreign companies to research and develop FIT-Nano inkjet CTP plates. The precision of platemaking can reach 175 Lpi, which has advantages of convenience, high efficiency, economy and environmental protection.
The FIT-eCO, which is being developed by Chengdu Xintu, has realized the development-free processing of the plate by phase-conversion imaging. The plate coating material contains a polymer that can undergo phase transformation. Since the surface of the plate has oleophilicity, the oleophilicity of the graphic portion of the plate surface is greatly improved after the exposure, and the unexposed part of the coating material Under the action of printing fountain liquid, it can be automatically converted into hydrophilic. During the whole printing process, the non-graphical part of the plate surface has a special chemical structure that does not dissolve or fall off, and can continuously enrich moisture, thereby better maintaining the hydrophilic properties of the surface.
The advantages of CTP-free treatment are: 1) Environmental protection, little or no use of chemicals, minimizing the harmful effects of plates on the environment, and having great environmental advantages; 2) streamlining the workflow, eliminating the need to develop CTP and abandoning the tradition The steps of development and rinsing make the plate making efficient and convenient, the process is easier to control, the human capital is saved, the labor intensity is reduced, 3 the production cost is reduced, and the use of chemicals is completely abandoned, thereby eliminating the purchase and storage of chemicals. Greatly reduce the cost of three waste treatment; 4 reduce the investment in the development equipment and site costs. At present, low chemical consumption CTP and low chemical treatment CTP have been commercialized, and the CTP free from development process has not yet been officially commercialized due to technical problems that still need to be solved.
The “Part I lithographic printing of technical requirements for environmental labeling products” promulgated on March 2, 2011 stipulates that lithographic printing shall be certified by environmental labeling, and the use of a CTP-free version is recommended. This indicates that green printing has entered the specific implementation stage. It is believed that the exemption-free CTP will become the mainstream of CTP technology development in the future with its efficient and convenient production methods, low emission and low consumption, and will inject new vitality into green printing.