A flexographic printing plate includes at least one halftone printing area with a plurality of halftone dots. A halftone dot of said plurality of halftone dots is shaped as a relief area. Said relief area includes a central portion and a surrounding portion. Said central portion has a central dot floor with a first pattern of a plurality of pins protruding upwardly from the central dot floor. Said surrounding portion protrudes upwardly from the central dot floor and has a top side including a second pattern of a plurality of recesses. The first pattern and second pattern are such that the surrounding portion can be distinguished from the central portion.
A flexographic printing plate includes at least one halftone printing area with a plurality of halftone dots. A halftone dot of said plurality of halftone dots is shaped as a relief area. Said relief area includes a central portion and a surrounding portion. Said central portion has a central dot floor with a first pattern of a plurality of pins protruding upwardly from the central dot floor. Said surrounding portion protrudes upwardly from the central dot floor and has a top side including a second pattern of a plurality of recesses. The first pattern and second pattern are such that the surrounding portion can be distinguished from the central portion.
A method for stereolithography printing, including the steps of positioning a holder containing a printing material in a first position in a stereolithography apparatus; stereolithography printing a plurality of successive layers in said holder using radiation for solidifying the printing material, such that one or more objects are formed; moving said holder from said first position to a second position away from said first position; opening said holder and removing said one or more objects from said opened holder, in said second position of the holder.
B29C 64/135 - Processes of additive manufacturing using only liquids or viscous materials, e.g. depositing a continuous bead of viscous material using layers of liquid which are selectively solidified characterised by the energy source therefor, e.g. by global irradiation combined with a mask the energy source being concentrated, e.g. scanning lasers or focused light sources
B29C 64/124 - Processes of additive manufacturing using only liquids or viscous materials, e.g. depositing a continuous bead of viscous material using layers of liquid which are selectively solidified
B33Y 30/00 - ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING - Details thereof or accessories therefor
The invention relates to a processing apparatus for processing a flexographic plate. The apparatus comprises a supporting unit for supporting a flexographic plate including a relief layer containing a photosensitive material, the plate further including, on the relief layer, a carbon layer that is impenetrable for UV light. The apparatus also comprises an optical system for locally ablating the carbon layer for forming a pattern in the carbon layer that is penetrable for UV light, and for polymerizing at least a top part of the relief layer under the carbon pattern layer. Thereto, the optical system includes a single radiation source for both locally ablating the carbon layer and for polymerizing at least a top part of the relief layer.
A method for illuminating printing plates in which the light from a light source is imaged on a two-dimensional light modulator having a plurality of rows of light-modulated cells, and the light is modulated thereby, whereupon the light modulator is imaged on light-sensitive material via an imaging beam path, wherein the light-sensitive material is moved relative to the light modulator substantially perpendicularly to the direction of the rows of light-modulated cells at a relative speed and wherein the data pattern to be imaged on the light-sensitive material is displayed beginning in the first row of the light modulator in each row consecutively during an exposure time (T, T′) and then moved to the subsequent row of the light modulator. In order to improve the method, the image of the data pattern is held substantially stationary relative to the light-sensitive material during the exposure time (T, T′).
The invention relates to a device for exposing light-sensitive materials, with an electronic picture memory (2) for storing a master image, with an exposure unit which comprises a light source (22), an electronically activatable light modulator (21) for representing a part picture (24) of the master image (2), and imaging optics (23) for the projection of the part picture (24) onto the light sensitive material (10), with a drive device consisting of motors (9) and of a motor control (12), for moving the exposure unit (8) parallel to the surface of the light-sensitive material (10), with a scroll means (7) for scrolling a picture strip (25, 26) of the master image through the light modulator (21), and with a control device (1) for synchronizing the drive device (9, 12) with the scroll means (7). For reducing the processing time for the exposure of the complete printing plate (10), according to the invention, it is envisaged for a rapid intermediate memory (16) for storing a strip-like region to be provided, from which the picture data for the part picture (24) to be exposed, in each case, may be transmitted onto the light modulator (21) synchronously with the movement of the exposure unit (8).
H04N 1/00 - PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION - Details thereof
B41J 2/385 - Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by selective supply of electric current or selective application of magnetism to a printing or impression-transfer material
In order to improve a method for producing a structure of polymerisation picture points (9) in a light-sensitive layer (2) of printing plates (3), in particular flexo-printing plates, as an image of picture data composed from a matrix (17) of picture points, by way of structured exposure with a light source, to the extent that an improved tonal range of the print picture is achieved and simultaneously that the manufacturing time is reduced, it is suggested for each polymerisation picture point (9) to be produced by an individual exposure sequence (6, 8, 11) which on the one hand is selected in dependence on the surface density of the polymerisation picture points (9) to be set at the location (A, B, C, D) of the polymerisation picture point (9) and one the other hand in dependence on the picture data.
a) on the positioning table, in which said means acts upon a working point situated in the supporting plane of the offset plate on the positioning table.