JP2000326477A - Lithographic printing method and lithographic printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lithographic printing method by which digital image data can be dealt with and a number of sheets of printed matter with sharp images can be printed rapidly at a low cost. SOLUTION: In the lithographic printing method which is of an ink jet system to discharge an oil ink to the surface of a printing material 9 mounted on the plate cylinder 11 of a printing press 1 from a printing head using an electromagnetic field and based on a signal of image data and performs lithographic printing after the direct formation of an image and the preparation of a printing plate, the lithographic printing press 1 is characterized in that it has a digital control means 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lithographic printing method and a lithographic printing apparatus for performing digital plate making on a printing press. More specifically, the present invention relates to plate making and printing using oil-based ink and having good plate making quality and printing quality. The present invention relates to a method and a lithographic printing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In lithographic printing, printing is performed by providing an ink receptive area and an ink repellent area on the surface of a printing plate corresponding to an image original, and attaching printing ink to the ink receiving area. Normally, hydrophilic and lipophilic (ink-receptive) areas are formed imagewise on the surface of the printing plate, and the hydrophilic areas are made ink-repellent by using a fountain solution.

To record an image on a printing plate (plate making), an image document is first output in analog or digital form to a silver halide photographic film, and then a diazo resin or a photopolymerizable photopolymer photosensitive material (printing plate) is passed through. Is generally performed by exposing the non-image area to elution and removal mainly using an alkaline solution.

In recent years, in the lithographic printing method, due to the recent improvement in digital drawing technology and the demand for more efficient processes,
Many systems for directly drawing digital image information on a printing plate have been proposed. This is the CTP (Computing)
er-to-plate) or DDPP (Dig)
ital Direct Printing Plate
This is a technique called e). As a plate making method, for example, there is a system for recording an image in a light mode or a heat mode using a laser, and a part of the system has begun to be put into practical use.

However, in this plate making method, in both the light mode and the heat mode, plate making is generally performed by processing with an alkaline developing solution after laser recording to dissolve and remove non-image portions.
Alkaline waste liquid is discharged, which is not preferable for environmental protection.

As a means for further improving the efficiency of the printing process, there is a system for performing image drawing on a printing press. Although there is a method using the above laser, it is expensive and large. Therefore, a system using an inkjet method, which is an inexpensive and compact drawing apparatus, has been attempted.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-97848, a plate drum having a hydrophilic or lipophilic surface is provided in place of the conventional plate cylinder, and a lipophilic or hydrophilic image is formed thereon by an ink jet method. A method is disclosed in which the image is formed, the image is removed after printing, and the image is cleaned. However, in this method, it is difficult to achieve both removal of a printed image (that is, ease of cleaning) and printing durability. Further, in order to form a print image having high printing durability on a plate cylinder, it is necessary to use an ink containing a resin having a relatively high concentration. Therefore, in an inkjet unit for forming a print image, a resin solution is used as the ink. Due to the use, the resin is likely to be fixed due to the evaporation of the solvent in the nozzle portion, and the stability of ink ejection is low. As a result, it is difficult to obtain a good image.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-27953 discloses a method of performing plate making by drawing with an ink jet using a lipophilic wax ink as a hydrophilic plate material. In this method, since the plate material is disposable, it is not necessary to remove the image after printing, and the ejection stability is high, but since the image is formed with wax, the mechanical strength of the image portion is weak, and The printing durability is low due to insufficient adhesion of the material to the hydrophilic surface.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to provide, firstly, a lithographic printing method and apparatus for digital use which does not require development processing. It is to be. Secondly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lithographic printing method and apparatus capable of printing a large number of clear and high-quality images using an inexpensive apparatus and a simple method.

[0010]

The above object is achieved by the following (1).
To (16). (1) Based on a signal of image data, a printing plate was created by directly forming an image on a plate material mounted on a plate cylinder of a printing press by an inkjet method in which an oil-based ink is ejected from a head using an electrostatic field. A lithographic printing method for performing lithographic printing later, wherein the printing press has digital control means. (2) Based on a signal of image data, an image is formed directly on a plate material mounted on a plate cylinder of a printing press by an ink jet method having an ink jet drawing device for discharging oil-based ink from a head using an electrostatic field. A lithographic printing apparatus for performing lithographic printing after creating a printing plate, wherein the printing machine has digital control means. (3) The oil-based ink has a specific electric resistance of 10 ⁹ Ωcm
The lithographic printing apparatus and the lithographic printing apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein solid and hydrophobic resin particles are dispersed at least at room temperature in a non-aqueous solvent having a dielectric constant of 3.5 or less.

(4) The lithographic printing method and the lithographic printing apparatus according to the above (1) to (3), having the fixing device for the ink. (5) The lithographic printing method and the lithographic printing apparatus according to any one of the above (1) to (4), further comprising means for removing dust present on the plate material surface before and / or during drawing on the plate material. (6) The lithographic printing method and the lithographic printing apparatus according to any one of the above (1) to (5), wherein, when drawing on the plate material, the main scanning is performed by rotating the plate cylinder on which the plate material is mounted. (7) The lithographic printing method and the lithographic printing apparatus according to (1) to (6), wherein the inkjet drawing apparatus comprises a single head or a multi-head, and performs sub-scanning by sliding the head in the axial direction of the plate cylinder. (8) The above-mentioned (1) to (7), wherein the ink jet drawing apparatus comprises a full line head having substantially the same length as the width of the plate cylinder.
Lithographic printing method and lithographic printing apparatus.

(9) The lithographic printing method and the lithographic printing apparatus according to any one of the above (1) to (8), further comprising means for supplying ink to a head of the ink jet drawing apparatus. (10) The apparatus according to any one of (1) to (9), further including a unit for supplying ink to a head of the inkjet drawing apparatus, a unit for collecting ink from the head, and circulating ink by both units. Lithographic printing method and lithographic printing apparatus.

(11) The lithographic printing method and the lithographic printing apparatus according to any one of the above (1) to (10), wherein a stirring means is provided in an ink tank for storing the oil-based ink. (12) The above (1) to (11) having means for controlling the temperature of the ink in the ink tank storing the oil-based ink.
A lithographic printing method and a lithographic printing apparatus according to any one of the above. (13) The above (1) having means for controlling the ink density.
A lithographic printing method and a lithographic printing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (12).

(14) The above-mentioned (1) to (1), wherein the ink jet recording head is provided so as to be detachable from the plate cylinder and has means for separating the recording head from the plate cylinder except when drawing on a plate material.
The lithographic printing method and the lithographic printing apparatus according to any one of 3). (15) The lithographic printing method and the lithographic printing apparatus according to any one of the above (1) to (14), further comprising means for removing paper dust generated during lithographic printing. (16) The lithographic printing method and the lithographic printing apparatus according to any one of the above (1) to (15), further comprising a cleaning means for cleaning the ink jet recording head at least after the completion of plate making.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail. The present invention is characterized in that an image is formed on a plate material (printing original plate) provided on a plate cylinder of a printing press by an inkjet method in which oil-based ink is discharged by an electrostatic field.

The ink-jet method used in the lithographic printing method and apparatus of the present invention uses an ink having high resistance in which solid and hydrophobic resin particles are dispersed at least at room temperature in an insulating solvent, and the ink is ejected at an ejection position. By using an electrostatic field, an aggregate of the resin particles is formed at the discharge position, and the aggregate is discharged by electrostatic means. Specifically, for example, a method described in WO93 / 11866 can be applied. When this method is applied to lithographic printing, the resin particles are ejected as agglomerates having a high concentration, whereby a sufficient dot film thickness printed on the plate material can be obtained. As a result, an image of aggregated resin particles having sufficient printing durability and having sufficient printing durability is formed on a plate material as a recording medium. Furthermore, the resin particles are ejected as a high-concentration aggregate, the solvent component contained in the ejected liquid is small, and the ink dries faster, so that dot bleeding on the plate is suppressed and a high-definition image is formed. Is done. In the ink jet method used in the present invention, the size of the ejected ink droplet is determined by the ejection position, the shape of the electrode, and the conditions for applying an electric field, and a small ink droplet can be obtained without reducing the ejection nozzle diameter or slit width. By controlling the application conditions, the dot diameter on the plate material can be controlled. Therefore, it is possible to control printing-resistant minute images without the problem of head clogging. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to print many clear prints.

The ink jet method of the present invention is performed using an electrostatic field, and it is preferable that the ink is ejected by applying a strong electric field to the ink. If the electric field strength is not sufficient, good ejection properties may not be obtained, so that about 1 × 10 ⁵ V / c
m or more is appropriate. On the other hand, if it is too high, dot splitting or satellites will occur, and the image quality tends to deteriorate, so that about 1 × 10 ⁸ V / cm or less is appropriate. More preferably, 2 × 10 ⁵ V / cm to ⁵ × 10 ⁸ V / c
m.

An example of the configuration of an on-press drawing lithographic printing apparatus used to carry out the lithographic printing method of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an on-press drawing single-color single-sided lithographic printing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration example of a drawing unit including a control unit, an ink supply unit, and a head separation / contact mechanism of the on-board drawing lithographic printing apparatus. FIGS. 3 to 9 illustrate an ink jet recording apparatus provided in the on-press lithographic printing apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 10. FIG. FIG. 10 shows an overall configuration example of an on-press four-color single-sided lithographic printing apparatus according to the present invention.

First, the printing process according to the present invention will be described with reference to the overall configuration diagram of an on-press drawing single-color single-sided lithographic printing press shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, an on-press lithographic printing apparatus 1 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a “printing apparatus”) includes a plate cylinder 1.
1. A blanket cylinder 12 and an impression cylinder 13 are provided one by one, and a blanket cylinder 12 for transfer is arranged so as to press against the plate cylinder 11 at least when performing lithographic printing. An impression cylinder 13 for transferring the printing ink image transferred to the printing paper P to the printing paper P is disposed so as to be pressed against the printing ink image.

The plate cylinder 11 is usually made of metal, and its surface is plated with, for example, chromium to enhance abrasion resistance. However, the surface of the plate cylinder 11 may have a heat insulating material as described later. . On the other hand, the plate cylinder 11 is preferably grounded because it serves as a counter electrode of the discharge head electrode in electrostatic field discharge.
When the insulating property of the substrate of the plate material is high, it is preferable to provide a conductive layer on the substrate. In this case, it is desirable to provide a means for grounding the plate cylinder from the conductive layer. Further, even when the heat insulating material is provided on the plate cylinder as described above, the drawing is facilitated by providing the means for grounding the plate material. In this case, a known means such as a brush, a leaf spring, or a roller having conductivity can be used.

Further, the printing apparatus 1 has an ink jet recording apparatus 2, and the
In accordance with the image data sent from the printer, oil ink is discharged onto the plate material 9 mounted on the plate cylinder 11 to form an image portion.

Further, the printing apparatus 1 is provided with a dampening water supply device 3 for supplying dampening water to a hydrophilic portion (non-image portion) on the printing plate 9. FIG. 1 shows a Molton water supply system as a representative example of the dampening water supply device 3. However, as the dampening water supply device 3, other known devices such as a synflo water supply system and a continuous water supply system can be used. Further, the printing device 1
The printing apparatus includes a printing ink supply device 4 and a fixing device 5 for strengthening an oil-based ink image drawn on the plate material 9.
If necessary, a plate surface desensitizing device 6 used as needed for the purpose of enhancing the hydrophilicity of the surface of the plate material 9 may be provided. Further, the printing apparatus 1 includes a unit 10 for removing dust existing on the surface of the plate material before and / or during drawing on the plate material. Thereby, it is possible to effectively prevent the ink from adhering to the plate material due to the transmission of dust between the head and the plate material during plate making, and to obtain a good plate making. As the dust removing means, in addition to known non-contact methods such as suction removal, blowing removal, and electrostatic removal, a contact method using a brush, a roller, or the like can be used. In the present invention, it is preferable to use either air suction or air blowing. Or a combination thereof.
In this case, an air pump usually used for a paper feeding device can be used for this purpose.

Further, an automatic plate feeding device 7 for automatically supplying a plate material 9 to be printed onto the plate cylinder 11 and an automatic plate discharging device 8 for automatically removing the plate material 9 after printing from the plate cylinder 11 And a printing press having this device, which is known as an auxiliary device for the printing press, such as Hamada VS
34A, B452A (Hamada Printing Machinery Co., Ltd.), Toko 8000 PFA (Tokyo Aviation Instruments, Inc.), Ryobi 3
200 ACD, 3200 PFA (Ryobi Magicsk), AMSIS Multi5150FA (AEM), Oliver 266EPZ (Sakurai Graphic Systems), Shinohara 66IV / IVP (Shinohara Shoji) and the like. Further, a blanket cleaning device 14 may be provided. By using these devices 7, 8, and 14, the printing operation is simplified and the printing time is shortened, so that the effects of the present invention can be further enhanced. In addition, a paper dust generation preventing device 15 may be provided near the impression cylinder 13, so that paper dust adhering to the plate material can be prevented. As the paper dust generation preventing device 15, a method such as humidity control, suction by air or electrostatic force, or the like can be used.

An image data arithmetic control unit 21 receives image data from an image scanner, a magnetic disk device, an image data transmission device, etc., performs color separation, and has an appropriate number of pixels and gradation for the separated data. Divide into numbers. Further, in order to draw an oil-based ink image in a halftone manner using the inkjet discharge head 22 (see FIG. 2 and described in detail later) included in the inkjet recording apparatus 2, the halftone dot area ratio is also calculated.

As will be described later, the image data calculation control unit 21 controls the movement of the ink jet head 22 and the ejection timing of the oil-based ink and, if necessary, the plate cylinder 11, blanket cylinder 12, impression cylinder 13 and the like. The operation timing is also controlled.

Referring to FIG. 1 and partly in FIG.
The process of producing a printing plate according to the above will be described below.

First, the plate material 9 is mounted on the plate cylinder 11 using the automatic plate feeding device 7. At this time, the plate material is tightly fixed on the plate cylinder by a mechanical method using a known plate edge holding device, an air suction device, or the like, or an electrostatic method. The contact with the device 2 and breakage can be prevented. In addition, a means for bringing the plate material into close contact with the plate cylinder only around the drawing position of the ink jet recording apparatus is provided, and at least at the time of drawing, the plate material can be prevented from coming into contact with the ink jet recording apparatus by acting. . Specifically, for example, there is a method of disposing a pressing roller upstream and downstream of the plate cylinder drawing position. Further, by providing a means for preventing the bottom of the plate from contacting the ink supply roller in the process of fixing the plate, it is possible to prevent the plate surface from being stained and to reduce waste paper.
Specifically, a pressing roller, a guide, electrostatic attraction, or the like is effective.

Image data from a magnetic disk device or the like
The image data arithmetic control unit 21 calculates the discharge position of the oil-based ink and the halftone dot area ratio at that position in accordance with the input image data. These calculation data are temporarily stored in the buffer. The image data calculation control unit 21 rotates the plate cylinder 11 to bring the ejection head 22 closer to a position close to the plate cylinder 11 by the head separation / contact device 31. The distance between the ejection head 22 and the surface of the plate material 9 on the plate cylinder 11 is controlled by mechanical distance control such as an abutment roller or by control of a head separation / contact device based on a signal from an optical distance detector during drawing. It is kept at a predetermined distance. By such distance control, a good plate-making can be obtained without the dot diameter becoming non-uniform due to the lifting of the plate material or the dot diameter does not change particularly when vibration is applied to the printing press.

The ejection head 22 is a single head,
A multi-head or a full line head can be used, and the main scanning is performed by rotating the plate cylinder 11. In the case of a multi-head having a plurality of discharge units or a full line head, the arrangement of the discharge units is set in the axial direction. In the case of single head or multi head,
The image data calculation control unit 21 moves the head 22 in the axial direction of the plate cylinder for each rotation of the plate cylinder 11, and applies the oil-based ink to the plate cylinder 1 at the ejection position and the dot area ratio obtained by the above calculation.
It discharges to the plate material 9 mounted on 1. As a result, a halftone image corresponding to the density of the print document is drawn on the plate material 9 with the oil-based ink. This operation continues until an oil-based ink image for one color of the printing original is formed on the plate material 9 and a printing plate is formed.
On the other hand, when the ejection head 22 is a full line head having a length substantially equal to the width of the plate cylinder, an oil-based ink image for one color of a print document is formed on the plate material 9 by one rotation of the plate cylinder. A printing plate is completed. By performing the main scanning by rotating the plate cylinder in this manner, the position accuracy in the main scanning direction can be improved, and high-speed drawing can be performed.

Next, in order to protect the discharge head 22, the discharge head 22 is retracted away from a position close to the plate cylinder 11. At this time, the ejection head 22 and the head sub-scanning means 32 may be separated or contacted together, or the ejection head 22 and the ink supply unit 24 and all the head sub-scanning means 32 may be separated and attached together. You can also touch. In addition to the ejection head 22, the ink supply unit 24, and the head sub-scanning unit 32, the fixing device 5 and the dust removing device 10 are also provided with separation / contact means so that they can be retracted, so that normal printing can be handled.

This separation / contact means operates so as to separate the recording head from the plate cylinder by at least 500 μm except during drawing. The detachment operation may be a slide type, or the head may be fixed by an arm fixed to a certain axis, and the arm may be moved around the axis to move like a pendulum. By retracting the head during non-drawing as described above, the head can be protected from physical damage or contamination, and a longer life can be achieved.

The formed oil-based ink image is reinforced by heating or the like in the fixing device 5. As the fixing means of the ink, known means such as heat fixing, solvent fixing, and flash exposure fixing can be used. In the heat fixing, halogen lamp irradiation, hot air fixing using a heater, and heat roll fixing are generally used. In this case, in order to enhance the fixing property, the plate cylinder is heated, the plate material is heated in advance, drawing is performed while applying hot air, the plate cylinder is coated with a heat insulating material, and the plate cylinder is only fixed during fixing. It is effective to take measures such as separating the plate material from the plate material and heating only the plate material alone or in combination. In solvent fixing, spray a solvent that can dissolve the resin component in the ink such as methanol and ethyl acetate,
Excess solvent vapor is recovered. Flash fixing using a xenon lamp or the like is known as a fixing method for electrophotographic toner, and has an advantage that fixing can be performed in a short time. At least in the process from the formation of the oil-based ink image by the ejection head 22 to the fixing by the fixing device 5,
It is desirable that the dampening water supply device 3, the printing ink supply device 4, and the blanket cylinder 12 are kept out of contact with the plate material 9 on the plate cylinder.

The printing process after the printing plate is formed is the same as the known lithographic printing method. That is, printing ink and dampening water are applied to the plate material 9 on which the oil-based ink image is drawn to form a print image, and the print ink image is transferred onto the blanket cylinder 12 rotating with the plate cylinder 11, Next, the printing paper P passing between the blanket cylinder 12 and the impression cylinder 13
By transferring the printing ink image on the blanket cylinder 12 thereon, printing for one color is performed. Plate 9 after printing
Is removed from the plate cylinder 11 by the automatic plate discharging device 8, the blanket on the blanket cylinder 12 is cleaned by the blanket cleaning device 14, and the next printing is possible.

Here, the digital control means according to the present invention will be described. The digital control means is provided for the purpose of further improving the operability of the printing apparatus, and examples thereof include an ink usage amount display apparatus and a plate inspection apparatus. The ink usage amount display device displays the required amount of ink in advance based on image data, and is very effective when performing continuous plate making as in the present printing apparatus. In addition, since this apparatus performs on-machine drawing, plate inspection cannot be performed directly. The plate inspection device compensates for the disadvantage. That is, the image rendered on the plate is detected by a CCD camera or the like installed in the machine, and the plate is displayed on a monitor to enable plate inspection. At this time, it is also possible to further improve the plate inspection property by digital processing as compared with the case of visual observation.

Next, the ink jet recording apparatus 2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the drawing unit used in the planographic printing apparatus includes the ink jet head 2 and the ink supply unit 24. The ink supply unit 24 further includes an ink tank 25, an ink supply device 26, and an ink density control unit 2.
9, the ink tank includes a stirring means 27 and an ink temperature management means 28. The ink may be circulated in the head, and in this case, the ink supply unit also has a recovery circulation function. The stirring means 27 suppresses the precipitation and aggregation of the solid components of the ink, and the necessity of cleaning the ink tank is reduced. A rotating blade, an ultrasonic vibrator, and a circulating pump can be used as the stirring means, and these are used or in combination. The ink temperature management unit 28 is arranged so that the physical properties of the ink change due to a change in the surrounding temperature, and a high quality image can be stably formed without changing the dot diameter. As the ink temperature control means, a heater, a heating element such as a Peltier element, or a cooling element is arranged in the ink tank together with a stirring means so as to keep the temperature distribution in the tank constant, and a temperature sensor, for example, a thermostat or the like is used. A known method such as control can be used. The temperature of the ink in the ink tank is desirably from 15 ° C to 60 ° C, more preferably from 20 ° C to 50 ° C. Further, the stirring means for keeping the temperature distribution in the tank constant may be shared with the stirring means for suppressing the precipitation and aggregation of the solid components of the ink.

The printing apparatus preferably has an ink density control means 29 in order to perform high-quality drawing. As a result, it is possible to effectively suppress the occurrence of bleeding on the plate due to a decrease in the solid concentration in the ink, the jump or blur of the printed image, or the change in the dot diameter on the plate due to the increase in the solid concentration. The ink density is measured by optical detection, physical property measurement such as conductivity measurement, viscosity measurement, or the like, or management based on the number of drawn images. When managing by physical property measurement, an optical detector, a conductivity measuring instrument, and a viscosity measuring instrument are provided alone or in combination in the ink tank or the ink flow path. In this case, the supply of the liquid from the replenishment concentrated ink tank or the diluting ink carrier tank (not shown) to the ink tank is controlled according to the number of plate making and the frequency.

As described above, the image data calculation control unit 21 calculates the input image data, and controls the head separation / contact device 31,
Alternatively, in addition to moving the head by the head sub-scanning means 32, a timing pulse from the encoder 30 installed on the plate cylinder is fetched, and the head is driven according to the timing pulse. Thereby, the positional accuracy in the sub-scanning direction can be improved. In addition, the position accuracy in the sub-scanning direction can be improved by using a high-precision driving device different from the driving device during printing when driving the plate cylinder when performing drawing by the ink jet recording apparatus. It is desirable to drive the plate cylinder only by mechanically separating it from the cylinder, impression cylinder and the like. Specifically, for example, there is a method in which the output from a high-precision motor is reduced by a high-precision gear or a steel belt to drive only the plate cylinder. When performing high-quality drawing, such means are used alone or in combination.

Next, the ejection head will be described with reference to FIGS. However, the content of the present invention is not limited to the following.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show an example of a head provided in an ink jet recording apparatus. The head 22 includes an upper unit 221 and a lower unit 22 made of an insulating base material.
2 and a discharge slit 22a at the tip, and a discharge electrode 22b is provided in the slit.
Are arranged, and the ink 23 supplied from the ink supply device is provided.
Is filled in the slit. As the insulating base material, for example, plastic, glass, ceramics, etc. can be applied. The discharge electrodes 22b are formed by vacuum deposition, sputtering, or electroless plating of a conductive material such as aluminum, nickel, chromium, gold, and platinum on the lower unit 222 made of an insulating base material, and a photoresist is formed thereon. After coating, the photoresist is exposed through a mask having a predetermined electrode pattern, developed, developed, and discharged.
After the photoresist pattern 2b is formed, it is formed by a known method such as a method of etching and forming the photoresist pattern, a method of mechanically removing the pattern, or a method of combining them.

In the head 22, a voltage is applied to the ejection electrode 22b in accordance with a digital signal of image pattern information. As shown in FIG. 3, a plate cylinder 11 serving as a counter electrode is provided so as to face the discharge electrode 22b, and the plate material 9 is provided on the plate cylinder 11 serving as the counter electrode. By applying a voltage, a circuit is formed between the discharge electrode 22b and the plate cylinder 11 serving as the counter electrode, and the oil-based ink 23 is discharged from the discharge slit 22a of the head 22 and provided on the plate cylinder 11 serving as the counter electrode. An image is formed on the obtained plate material 9.

It is preferable that the width of the discharge electrode 22b is as narrow as possible in order to form a high quality image. Specific numerical values vary depending on conditions, etc.
It is used in the range of the tip width of 100 μm. For example, a discharge electrode 22b having a tip of 20 μm in width is used, a distance between the discharge electrode 22b and the plate cylinder 11 serving as a counter electrode is set to 1.0 mm, and a voltage of 3 KV is applied between the electrodes for 0.1 millisecond to 40 μm. Dots can be formed on the plate material 9.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are a schematic cross-sectional view and a schematic front view, respectively, of the vicinity of the ink discharge portion of another discharge head. In the figure, reference numeral 22 denotes a discharge head, which has a first insulating base material 33 having a gradually decreasing shape. A second insulating base material 34 is provided on the first insulating base material 33 so as to be spaced apart and opposed to the first insulating base material 33, and a slope portion 35 is formed at the tip of the second insulating base material 34. The first and second insulating substrates are made of, for example, plastic, glass, ceramics, or the like. A plurality of ejection electrodes 22b are provided on an upper surface 36 at an acute angle with the inclined surface 35 of the second insulating base material 34 as an electrostatic field forming means for forming an electrostatic field in the ejection section. The tips of the plurality of ejection electrodes 22 b are extended to near the tips of the upper surface portion 36, and the tips are connected to the first insulating base 33.
It projects more forward than it forms the discharge part. An ink inflow path 37 is formed between the first and second insulating bases 33 and 34 as a means for supplying the ink 23 to the ejection section. An ink recovery path 38 is formed. The discharge electrode 22b is
Using a conductive material such as aluminum, nickel, chromium, gold, and platinum on the second insulating base material 34, as described above,
It is formed by a known method. The individual electrodes 22b are configured to be electrically insulated from each other.

The amount by which the tip of the discharge electrode 22b projects from the tip of the insulating substrate 33 is preferably 2 mm or less. The reason that this protrusion amount is preferable in the above range is that if the protrusion amount is too large, the ink meniscus does not reach the tip of the discharge unit,
This is because ejection becomes difficult and the recording frequency decreases. The space between the first and second insulating bases 33 and 34 is preferably in the range of 0.1 to 3 mm. The reason that this space is preferable in the above range is that if the space is too narrow, it becomes difficult to supply ink and it becomes difficult to discharge, or the recording frequency is lowered, and if the space is too wide, the meniscus is not stable. This is because the ejection becomes unstable.

The ejection electrode 22b is connected to the image data calculation control unit 21. When recording is performed, a voltage is applied to the ejection electrode based on the image information, whereby the ink on the ejection electrode is ejected. Drawing is performed on a plate material (not shown) arranged oppositely. The direction opposite to the ink droplet ejection direction of the ink inflow path 37 is connected to an ink feeding unit of an ink supply device (not shown). The second insulating substrate 3
A backing 39 is provided on the surface opposite to the ejection electrode forming surface of No. 4 so as to be spaced apart and opposed, and an ink recovery path 38 is provided between the two. The space of the ink recovery path 38 is 0.1
mm or more is desirable. The reason that this space is preferable in the above range is that if the space is too narrow, it becomes difficult to collect the ink, which may cause ink leakage. The ink recovery path 38 is connected to an ink recovery means of an ink supply device (not shown).

When a uniform ink flow on the ejection section is required, a groove 40 may be provided between the ejection section and the ink recovery section. FIG. 6 is a schematic front view showing the vicinity of the ink ejection portion of the ejection head, and the inclined surface of the second insulating base material 34 has an ink collection path 3 near the boundary with the ejection electrode 22b.
A plurality of grooves 40 are provided toward 8. This groove 4
Numerals 0 are arranged in the direction in which the ejection electrodes 22b are arranged, and the ink is guided to each groove 40 from the opening on the side of the ejection electrode 22b by the capillary force, and the guided ink is transferred to the ink recovery path 3.
8 has the function of discharging. The groove 40 sucks a certain amount of ink near the tip of the discharge electrode by a capillary force corresponding to the opening diameter. For this reason, it has a function of forming an ink flow having a constant liquid thickness near the tip of the discharge electrode. The shape of the groove 40 may be any range as long as the capillary force acts, and particularly preferably, the width is 10 to 200 μm and the depth is 10
３００300 μm. The necessary number of grooves 40 are provided so that a uniform ink flow can be formed over the entire surface of the head.

The width of the discharge electrode 22b is preferably as narrow as possible at the end in order to perform high-quality image formation, for example, printing. Specific numerical values vary depending on conditions and the like, but are usually used in a range of a tip width of 5 to 100 μm.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show another example of the ejection head used to carry out the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing only a part of the head for explanation. The recording head 22 is made of plastic, ceramic,
A head body 41 made of an insulating material such as glass and meniscus regulating plates 42 and 42 'are provided. In the figure, 22b
Is an ejection electrode for applying a voltage to form an electrostatic field in the ejection section. Further, the head main body will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 8 in which the regulating plates 42 and 42 'have been removed from the head.

The head main body 41 is provided with a plurality of ink grooves 43 for circulating ink perpendicular to the edge of the head main body. The shape of the ink groove 43 may be set in a range where the capillary force acts so that a uniform ink flow can be formed, and particularly preferably, the width is 10 to 200 μm.
m, the depth is 10 to 300 μm. The ejection electrode 22b is provided inside the ink groove 43. The discharge electrode 22b is formed on a head body 40 made of an insulating material by using a conductive material such as aluminum, nickel, chromium, gold, or platinum by a known method similar to that of the above-described apparatus embodiment. It may be arranged on the entire surface in the groove 43 or may be formed only on a part thereof. The discharge electrodes are electrically isolated. Two adjacent ink grooves form one cell, and ejection parts 45 and 45 'are provided at the end of the partition wall 44 at the center. In the ejection portions 45 and 45 ', the partition walls are thinner than the other partition portions 44 and are sharpened. Such a head body is manufactured by a known method such as machining, etching, or molding of an insulating material block. The thickness of the partition wall at the discharge portion is preferably 5 to 100 μm, and the radius of curvature of the sharpened tip is preferably 5 to 50 μm. The tip of the discharge section may be slightly chamfered, such as 45 '. Although only two cells are shown in the drawing, the cells are separated by a partition wall 46, and the tip 47 is chamfered so as to be retracted from the discharge portions 45 and 45 '.
Ink is supplied to the head from an I direction through an ink groove by an ink supply unit of an ink supply device (not shown) to supply ink to a discharge unit. Excess ink is collected in the O direction by an ink collecting means (not shown).
As a result, fresh ink is always supplied to the ejection unit. In this state, the ink is ejected from the ejection unit by applying a voltage to the ejection electrode according to image information to a plate cylinder (not shown) holding the plate material on the surface thereof, which is provided so as to face the ejection unit. An image is formed on the plate material.

Another embodiment of the ejection head will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG.
2 has a pair of substantially rectangular plate-shaped support members 50 and 50 '. These support members 50, 50 'are made of a plate-like plastic, glass, ceramic or the like having a thickness of 1 to 10 mm having an insulating property, and one surface of each is parallel to each other according to the recording resolution. A plurality of elongated rectangular grooves 51, 51 '(not shown) are formed. Each groove 51, 51 ′ has a width of 10 to 200 μm and a depth of 10 to 30
The discharge electrode 22b is preferably formed in a range of 0 μm, and the whole or a part thereof is formed with the discharge electrode 22b. Thus, the plurality of grooves 51, 5 are provided on one surface of the support members 50, 50 '.
By forming 1 ', a plurality of rectangular partitions 52 are inevitably provided between the grooves 51. Each support member 5
0, 50 'are combined so that the surfaces on which the grooves 51, 51' are not formed face each other. That is, the ejection head 22
Has a plurality of grooves on its outer peripheral surface for flowing ink. Grooves 5 formed in each support member 50, 50 '
1, 51 'are connected in a one-to-one correspondence via the upper end 53 of the ejection head 22, and a rectangular portion 54 in which each groove is connected.
Is a predetermined distance (50 to 5) from the upper end 53 of the ejection head 22.
(00 μm). That is, each rectangular portion 54
The upper ends 55 of the partition walls 52 of the support members 50 and 50 ′ are provided on both sides of the support members 50 and 50 ′ so as to protrude from the rectangular portions 54. A guide protrusion 56 made of an insulating material as described above is provided so as to protrude from each rectangular portion 54 to form a discharge portion.

When the ink is circulated through the ejection head 22 configured as described above, the ink is supplied to each rectangular portion 54 through each groove 51 formed on the outer peripheral surface of one support member 50, and the ink is supplied to the opposite side. Each groove 5 formed in the supporting member 50 '
Discharge via 1 '. In this case, the ejection head 22 is inclined at a predetermined angle to enable smooth ink distribution. That is, the ejection head 22 is inclined such that the ink supply side (support member 50) is located above and the ink discharge side (support member 50 ') is located below.
As described above, when the ink is circulated through the ejection head 22,
The ink passing through each rectangular portion 54 gets wet along each protrusion 56, and an ink meniscus is formed near the rectangular portion 54 and the protrusion 56. Then, in a state where independent ink meniscuses are formed in the respective rectangular portions 54,
By applying a voltage based on image information to the discharge electrode 22b to a plate cylinder (not shown) holding the plate material on the surface thereof, the ink is discharged from the discharge portion, and the plate material is held on the plate material. An image is formed on the image. By providing a cover for covering the groove on the outer peripheral surface of each support member 50, 50 ', a pipe-shaped ink flow path is formed along the outer peripheral surface of each support member 50, 50'. May be forcibly circulated. In this case, it is not necessary to tilt the ejection head 22.

The head 22 described above with reference to FIGS. 3 to 9 can also include a maintenance device such as a cleaning means, if necessary. For example, when the hibernation state continues or when there is a problem with the image quality, only the ink solvent is circulated, only the ink solvent is supplied, or the ejection section is sucked while circulating, and the tip of the ejection head is made flexible. By performing the means such as brushing, brushing, wiping with a cloth or the like alone or in combination, it is possible to effectively prevent solidification of the ink in the ejection head and maintain a good drawing state. It is also effective to place the ejection head in a cover filled with a solvent vapor, and the like, and these methods can be used alone or in combination.

Next, an on-press drawing multicolor single-sided lithographic printing press will be described as a specific example of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an example of the overall configuration of an on-press 4-color single-sided lithographic printing press. As shown in FIG. 10, the four-color single-sided printing apparatus is basically a plate cylinder 11, a blanket cylinder 12, and a single-color single-sided printing apparatus shown in FIG.
The structure is such that four impression cylinders 13 are provided so that printing is performed on the same surface of the printing paper P. Although not shown, a known transfer cylinder method or the like is used to transfer the printing paper indicated by K in the figure between adjacent impression cylinders. Although a detailed description is omitted, as can be easily understood from the example of FIG. 10, the other double-color single-sided printing apparatus is basically a plate cylinder 1 of a single-color single-sided printing apparatus.
1, a plurality of blanket cylinders 12 and impression cylinders 13 are provided so that printing is performed on the same surface of the printing paper P, and printing is performed when only one color plate is formed on the plate cylinder. It has a plate cylinder and blanket cylinder for the number of colors. on the other hand,
In the case of forming a plurality of color plates on a plate cylinder, the plate cylinder and blanket cylinder are required by the value obtained by dividing the number of colors to be printed by the number of plates on one plate cylinder. For example, when a plate material for two colors is prepared on a plate cylinder, a printing machine having two plate cylinders and two blanket cylinders can perform three-color or four-color printing on one side. The number of impression cylinders may be the same as the number of plate cylinders. However, some plate cylinders and blanket cylinders may share one impression cylinder. The plate cylinder is provided with a means for holding printing paper until printing of a required color is completed, if necessary.

On the other hand, when the present invention is embodied as an on-press drawing multi-color double-sided lithographic printing machine, a known printing paper reversing means may be provided in the above-described printing machine, or a plate of the single-color single-side printing apparatus shown in FIG. It has a structure in which a plurality of cylinders 11 and blanket cylinders 12 are provided so that printing is performed on both sides of the printing paper P. When only a plate for one color is created on the plate cylinder, printing is performed on both sides of the printing paper. It has plate cylinders and blanket cylinders for the number of colors required for printing. On the other hand, when a plurality of color plates are formed on the plate cylinder as described above, the number of plate cylinders and blanket cylinders can be reduced. Also, when one plate cylinder is shared by several plate cylinders and blanket cylinders, the number of impression cylinders can be reduced. The plate cylinder is provided with a means for holding printing paper until printing of a required color is completed, if necessary. The details will be omitted because they can be easily understood from the above-described example of the on-press drawing multicolor single-sided lithographic printing press.

As another example of an on-press lithographic printing machine, one blanket cylinder has two plate cylinders, and when printing is being performed, drawing can be performed with the other plate cylinder. . In this case, it is desirable that the drive of the plate cylinder performing drawing is mechanically independent of the blanket. This makes it possible to perform drawing without stopping the printing press. As will be readily understood, this can be applied to an on-press drawing multicolor single-sided lithographic printing press and an on-press drawing multicolor double-sided lithographic printing press. Note that the digital control means according to the present invention is appropriately used for all printing apparatuses, and can improve the operability of the printing apparatuses.

Next, the plate material (printing plate) used in the present invention will be described. Examples of the printing original plate include metal plates such as aluminum and chrome-plated steel plates. Particularly, an aluminum plate having excellent surface water retention and abrasion resistance by graining and anodizing is preferable. As an inexpensive plate material, a plate material provided with an image receiving layer on a water-resistant support such as water-resistant paper, plastic film, or paper laminated with plastic can be used. The thickness of the provided image receiving layer is suitably in the range of 5 to 30 μm.

As the image receiving layer, a hydrophilic layer comprising an inorganic pigment and a binder or a layer which can be made hydrophilic by a desensitizing treatment can be used.

As the inorganic pigment used in the hydrophilic image receiving layer, clay, silica, calcium carbonate, zinc oxide, aluminum oxide, barium sulfate and the like can be used. Further, as a binder, polyvinyl alcohol, starch,
Hydrophilic binders such as carboxymethylcellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose, casein, gelatin, polyacrylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and polymethylether-maleic anhydride copolymer can be used. If necessary, a melamine formalin resin, a urea formalin resin, or another crosslinking agent for imparting water resistance may be added.

On the other hand, examples of the image receiving layer used after the desensitization treatment include a layer using zinc oxide and a hydrophobic binder.

The zinc oxide to be used in the present invention may be, for example, zinc oxide, zinc white, or zinc oxide, as described in “Pigment Handbook” edited by Japan Pigment Technical Association, page 19, Seibundo Co., Ltd. (1968). Any of those commercially available as wet zinc white or activated zinc white may be used. That is, zinc oxide includes, as dry methods, French methods (indirect methods), American methods (direct methods) and wet methods, depending on the starting materials and the production method. For example, Shodo Chemical Co., Ltd., Sakai Chemical Co., Ltd. ), Hakusui Chemical Co., Ltd., Honjo Chemical Co., Ltd., Toho Zinc Co., Ltd., Mitsui Kinzoku Kogyo Co., Ltd., and the like.

As the resin used as the binder, specifically, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, styrene-
Butadiene copolymer, styrene-methacrylate copolymer, methacrylate copolymer, acrylate copolymer,
Examples include vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl butyral, alkyd resin, epoxy resin, epoxy ester resin, polyester resin, and polyurethane resin. These resins may be used alone or in combination of two or more. The content of the resin in the image receiving layer is preferably from 9/91 to 20/80 in terms of resin / zinc oxide weight ratio.

The desensitization of zinc oxide has been conventionally performed by using a desensitizing treatment liquid of this type, a treatment liquid containing a cyanide compound containing ferrocyanate or ferricyanate as a main component, an ammine cobalt complex, phytic acid and derivatives thereof. There are known a cyan-free treatment liquid containing a guanidine derivative as a main component, a treatment liquid containing an inorganic acid or an organic acid that forms a chelate with zinc ions as a main component, and a treatment liquid containing a water-soluble polymer. For example, as a cyanide-containing treatment solution, JP-B-44-9045 and JP-B-46-39403.
And JP-A-52-76101 and 57-107889.
And Nos. 54-117201.

Hereinafter, the oil-based ink used in the present invention will be described. The oil-based ink used in the present invention is not particularly limited, but generally has an electric resistance of 10 ⁹ Ωc.
Those obtained by dispersing solid and hydrophobic resin particles at least at room temperature in a non-aqueous solvent having a dielectric constant of 3.5 or more and a dielectric constant of 3.5 or less are preferably used.

The surface tension of the oil-based ink is not particularly limited, but is generally 35 dyne / cm or less, and preferably 35 dyne / cm or less.
dyne / cm or more, more preferably 30 dyne / c
m and 16 dyne / cm or more. When the surface tension is within the above range, the ejection properties are not easily lowered, and the ink is hardly spilled from the head, so that the stability is improved. The viscosity of the oil-based ink is not particularly limited, but is generally 15 cP or less, preferably 15 cP or less and 0.4 cP or more, more preferably 10 cP or more.
Those having a P or less and 0.5 cP or more are used. When the viscosity is in the above range, the ejection property is not easily reduced, and the ink is hardly spilled from the head, and the stability is improved. In addition, the particle charge distribution ratio of the oil-based ink (refers to the ratio of the charge of the particles to the charge of the entire ink) is also
Although not particularly limited, generally 10% or more is used, preferably 30% or more, more preferably 40% or more. When the particle charge distribution ratio is within the above range, aggregates are easily generated, and printing durability is improved.
The particle charge distribution ratio is defined as (electric conductivity of the whole ink−conductivity of the supernatant obtained by centrifuging the ink (15000 rpm for 30 minutes)) ÷ conductivity of the whole ink × 100%. The value of the particle charge distribution ratio is obtained by measuring the conductivity at a measurement frequency of 1 kHz / applied voltage of 5 V.

The non-aqueous solvent having an electric resistance of 10 ⁹ Ωcm or more and a dielectric constant of 3.5 or less used in the present invention is preferably a linear or branched aliphatic hydrocarbon, alicyclic hydrocarbon or aromatic hydrocarbon. There are hydrogen, and halogenated forms of these hydrocarbons. For example, hexane, heptane, octane, isooctane, decane, isodecane, decalin, nonane, dodecane, isododecane, cyclohexane, cyclooctane, cyclodecane, benzene, toluene, xylene, mesitylene, isoper C, isoper E, isoper G, isoper H, isoper L (Isoper; trade name of Exxon), Shellsol 70, Shellsol 71 (tradename of Shelloil), Amsco OMS, Amsco 460 solvent (trade name of Amsco; Spirits), silicone oil, etc. Use alone or as a mixture. The upper limit of the electric resistance of such a non-aqueous solvent is about 10 ¹⁶ Ωcm, and the lower limit of the dielectric constant is about 1.9.

The reason why the electric resistance of the non-aqueous solvent used is set in the above range is that if the electric resistance is low, the electric resistance of the ink is not appropriate and the ejection of the ink by the electric field is deteriorated. The reason for setting the range is that when the dielectric constant is high, the electric field in the ink is easily relaxed, whereby the ejection of the ink is easily deteriorated.

The resin particles dispersed in the above non-aqueous solvent may be any hydrophobic resin particles which are solid at a temperature of 35 ° C. or lower and have good affinity with the non-aqueous solvent. Glass transition point is -5 ° C to 110 ° C or softening point 33 ° C
The resin (P) having a glass transition point of 10 to 100 ° C or a softening point of 38 to 1 ° C is more preferable.
20 ° C., more preferably 15 ° C.
80 ° C or a softening point of 38 ° C to 100 ° C.

By using such a resin having a glass transition point or a softening point, the affinity between the surface of the image receiving layer of the printing original plate and the resin particles is increased, and the bonding between the resin particles on the printing original plate is increased. Therefore, the adhesion between the image portion and the image receiving layer is improved, and the printing durability is improved. On the other hand, regardless of whether the glass transition point or the softening point is low or high, the affinity between the surface of the image receiving layer and the resin particles is reduced, and the bonding between the resin particles is weakened.

The weight average molecular weight Mw of the resin (P) is 1 ×
10 ³ to 1 × 10 ⁶ , preferably 5 × 10 ³ to 8
× 10 ⁵ , more preferably 1 × 10 ^{4 to} 5 × 10 ⁵ .

As such a resin (P), specifically,
Olefin polymer and copolymer (for example, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyisobutylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, ethylene-acrylate copolymer,
Ethylene-methacrylate copolymer, ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer, etc.), vinyl chloride copolymer (for example, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, etc.),
Vinylidene chloride copolymer, vinyl alkanoate polymer and copolymer, allyl alkanoate polymer and copolymer,
Polymers and copolymers of styrene and its derivatives (for example, butadienoic acid-styrene copolymer, isoprene-styrene copolymer, styrene-methacrylate copolymer, styrene-acrylate copolymer, etc.), acrylonitrile copolymer, methacrylic acid Lonitrile copolymer, alkyl vinyl ether copolymer, acrylate polymer and copolymer, methacrylate polymer and copolymer, itaconic diester polymer and copolymer,
Maleic anhydride copolymer, acrylamide copolymer, methacrylamide copolymer, phenol resin, alkyd resin, polycarbonate resin, ketone resin, polyester resin, silicone resin, amide resin, hydroxyl and carboxyl group-modified polyester resin, butyral resin, Polyvinyl acetal resin, urethane resin, rosin resin,
Hydrogenated rosin resin, petroleum resin, hydrogenated petroleum resin, maleic acid resin, terpene resin, hydrogenated terpene resin,
Chroman-indene resin, cyclized rubber-methacrylic acid ester copolymer, cyclized rubber-acrylic acid ester copolymer, copolymer containing a nitrogen-free heterocycle (for example, a furan ring, tetrahydrofuran as a heterocycle) Ring, thiophene ring, dioxane ring, dioxofuran ring,
Lactone ring, benzofuran ring, benzothiophene ring,
1,3-dioxetane ring), epoxy resin and the like.

The content of the dispersed resin particles in the oil-based ink of the present invention is preferably 0.5 to 20% by weight of the whole ink. If the content is small, it is difficult to obtain an affinity between the ink and the image receiving layer of the printing original plate, and a good image cannot be obtained, or problems such as reduced printing durability are likely to occur. If the content is too high, it is difficult to obtain a uniform dispersion, or the ink may be easily clogged with the discharge head, and it may be difficult to obtain stable ink discharge.

The oil-based ink used in the present invention preferably contains a coloring material as a coloring component together with the above-mentioned dispersed resin particles, for example, for plate inspection of a plate after plate making.
As the colorant, any pigments and dyes conventionally used in oil-based ink compositions or liquid developers for electrostatography can be used.

As the pigments, those generally used in the technical field of printing can be used irrespective of inorganic pigments and organic pigments. Specifically, for example, carbon black, cadmium red, molybdenum red, chrome yellow, cadmium yellow, titanium yellow, chromium oxide, viridian, titanium cobalt green, ultramarine blue, Prussian blue, cobalt blue, azo pigments, phthalocyanine-based Pigments, quinacridone pigments, isoindolinone pigments, dioxazine pigments, threne pigments, perylene pigments, perinone pigments, thioindigo pigments, quinophthalone pigments, metal complex pigments, and other conventionally known pigments are particularly limited. Can be used without.

As the dye, azo dye, metal complex dye,
Naphthol dye, anthraquinone dye, indigo dye,
Oil-soluble dyes such as carbonium dyes, quinone imine dyes, xanthene dyes, aniline dyes, quinoline dyes, nitro dyes, nitroso dyes, benzoquinone dyes, naphthoquinone dyes, phthalocyanine dyes and metal phthalocyanine dyes are preferred. These pigments and dyes may be used alone or in an appropriate combination, but are desirably contained in the range of 0.01 to 5% by weight based on the whole ink.

These coloring materials may be dispersed in a non-aqueous solvent as the dispersed particles themselves, or may be contained in the dispersed resin particles, separately from the dispersed resin particles. In the case of containing, pigments and the like are generally coated with the resin material of the dispersed resin particles to obtain resin-coated particles. General.

The resin particles dispersed in the non-aqueous solvent of the present invention, and also the colored particles and the like, preferably have an average particle diameter of 0.05 μm to 5 μm. It is more preferably 0.1 μm to 1.0 μm, and still more preferably 0.1 μm to 1.0 μm.
The range is from μm to 0.5 μm. This particle size is CAPA-
500 (trade name, manufactured by Horiba, Ltd.).

The non-aqueous dispersion resin particles used in the present invention can be produced by a conventionally known mechanical pulverization method or polymerization granulation method. As the mechanical grinding method,
If necessary, a material as resin particles is mixed, melted and kneaded, and then directly pulverized by a conventionally known pulverizer to obtain fine particles, a dispersing polymer is used in combination, and a wet disperser (for example, a ball mill paint shaker) , Keddy mill, Dyno mill, etc.), a material to be a resin particle component,
A method of kneading a dispersion-assisting polymer (or a coating polymer) in advance to form a kneaded product, pulverizing the mixture, and then dispersing the mixture in the presence of a dispersing polymer, etc. Specifically, a method for producing a paint or a liquid developer for electrostatography can be used. For example, these methods are described in "Paint Flow and Pigment Dispersion" edited by Kenji Ueki, Kyoritsu Shuppan (1971), "Solomon , Science of Paints "," Paint and Surfa
ce Coating Theory and Pra
ctice ", Yuji Harasaki" Coating Engineering "Asakura Shoten (1971), Yuji Harasaki" Basic Science of Coating "
It is described in books such as Maki Shoten (1977).

Examples of the polymerization granulation method include a conventionally known non-aqueous dispersion polymerization method. Specifically, the latest technology of ultrafine polymer supervised by Soichi Muroi, Chapter 2, CMC Publishing (1991) ), Edited by Koichi Nakamura, "Recent Development and Practical Use of Electrophotographic Developing System and Toner Material", Chapter 3, (Nippon Scientific Information Inc., 1985), K. E. FIG. J. Barret
t "Dispersion Polymerizati
on in Organic Media "John
Wiley (1975) and the like.

Usually, a dispersion polymer is used in combination to stabilize the dispersion of the dispersed particles in a non-aqueous solvent. The dispersed polymer contains a repeating unit soluble in a non-aqueous solvent as a main component, and has an average molecular weight of 1 × 10 in weight average molecular weight Mw.
³ to 1 × 10 ⁶ is preferable, and more preferably 5 × 10 ³ to
The range is 5 × 10 ⁵ .

The preferred soluble repeating unit of the dispersion polymer used in the present invention includes a polymerization component represented by the following general formula (I).

[0080]

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In the general formula (I), X ₁ is —COO
Represents-, -OCO- or -O-. R represents 10 carbon atoms
Represents an alkyl group or an alkenyl group having from 32 to 32, preferably represents an alkyl group or an alkenyl group having from 10 to 22 carbon atoms, and may be linear or branched. You may have. Specifically, decyl group, dodecyl group, tridecyl group, tetradecyl group, hexadecyl group, octadecyl group, eicosanyl group, docosanyl group, decenyl group, dodecenyl group, tridecenyl group, hexadecenyl group, octadecenyl group, linolel group, etc. .

A ₁ and a ₂ may be the same or different from each other, and are preferably a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom (eg, a chlorine atom, a bromine atom, etc.), a cyano group, and a carbon number of 1 to 3.
Alkyl group (e.g., methyl group, ethyl group, propyl group, etc.), - COO-Z ₁ or -CH ₂ COO-Z ₁ [Z ₁
Is a hydrogen atom or an optionally substituted hydrocarbon group having 22 or less carbon atoms (eg, an alkyl group, an alkenyl group,
An aralkyl group, an alicyclic group, an aryl group, etc.).

Z ₁ specifically represents a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group. Preferred examples of the hydrocarbon group include an alkyl group having 1 to 22 carbon atoms which may be substituted (for example, a methyl group and an ethyl group). Group, propyl group, butyl group, heptyl group,
Hexyl group, octyl group, nonyl group, decyl group, dodecyl group, tridecyl group, tetradecyl group, hexadecyl group, octadecyl group, eicosanyl group, docosanyl group,
2-chloroethyl group, 2-bromoethyl group, 2-cyanoethyl group, 2-methoxycarbonylethyl group, 2-methoxyethyl group, 3-bromopropyl group, etc.), having 4 to 4 carbon atoms.
18 alkenyl groups which may be substituted (for example, 2-methyl-1-propenyl group, 2-butenyl group, 2-pentenyl group, 3-methyl-2-pentenyl group, 1-pentenyl group, 1-hexenyl group, 2-hexenyl group, 4-methyl-2-hexenyl group, decenyl group, dodecenyl group, tridecenyl group, hexadecenyl group, octadecenyl group,
An aralkyl group having 7 to 12 carbon atoms which may be substituted (for example, a benzyl group, a phenethyl group,
Phenylpropyl group, naphthylmethyl group, 2-naphthylethyl group, chlorobenzyl group, bromobenzyl group, methylbenzyl group, ethylbenzyl group, methoxybenzyl group, dimethylbenzyl group, dimethoxybenzyl group, etc.),
An optionally substituted alicyclic group having 5 to 8 carbon atoms (eg, cyclohexyl group, 2-cyclohexylethyl group, 2-cyclopentylethyl group, etc.), and an optionally substituted aromatic group having 6 to 12 carbon atoms (For example, phenyl, naphthyl, tolyl, xylyl, propylphenyl, butylphenyl, octylphenyl, dodecylphenyl, methoxyphenyl, ethoxyphenyl, butoxyphenyl, decyloxyphenyl, chlorophenyl) , Dichlorophenyl, bromophenyl, cyanophenyl, acetylphenyl, methoxycarbonylphenyl, ethoxycarbonylphenyl, butoxycarbonylphenyl, acetamidophenyl, propioamidophenyl, dodecyloylamidophenyl, etc.) Listed .

In the dispersion polymer, another repeating unit may be contained as a copolymer component together with the repeating unit represented by the general formula (I). Other copolymer components include:
Any compound may be used as long as it is composed of a monomer copolymerizable with a monomer corresponding to the repeating unit of the general formula (I).

The proportion of the polymer component represented by the general formula (I) in the dispersion polymer is preferably at least 50% by weight, more preferably at least 60% by weight. Specific examples of these dispersion polymers include the dispersion stabilizing resin (Q-1) used in Examples, and a commercially available product (Solprene 1205, manufactured by Asahi Kasei Corporation) can also be used.

The dispersion polymer is preferably added in advance during the polymerization when producing the resin (P) particles as an emulsion (latex) or the like. When the dispersing polymer is used, the amount added is about 0.05 to 4% by weight based on the whole ink.

The resin particles and colored particles (or coloring material particles) in the oil-based ink of the present invention are preferably positively charged or negatively charged electroconductive particles. In order to impart an electric detecting property to these particles, it can be achieved by appropriately utilizing a technique of a wet type electrophotographic developer. Specifically, the above-mentioned “Recent development and commercialization of electrophotographic development systems and toner materials”
139-148, edited by the Society of Electrophotography, "Basics and Application of Electrophotographic Technology", 497-505 (Corona Co., 1988), Yuji Harazaki, "Electrophotography" 16 (No. 2), 44 (1977), etc. And the other additives.

Specifically, for example, British Patent No. 8934
No. 29, No. 934038, U.S. Pat. No. 112239
No. 7, No. 3900412, No. 460989,
JP-A-60-179751, JP-A-60-185963
And JP-A-2-13965. The charge control agent as described above is a dispersion medium 1000 as a carrier liquid.
0.001 to 1.0 part by weight based on part by weight is preferred.
If desired, various additives may be added. The upper limit of the total amount of these additives is regulated by the electric resistance of the oil-based ink. That is, if the electric resistance of the ink from which the dispersed particles are removed is lower than 10 ⁹ Ωcm, it becomes difficult to obtain a high-quality continuous tone image. Therefore, it is necessary to control the amount of each additive within this limit. It is.

[0089]

The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. First, a production example of the ink resin particles (PL) will be described.

Production Example 1 of Resin Particles (PL-1) A mixed solution of 10 g of a dispersion stabilizing resin (Q-1) having the following structure, 100 g of vinyl acetate and 384 g of Isopar H was heated to a temperature of 70 ° C. while stirring under a nitrogen stream. did. 2,2'-azobis (isovaleronitrile) as a polymerization initiator
0.8 g (abbreviation AIVN) was added and reacted for 3 hours. Twenty minutes after addition of the initiator, cloudiness occurred and the reaction temperature rose to 88 ° C. Further, 0.5 g of this initiator was added, and after reacting for 2 hours, the temperature was raised to 100 ° C., and the mixture was stirred for 2 hours to distill off unreacted vinyl acetate. After cooling, the mixture was passed through a 200-mesh nylon cloth, and the resulting white dispersion was a latex having a degree of polymerization of 90% and an average particle size of 0.23 μm and having good monodispersity. The particle size was measured with CAPA-500 (manufactured by Horiba, Ltd.).

[0091]

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A part of the white dispersion was centrifuged (rotation speed: 1 × 10 ⁴ rpm, rotation time: 60 minutes), and the precipitated resin particles were collected and dried. Weight average molecular weight of resin particles (Mw: GPC in terms of polystyrene)
Value) was 2 × 10 ⁵ , and the glass transition point (Tg) was 38 ° C.

Example 1 First, an oil-based ink was prepared. <Preparation of oil-based ink (IK-1)> 10 g of dodecyl methacrylate / acrylic acid copolymer (copolymerization ratio: 95/5 by weight), 10 g of nigrosine and Shellsol 7
1 g together with glass beads was placed in a paint shaker (manufactured by Toyo Seiki Co., Ltd.) and dispersed for 4 hours to obtain a fine dispersion of nigrosine. Production example 1 of resin particles for ink
60 g (as solid content) of the resin particles (PL-1) produced in the above, 2.5 g of the above nigrosine dispersion, and octene-half-maleic acid hexadecylamide copolymer 0.08
g was diluted to 1 liter of Isopar G to prepare a black oil-based ink.

Next, an on-press lithographic printing apparatus (FIGS. 1-2)
2) of the oil-based ink (IK-1) prepared as described above was filled in an ink tank. An ink usage amount display device is attached to the printing device, and here, 900 dp shown in FIG.
i, a 64-channel multihead was used. A throwing heater and a stirring blade are provided in the ink tank as ink temperature management means. The ink temperature is set to 30 ° C.
The temperature was controlled with a thermostat while rotating at 0 rpm. Here, the stirring blade was also used as a stirring means for preventing sedimentation and aggregation. In addition, the ink flow path is partially transparent, and an LED light emitting element and a light detecting element are arranged with the ink flow path interposed therebetween. The output signal of the light emitting element and the ink diluent (Isopar G) or the concentrated ink ｛the solid of the ink (IK-1) The concentration was adjusted by doubling the concentration.

As a plate material, a 0.12 mm-thick aluminum plate subjected to graining and anodizing was attached by a mechanical device provided on the plate cylinder, with the bottom of the plate added. Separate the dampening water supply device, the printing ink supply device, and the blanket cylinder so that they do not come into contact with the plate material, remove the dust on the plate material surface by suctioning with an air pump, and then move the discharge head close to the plate material to the drawing position and print. The image data to be transmitted to the image data arithmetic control unit, and the 64-channel ejection head was slid while rotating the plate cylinder, thereby ejecting oily ink onto the aluminum plate to form an image. At this time, the tip width of the ejection electrode of the ink jet head was 10 μm, and the distance between the head and the plate material was 1 m according to the output from the optical gap detector.
m. In addition, at the time of ejection, 2.
A voltage of 5 KV is always applied, and when discharging, 5
A pulse voltage of 00 V was further superimposed, and the pulse voltage was changed in 256 steps within a range of 0.2 ms to 0.05 ms to perform drawing while changing the dot area. No defective drawing due to dust was observed at all, and no image deterioration due to a change in the dot diameter was observed even when the outside air temperature changed or the number of plate making increased, and good plate making was possible.

Further, the image was strengthened by heating using a xenon flash fixing device (light emission intensity: 200 J / pulse, manufactured by Ushio Inc.) to produce a printing plate. In order to protect the ink jet head, the ink jet recording apparatus was retracted by 50 mm from the position close to the plate cylinder together with the sub-scanning means, and thereafter, printing was performed on the printing paper by the normal lithographic printing method as described above. That is, a printing image is formed by applying a printing ink and a fountain solution, the printing ink image is transferred onto a rotating blanket cylinder together with the plate cylinder, and then a printing coat passing between the blanket cylinder and the impression cylinder. The printing ink image on the blanket cylinder was transferred onto the paper.

The obtained printed matter was an extremely clear image without any skipping or blurring in the printed image even after passing 10,000 sheets. In addition, after supplying Isopar G to the head for 10 minutes after the completion of plate making, cleaning by dripping Isopar G from the opening of the head, and storing the head in a cover filled with vapor of Isopar G, 3 Good prints could be produced for months without the need for maintenance.

Example 2 The same processing as in Example 1 was carried out except that a CCD camera was attached as the plate inspection means. After the image on the plate was digitally processed, the image was displayed on a monitor. Further, a circulating pump is used as a stirring means, and a type 6 shown in FIGS. 5, 7 and 9 is used.
A 00 dpi full line inkjet head was arranged. Here, a pump is used, and ink reservoirs are respectively provided between the pump and the ink inflow path of the discharge head, and between the ink recovery path of the discharge head and the ink tank. As a means, a heater and the above-mentioned pump are used.
The temperature was set at 5 ° C. and controlled with a thermostat. Here, the circulation pump was also used as a stirring means for preventing precipitation and aggregation. In addition, a conductivity measuring device is placed in the ink flow path,
Based on the output signal, the density was controlled by diluting the ink or feeding the concentrated ink. The above-mentioned aluminum plate was similarly mounted on a plate cylinder of a lithographic printing apparatus as a plate material. After removing dust on the plate surface with a nylon rotating brush,
The image data to be printed was transmitted to the image data arithmetic control unit, and the image was formed by discharging oil-based ink onto the aluminum plate by drawing with a full line head while rotating the plate cylinder. As a result of checking on the monitor, no drawing failure etc. due to dust was seen at all.
No image deterioration due to a change in dot diameter or the like was observed even when the number of plate making increased, and good plate making was possible.

Further, when a printed matter was made using the plate that had been made,
Even after passing through 10,000 sheets, the printed image was extremely clear without drawing defects, skipping or blurring. In addition, after the head was cleaned by circulating Isopar G to the head after the completion of plate making, cleaning was performed by bringing the nonwoven fabric containing Isopar G into contact with the tip of the head. Cleaning was performed for three months without any need for maintenance work. Prints were produced.

Example 3 In an ink jet recording apparatus of a 4-color single-sided lithographic printing apparatus (see FIG. 10) for on-press drawing, a full line head shown in FIG. Gap 0.8 mm). In addition, the same operation as in Example 1 was performed except that replenishment of concentrated ink to the ink tank was performed according to the number of drawn sheets as the ink density control means, and 5,000 plates were made. As a result, no defective drawing due to dust and no influence due to a change in outside temperature were observed. The dot diameter was slightly changed by the increase in the number of plate making, but it was within the range where there was no effect. In addition to the above-described flash fixing as described above, the plate-making plate was heat roll-fixed (manufactured by Hitachi Metals, Ltd .;
W), halogen lamp irradiation (QI made by USHIO Inc.)
R, power consumption 1.5 kW), and fixing by spraying with ethyl acetate.

Heating was carried out at a plate surface temperature of 95 ° C. for 20 seconds during heat roll fixing and irradiation with a halogen lamp, and the spraying amount was about 1 g / m ^{2 in} the case of spraying with ethyl acetate. As a result, an extremely clear full-color printed matter was obtained without any skipping or blurring in the printed image even after the passing of 10,000 sheets. In particular, in the case of fixing by a heat roll or a halogen lamp, the fixing time could be greatly shortened by winding a heat insulating material (PET film) around the plate cylinder.
In that case, use a conductive brush (Tsuchiya Sandaron,
The aluminum substrate was grounded by contact with a resistance of about 10 ^-1 Ωcm).

Example 4 The same operation as in Example 1 was performed, except that a paper plate material having a hydrophilic image receiving layer on the surface shown below was used instead of the aluminum plate of Example 1. Base weight 100g /
m2 ^high- quality paper, on a paper support provided with a water-resistant layer mainly composed of kaolin and resin components of polyvinyl alcohol, SBR latex and melamine resin on both sides of the substrate, with the following composition and the following composition: The dispersion A prepared in this manner was dried, and an image receiving layer was provided so that the coating amount was 6 g / m ² to obtain a paper plate material.

Dispersion A Gelatin (Wako Pure Chemicals first grade) 3 g Colloidal silica (Nissan Chemical; Snowtex C, 20% aqueous solution) 20 g Silica gel (Fuji Silysia Chemical; Sylysia # 310) 7 g Hardener (paraformaldehyde) 0.4 g of 100 g of distilled water was dispersed with glass beads for 10 minutes using a paint shaker.

On the other hand, when high-quality paper was used as the printing paper, solid crushing failure occurred due to paper dust when printing 3,000 sheets. Therefore, an air suction pump was installed near the paper feeding unit as a paper dust prevention device. Printing was done. As a result, printing failure did not occur, and the printed matter obtained was an extremely clear image with no flying or blurring even after 5,000 sheets were passed. However, after 5,000 sheets are passed, the A3 image is 0.1m in the vertical direction.
m was observed.

Example 5 In place of the aluminum plate of Example 1, a plate material provided with an image receiving layer which can be made hydrophilic by a desensitizing treatment was used on the surface shown below, Non-image area is hydrophilized using a surface treatment device, the plate material conductive layer is grounded by contact with a conductive leaf spring (made of phosphor bronze) at the time of drawing, and fixing is performed by applying hot air to the plate material. Performed the same operation as in Example 1.

A high-quality paper having a basis weight of 100 g / m ² was used as a substrate, and a polyethylene film having a thickness of 20 μm was laminated on both surfaces of the substrate to form a water-resistant paper support. The layer coating is applied on one side, and after drying, the applied amount is 10 g / m ² ,
On top of this, the dispersion B was dried and applied as a coating amount of 15 g / m2.
^An image receiving layer was provided so as to obtain a plate material of 2.

Paint for conductive layer; carbon black (30
% Aqueous solution) 5.4 parts, clay (50% aqueous solution) 54.6
Parts, SBR latex (solid content 50%, Tg 25 ° C) 3
Six parts and 4 parts of a melamine resin (solid content 80%, Sumiretz Resin SR-13) were mixed, and water was added so that the total solid content was 25% to obtain a paint.

Dispersion B: 100 g of dry zinc oxide, 3 g of binder resin (B-1) having the following structure, and 1 binder resin (B-2)
A mixture of 7 g, 0.15 g of benzoic acid and 155 g of toluene was wet-dispersed with a homogenizer (manufactured by Nippon Seiki Co., Ltd.).
For 8 minutes at 6,000 rpm.

[0109]

Embedded image

The printed matter obtained was an extremely clear image with no skipping or blurring in the printed image even when the number of sheets passed through was 5,000.

[0111]

According to the present invention, a large number of prints of clear images can be printed. In addition, a printing plate corresponding to digital image data can be stably produced with high image quality directly on a printing press, and inexpensive and high-speed lithographic printing can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram schematically illustrating an example of an on-press lithographic printing apparatus used in the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram schematically illustrating an example of a drawing unit of the on-press lithographic printing apparatus used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of a head provided in an inkjet recording apparatus used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the vicinity of an ink ejection unit in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of another head provided in the ink jet recording apparatus used in the present invention, in the vicinity of an ink ejection section.

FIG. 6 is a schematic front view of the vicinity of an ink ejection unit in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a main part of an example of another head provided in the ink jet recording apparatus used in the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a head obtained by removing a regulating plate from the head of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a main part of an example of another head provided in the ink jet recording apparatus used in the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an overall configuration diagram schematically showing an on-press drawing four-color single-sided lithographic printing machine as an example of a multi-color printing machine used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 On-machine drawing lithographic printing apparatus 2 Ink jet recording apparatus 3 Dampening water supply apparatus 4 Printing ink supply apparatus 5 Fixing apparatus 6 Plate surface desensitization apparatus 7 Plate material automatic plate supply apparatus 8 Plate material automatic plate discharging apparatus 9 Plate material (printing plate) 10) Dust removing device 11 Plate cylinder 12 Blanket cylinder 13 Impression cylinder 14 Blanket cleaning device 15 Paper dust prevention device 20 Digital control means 21 Image data calculation control unit 22 Discharge head 221 Upper unit 222 Lower unit 22a Discharge slit 22b Discharge electrode 23 Oil-based ink 24 Ink supply unit 25 Ink tank 26 Ink supply device 27 Stirring device 28 Ink temperature management unit 29 Ink density control unit 30 Encoder 31 Head separation unit 32 Head sub-scanning unit 33 First insulating base material 34 Second Insulating base material 35 Oblique of second insulating base material FIG. 36 Top View of Second Insulating Base Material 37 Ink Flow Path 38 Ink Collection Path 39 Backing 40 Groove 41 Head Body 42, 42 ′ Meniscus Regulated Plate 43 Ink Groove 44 Partition 45, 45 ′ Ejection Section 46 Partition 47 Partition Tip Part 50, 50 'Supporting member 51, 51' Groove 52 Partition wall 53 Upper end part 54 Rectangular part 55 Upper end of partition 56 Guide protrusion P Printing paper

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) C09D 11/02 B41J 3/04 103S 4J039 (72) Inventor Eiichi Kato 4000 Kawajiri, Yoshida-cho, Haibara-gun, Shizuoka Prefecture Fuji (72) Inventor Sadao Osawa 4,000 Kawakawajiri, Yoshida-cho, Haibara-gun, Shizuoka Prefecture Fujisha Shin-Film Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2C034 AA12 AA42 BA02 BA05 BA16 2C056 EA04 EB07 EB30 FA10 FA13 FB01 FB09 FD02 2C057 AF21 AG12 AG17 AG46 AG61 AG71 AG88 AH07 AJ10 AL14 AM14 AN01 AN05 2H084 AA25 AA38 AE05 BB01 BB13 CC05 2H113 AA01 AA05 BA05 BC02 DA04 DA24 DA50 DA53 EA27 FA07 FA29 FA42 FA50 4J039 AE11 BA04 BC04 BC03 BC04 GA04

Claims (4)

[Claims] An image is formed directly on a plate material mounted on a plate cylinder of a printing press by an ink jet method in which an oil-based ink is ejected from a head using an electrostatic field based on a signal of image data. A lithographic printing method for performing lithographic printing after creation, wherein the printing press has digital control means. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the oil-based ink has a specific electric resistance value of 10.
The lithographic printing method according to claim 1, wherein solid and hydrophobic resin particles are dispersed at least at room temperature in a non-aqueous solvent having a resistivity of ⁹ Ωcm or more and a dielectric constant of 3.5 or less. 3. An image is directly formed on a plate material mounted on a plate cylinder of a printing press by an ink jet method having an ink jet drawing device for discharging oil-based ink from a head using an electrostatic field based on a signal of image data. A lithographic printing apparatus for performing lithographic printing after forming and forming a printing plate, wherein the printing machine has digital control means. 4. The oil-based ink has a specific electric resistance of 10
4. The lithographic printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein solid and hydrophobic resin particles are dispersed at least at room temperature in a non-aqueous solvent having a dielectric constant of not less than ⁹ Ωcm and not more than 3.5.