JP2001179928A - Method and device for manufacturing seamless cylinder printing plate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plate-making system, by which the rationalization and saving of resources in manufacturing are contrived by a method wherein a digital image is formed on a coated photosensitive resin layer directly from digital image data. SOLUTION: The manufacturing method of a seamless cylinder printing plate consists of a coating process 1 for coating a photosensitive resin liquid having a certain thickness on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder, a dividing process 2 for dividing the image forming region on the coated photosensitive resin layer into an aggregate of block squares of a checkerboard arranged in a two-dimensional matrix and for further dividing the one block square minutely into minute regions in squares of a checkerboard, a process 3 for forming a digital image by repeating digital block exposure, digital block exposure which is performed by selectively irradiating the minute region by actinic rays of light with a digital exposing means traveling rectilinearly on the basis of image recording signals prepared in advance, by the number, which is the total number of the blocks, of times and a process 4 for further repeating the process 1 to 3 on the photosensitive resin layer, on which the image is formed, and a process 5 for removing uncured resin from the photosensitive resin layer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for producing a seamless cylinder printing plate and a production apparatus in which the method is easily implemented.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a plate material for letterpress printing represented by flexographic printing such as corrugated cardboard printing, a photosensitive resin plate has been used for the past twenty or more years. (Trade name, manufactured by Asahi Kasei Kogyo) is the most typical liquid photosensitive resin. Various models are provided as plate making apparatuses according to plate making sizes and plate making capabilities, but all are plate making systems of a flat exposure type in which a photosensitive resin liquid is formed into a plane to form an image. In the plate making process, a negative film on which an image has been formed by a film production system such as an image setter is set on a flat glass surface, the top of which is covered with a transparent cover film, and the photosensitive resin liquid is applied with a certain thickness. Further, a base film is further laminated thereon, and ultraviolet light is irradiated from below the glass to form an image of the negative film on the photosensitive resin layer. After this, the uncured resin of the photosensitive resin layer is scraped off with a rubber spatula or the like and almost removed, and the remaining uncured resin is also completely eluted with the cleaning liquid, and is subjected to the necessary post-processing steps required. A letterpress printing plate is manufactured and wound around a plate cylinder of a flexographic printing press to perform printing.

[0003] However, in such a relief printing plate made by the plane exposure method, a seam is inevitably formed between the leading end and the trailing end of the plate wound around the plate cylinder, so that the continuous printing surface such as gift wrapping paper or wallpaper can be avoided. When printing a patterned design, a non-image part is removed by a laser beam from a rubber-coated cylinder called a design roll with no plate seams to create a convex image, or gravure printing using a different printing method is the mainstream. Has become. By the way, in recent years, with the rapid spread of computers and the improvement of performance, or the progress of networking represented by the Internet, in the field of offset printing, etc., instead of a conventional plate making system using a positive / negative film, a computer was edited by a computer. CTP (Computer To Pl) for making offset printing plates directly from digital image data
ate) The system is being introduced rapidly.

In the relief printing field, when making a plate from a photosensitive resin sheet, an apparatus for selectively irradiating a photosensitive material with a laser beam based on an image recording signal to form an image is provided.
For example, JP-A-8-300600 discloses an external drum type drawing apparatus for forming an image by ablating an infrared photosensitive layer of a printing original plate having an infrared photosensitive layer and a photopolymerization layer with an infrared laser beam. Thereafter, flexo-CTP, which is exposed to ultraviolet light through an infrared-sensitive layer on which an image has been formed by a conventional exposure apparatus, has rapidly become widespread. Similarly, in a plate-making system using a photosensitive resin solution, a photosensitive resin image is formed directly from digital image data without passing through a negative film in the middle, and seamless cylinder printing that can print seamless and seamless designs. There is a long-awaited plate-making system capable of producing plates.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and a photosensitive resin liquid is uniformly applied to the outer peripheral surface of a metal cylinder base material to form a joint. In addition to processing into a seamless cylinder printing original plate and forming an image on the photosensitive resin liquid applied directly from digital image data, the process of producing a negative film output from a conventional imagesetter or the like is unnecessary, streamlining and saving It is an object to make a plate making system that can be used as a resource.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides (1) (a) a highly rigid cylinder having an adhesive layer with a photosensitive resin on the outer peripheral surface, which is integrally formed with a rotation driving means. (B) an application step of supplying a photosensitive resin liquid having a constant thickness to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder while rotating the cylinder in a certain direction, and (c) an image of the applied photosensitive resin liquid. The forming area is equally divided at a predetermined angle around the cylinder axis (the area that is exposed at a time by one rotation stop operation of the cylinder,
Hereinafter, it is called a band. ), The band is further equally divided at a predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder axis (a single exposure area, hereinafter referred to as a block), and the cylinder rotation angle of each divided band (hereinafter, referred to as a rotation angle). )) And a calculation step of calculating a distance (hereinafter, referred to as a linear axis distance) in a cylinder axis longitudinal direction of each block constituting each band, (d) (d-1) the calculated linear axis of the predetermined block. (D-2) Based on a digital image recording signal prepared in advance, based on a digital image recording signal prepared in advance, a small section of a grid of a two-dimensional matrix (in exposure units) (Hereinafter referred to as pixel). A band image process of repeating the block image process of independently modulating the active light beam and selectively exposing the active light beam for the number of blocks constituting one band, (d-3) calculating the band image process. Predetermined A digital image process for forming an image corresponding to a digital image recording signal over the entire surface of the applied photosensitive resin liquid by repeating one cycle consisting of a sub-scanning process of rotating a cylinder based on the rotation angle of the photosensitive resin liquid for all bands. (E) a step of removing the uncured resin from the photosensitive resin layer, and (f) a step of removing the cylinder from the rotation driving means.

(2) (d) After the digital image process,
Subsequently, (g) a laminating step of repeating the steps (b) to (d) one or more times on the photosensitive resin layer on which the digital image is formed is performed, wherein the seamless cylinder printing plate according to the above (1) is provided. (3) a post-exposure step of irradiating the entire surface of the photosensitive resin layer on which an image has been formed with active light between the step (3) (e) of removing the uncured resin and the step (f) of removing the cylinder; The method for producing a seamless cylinder printing plate according to the above (1) or (2), wherein a step of modifying the surface of the formed photosensitive resin layer and a subsequent post-exposure step are added.

(4) A photosensitive resin liquid having a constant thickness is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder between (a) a mounting step of the cylinder and (b) a coating step of supplying the photosensitive resin liquid.
The process of irradiating the photosensitive resin liquid uniformly with actinic light while rotating the cylinder in a certain direction, and performing a full-curing exposure for curing all of the applied photosensitive resin liquid is repeated at least once. The method for producing a seamless cylinder printing plate according to any one of the above (1) to (3),
(5) (b) a coating step of supplying a photosensitive resin liquid and (c)
Excitation exposure that uniformly irradiates the entire surface with actinic light at a light level that does not cure the photosensitive resin liquid while rotating the cylinder in a certain direction during the process of dividing and calculating the image forming area of the photosensitive resin liquid. The method of producing a seamless cylinder printing plate according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein a step is added.

(6) (A) a rotary drive mechanism having a structure in which the cylinders are integrally connected so as to be able to rotate and stop accurately at a predetermined rotation angle; and (B) means for detecting the rotation angle of the cylinder. (C) a photosensitive resin liquid supply mechanism including a means for applying the photosensitive resin liquid to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder to a constant thickness and a means for separating from the outer peripheral surface; and (D) a photosensitive resin liquid applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder. The rotation angle is calculated by dividing the image forming area of the resin liquid into bands, the divided bands are further divided into blocks, and a linear axis distance is calculated.The digital exposure head is moved to a predetermined block position based on the linear axis distance. A controller for transmitting a control signal for linearly moving the digital exposure head and a control signal for rotating the rotation drive mechanism of the cylinder by a predetermined angle after the digital exposure head linearly moves for one band; and (E) means for receiving and storing a digital image recording signal, converting it into an active light modulated electronic control signal, and all the elements having an active light source and forming a two-dimensional matrix into which the active light is incident, Means for independently modulating the active light for each element based on the active light modulation electronic control signal and selectively irradiating pixels of one block of the photosensitive resin liquid, and a lens provided on a transmission path of the active light. A digital exposure head, (F) a mechanism for receiving a control signal from the controller, holding the exposure head at a fixed distance from the cylinder outer peripheral surface, and linearly moving the exposure head in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder axis, and (G) a cylinder outer periphery. Means for removing the uncured resin of the photosensitive resin layer having an image formed on the surface thereof, a seamless cylinder printing plate manufacturing apparatus,

(7) An apparatus for manufacturing a seamless cylinder printing plate according to the above (6), wherein an actinic light irradiator is provided around the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder. (8) An image around the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder. (9) The device for manufacturing a seamless cylinder printing plate according to (6) or (7), wherein a mechanism for modifying the surface of the formed photosensitive resin layer is provided. Any one of the above (6) to (8), wherein the digital exposure means of the exposure head is a DMD (digital micromirror device), a transmissive liquid crystal, a reflective liquid crystal, or a semiconductor laser array. An apparatus for manufacturing a seamless cylinder printing plate according to

(10) The active light irradiator is an ultraviolet light source which outputs a wavelength range of 200 to 450 nm, such as a metal halide lamp, a high pressure mercury lamp, a chemical lamp, or a germicidal lamp.
(9) The apparatus for manufacturing a seamless cylinder printing plate according to any one of (9) and (11) (G) wherein the means for removing the uncured resin of the photosensitive resin layer on which an image is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder is:
Any of the above (6) to (10), further comprising an uncured resin recovery mechanism comprising an elastic blade provided on the suction nozzle and a hot air knife, and an uncured resin wiping mechanism in addition thereto. An apparatus for manufacturing the seamless cylinder printing plate described above is provided.

As means for detecting the rotation angle of the cylinder, a rotary encoder is installed on the cylinder rotation axis, and the rotation of the cylinder is controlled by rotation angle data measured by the rotary encoder. Is preferred. Also, the difference in the thickness of the photosensitive resin liquid applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder, or the position of the exposed photosensitive resin liquid changes, such as the outer diameter of the uppermost layer of the photosensitive resin being gradually increased by lamination. The digital exposure head has an automatic focus correction mechanism or a moving means for moving back and forth toward the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder so that the active light beam is always focused at the same spot size on the surface of the photosensitive resin liquid to be exposed. It is preferable to have.
It is preferable that the digital exposure head incorporates a zoom mechanism capable of automatically changing an optical magnification according to a desired resolution.

Further, a part of the active light emitted from the active light source of the digital exposure head is guided to a light intensity sensor, and the light intensity of the active light is appropriately sampled and fed back to the active light source control device. It is preferable to control the light output from the light source to be constant. The image forming signal for digital exposure is DTP (Desk Top Publish).
ing) or image data edited by an electronic typesetting machine is temporarily transferred to a computer equipped with RIP (Raster Image Processor) software to generate a digital image recording signal (bitmap data), and a block memory of a digital exposure head is appropriately formed. Is preferably transferred to

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. A manufacturing apparatus, which corresponds to an embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention and in which the method of the present invention can be easily implemented, will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the present manufacturing apparatus is illustrated in a state where the cylinder main body is already mounted on the rotary drive system. The cylinder 100 has a shaft 10 at each end.
The shafts 1 and 102 have a protruding structure.
02 is connected to a rotation mechanism 104 integrated with the motor via a coupling 103, and a shaft 101
A bearing 105 rotatably supported at both ends of the
A rotary encoder 106 for measuring a cylinder rotation angle is provided on the rotation axis.

A photosensitive resin liquid application mechanism 110 disposed above the cylinder 100 holds a bucket 111 for containing the photosensitive resin liquid 10 and,
The front end of the fixed plate 112 is linearly machined with high precision as a doctor blade, and the opening and closing plate 113 facing the fixed plate 112 is provided with a rotating mechanism. The bottom of the bucket 111 is opened by rotating in the direction, and closed by rotating in the opposite direction. In addition, cylinder 10
The coating thickness of the photosensitive resin liquid 10 on the outer peripheral surface is determined by the doctor blade at the tip of the bucket fixing plate 112 and the cylinder 10.
The photosensitive resin liquid application mechanism 110 keeps a certain distance from the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100 at the thickness control position and retreats further upward in the standby state. A moving means for moving to a position is provided. The photosensitive resin liquid application mechanism 110 supplies the photosensitive resin liquid 10 to the bucket 111 as appropriate, and the viscosity of the photosensitive resin liquid 10 accommodated in the bucket 111 due to an ambient temperature change. It is preferable that a temperature control mechanism for preventing fluctuation and a sensor for detecting the volume of the contained photosensitive resin liquid 10 are provided.

Reference numeral 400 denotes a rotation angle by dividing the image forming area of the photosensitive resin liquid 10 applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100 into bands, and further dividing the divided bands into blocks to calculate a linear axis distance. The digital exposure head 12 is moved to a predetermined block position based on the linear axis distance.
The controller transmits a control signal for linearly moving 0. The linear stage 130 is connected to the controller 400
And a linear motor guide 131 installed in parallel with the cylinder 100, a linear motor 132, and a linear scale 133. , And a support table 134 connected to the linear motor 132.

The digital exposure head 120 is held on the linear stage support table 134, and receives the image data imposed and edited by another computer via a network such as Ethernet.
Means for receiving and storing a digital image recording signal generated by the RIP process of 0, converting the signal into an active light modulation electronic control signal, and independently of the pixel based on the active light modulation electronic control signal. Digital exposure means for modulating the active light every time and selectively irradiating the applied photosensitive resin liquid 10 is provided. Further, it is preferable to provide an automatic focus correction mechanism for the active light or a means for moving back and forth toward the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100. The digital exposure means is not limited to a particular type, and may be, for example, TI (Texas, Texas).
Instruments) sells a plurality of active light beams such as a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) or other transmissive liquid crystal, or a reflective liquid crystal, or a semiconductor laser array to generate light based on digital image data. A mechanism that can modulate can be used. Here, the DMD type digital exposure head will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, it comprises an active light source 121 provided with a reflection mirror at the rear, a condenser lens 122, a two-dimensional micromirror array 123, and a projection lens 124. I have. The active light source 121 is a short arc lamp such as a xenon lamp, a xenon halogen lamp, or an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp, and a light source that mainly generates ultraviolet light having a wavelength range of 300 to 450 nanometers is used. It is preferable to select one that emits light in an efficient wavelength range according to the absorption spectrum of the photosensitizer added to the hydrophilic resin liquid 10. Also, the active light source 1
A part of the active light 20 irradiated from 21 is guided to a light intensity sensor, and the light intensity of the active light is appropriately sampled and fed back to the active light source control device to activate the active light source 121.
It is preferable to control the light output from the light source to be constant, or to provide a light meter for integrating the active light energy in the path of the active light 20 so that constant active light energy is always supplied to the photosensitive resin liquid 10.

An uncured resin collecting mechanism 140 is a high-power air blower 142 that constitutes a hot air knife 141 for ejecting hot air 30 whose heating temperature has been adjusted at a high speed.
And a heater temperature control mechanism 143, and an air knife nozzle 144 having a narrow nozzle at the tip and having a wide nozzle corresponding to the outer peripheral width of the cylinder 100, and the jetted hot air 30 collides with the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100. The elastic member 14 such as a rubber plate is provided on one surface side of the tip portion constituting the vacuum suction mechanism 145 in the return path reflected by the
6, an uncured resin / air separator 148, and a vacuum pump 149. The uncured resin collecting mechanism 140 further includes a cylinder 1 at the collecting position.
00 is provided with a moving means which keeps a fixed distance from the outer peripheral surface and moves to a lower evacuation position in a standby state.

An uncured resin wiping mechanism 150 includes a mechanism 151 for storing and supplying a rolled material of the wiping sheet 40 containing a cleaning liquid to a thin sheet having a void in the surface thereof such as a nonwoven fabric or a sponge. Sheet 4
0, an elastic roll 152 that presses against the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100 while guiding the movement of the cylinder 40, a driving rubber roll 153 that sandwiches the sheet 40 and moves in the direction of the take-up roll 154 while rotating, and the sheet that is connected to a torque motor or the like. A mechanism 154 for winding the roll 40 into a roll shape, and further, an uncured resin wiping mechanism 150 keeps a certain distance from the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100 at the wiping position and moves to a lower retreat position in a standby state. Means.

The active light irradiator 160 is arranged around the cylinder 100 and has an active light source 1 provided with a reflecting mirror at the rear.
61 and a shielding hood 1 for preventing leakage of active light to the surroundings
62 are provided. The active light source 161 is a long arc lamp having a long emission length corresponding to the width of a cylinder 100, such as a metal halide lamp, a high-pressure mercury lamp, a chemical lamp, or a germicidal line lamp.
A light source mainly generating 50-nm ultraviolet light is used, but one that emits light in an efficient wavelength range according to the absorption spectrum of the photosensitizer added to the photosensitive resin liquid 10 is selected. Is preferred. If the active light source 161 is a high-power lamp, it is preferable that a cold mirror, a heat ray absorbing filter, or an air cooling mechanism is provided. In addition, the active light emitted from the active light source 161 is partially guided to a light intensity sensor, and the light intensity of the active light is sampled appropriately and fed back to the active light source control device so that the light output from the active light source 161 becomes constant. Preferably, it is controlled.

The surface modification treatment mechanism 200 is a mechanism for thinly applying the surface modification agent 50 to the dry-developed photosensitive resin layer. Here, as an example, the surface modification agent supply tank 2 is used.
01 and an application roll 202, and has a moving means for maintaining a certain distance from the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100 at the application position and moving to a lower retreat position in a standby state. Depending on the composition of No. 10, it is also possible to substitute a dry type surface modification treatment device such as a plasma jet or corona discharge. Also, cylinder 1
In order to facilitate the attachment / detachment operation between the 00 body and the rotary drive system,
Preferably, a guide mechanism 107 supporting the shafts 101 and 102 of the cylinder 100 is provided.

In order to carry out the method of the present invention by using a manufacturing apparatus comprising such components, a cylinder 1 having an adhesive layer with a photosensitive resin on the outer peripheral surface via a coupling 103 is used.
00, the shaft 102 and the rotation mechanism 104 are connected,
Cylinder shafts 101, 10 by bearing mechanism 105
2 support the cylinder 100 in a rotation standby state while supporting it at both ends. In the standby state, the photosensitive resin liquid application mechanism 110
The uncured resin recovery mechanism 140, the uncured resin wiping mechanism 150, and the surface modification processing mechanism 200 have all been moved to a retracted position away from the cylinder outer peripheral surface, and the digital exposure head 120 has also been moved to the linear stage 130. Is transported to the stroke end, which is the standby position.

In the cylinder mounting operation, the cylinder 1
00 is integrally connected to the rotation mechanism 104, the image data preliminarily imposed and edited by another computer is transferred to the RIP server 300 via a network or the like, and the RI
The bitmap image data generated by the P processing is transferred to the block memory of the digital exposure head 120, and becomes a start signal for starting plate making. When the start signal is received, the photosensitive resin liquid application mechanism 110 is held at a predetermined position by approaching the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100.
The bottom of the bucket 111 is opened and the photosensitive resin liquid 10 contained therein is supplied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100, and the cylinder 100 is rotated counterclockwise as shown in FIG.
Is rotated at a constant speed, and when the entire outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100 is coated with the photosensitive resin liquid 10, the bottom of the bucket 111 is controlled to close.

The photosensitive resin liquid 10 applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100 by the above operation has a constant thickness by maintaining a constant gap between the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100 and the doctor blade at the tip of the bucket fixing plate 112. . In this operation, the rotation angle of the cylinder 100 is measured in real time by the rotary encoder 106, so that the closing timing of the bucket 111 is controlled by a command from the rotary encoder 106.

After that, before performing a digital exposure operation to be described later on the photosensitive resin liquid applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100, the photosensitive resin liquid is irradiated from the active light source 161 of the active light irradiator 160 while rotating the cylinder 100 in a certain direction. It is also possible to perform uniform excitation exposure on the entire surface of the photosensitive resin liquid 10 with active light. The excitation exposure means that the photosensitive resin liquid 10 is given a weak activation light amount at a level at which the photosensitive resin liquid 10 is not yet sufficiently photocured to advance the photoactivation reaction.
This is a process of increasing the flow resistance by increasing the viscosity of 0, which suppresses flow deformation due to rotation of the photosensitive resin liquid applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100 and increases the energy level of the photosensitive resin liquid. In the digital exposure operation in the next step, it is an auxiliary exposure that serves to completely cure the light with a small amount of active light.

The photosensitive resin liquid applied first is as follows:
It functions as a cushion layer that absorbs the manufacturing accuracy of the cylinder 100 (such as the roundness of the outer peripheral surface), increases the adhesive strength between the photosensitive resin layer and the cylinder adhesive layer, or absorbs vibration during printing. The active light irradiator 1 while rotating the cylinder 100 also serves the purpose of
It is also possible to perform a full-curing exposure operation in which the photosensitive resin liquid is entirely cured by the active light emitted from the 60 active light sources 161. Thus, when the photosensitive resin liquid 10 of the first layer is applied to the entire outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100, the cylinder 100 is stopped, and the controller 400 forms an image forming area of the photosensitive resin liquid 10 applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100 into a band. Divide the rotation angle by calculation, further divide the divided band into blocks to calculate the linear axis distance, and send a control signal for linearly moving the digital exposure head 120 to a predetermined block position based on the linear axis distance. 1
Make a call to 30.

The digital exposure head 120 is conveyed to the start block position of the photosensitive resin liquid 10 applied on the linear stage 130, and the active light 20 emitted from the active light source 121 is condensed and passes through the condenser lens 122. 2D micromirror array 1 shaped while
23, the micromirror is individually rotated in conjunction with the signal converted from the bitmap image data stored in the block memory into the active light modulation electronic control signal, and tilted to the side to be exposed. Only the active light 20 incident on the micromirror, the optical path of which is changed by the mirror, and the photosensitive resin liquid 10 applied through the projection lens 124.
Reach the top.

When the pixels constituting one block of the photosensitive resin liquid 10 are selectively exposed to the active light 20 for a required time by the above operation, a control signal is received again from the controller 400, and the linear stage 130 is exposed to the adjacent exposure light. The digital exposure head 120 is transported to the block and the next digital block exposure is performed. By repeating such an operation for the number of blocks constituting the band, a band image is formed on the photosensitive resin liquid 10.

Next, when the one-band image forming operation is completed, a signal for rotating the cylinder 100 by a predetermined angle is transmitted from the controller 400 to the cylinder rotating mechanism 104, and the cylinder 100 rotates by an angle corresponding to the next band. The next band image forming operation is repeated, and the operation is repeated for all bands, whereby an image is formed on the entire surface of the photosensitive resin liquid 10 applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100. In such an operation, the cylinder 100
Is controlled by a command from the rotary encoder 106.

When the first layer image is thus formed, the digital exposure head 120 is conveyed to the stroke end which is the standby position on the linear stage 130, and the photosensitive resin liquid application mechanism 110 is moved to the second layer thickness. The digital exposure head 120 moves up by a distance corresponding to the thickness of the second layer from the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100 while moving up by a corresponding distance, and the application of the photosensitive resin liquid 10 and the digital exposure cycle are repeated, and an image is formed. The formed second layer is further laminated, and the same operation as the second layer is repeated for the third and subsequent layers, and the layers on which images are sequentially formed are laminated to form a photosensitive resin layer having a desired thickness. When the application operation of all the photosensitive resin liquids 10 is completed, the photosensitive resin liquid application mechanism 1
The digital exposure head 10 moves to the upper retreat position, and when all the digital exposure operations are completed, the digital exposure head 120 is moved.
Is also conveyed by the linear stage 130 to the stroke end which is the standby position.

Next, when the uncured resin collecting mechanism 140 is held at a predetermined position close to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100,
While rotating the cylinder 100, first, suction nozzle 1
47, the elastic blade 146 is coated with the uncured resin portion inside the photosensitive resin layer 10 and the uncured resin is roughly scraped off to remove the uncured resin. By spraying 30 onto the photosensitive resin layer 10 at high speed, the uncured resin still remaining inside is expelled onto the surface of the photosensitive resin layer 10 and the uncured resin is sucked by the vacuum suction mechanism 145. The sucked uncured resin is separated into uncured resin and air by the separator 148 and stored in the collection container.
Only the air is discharged from the vacuum pump 149 to the outside air, but it is preferable to partially circulate the air to the high output air blower 142 side of the hot air knife 141 in order to increase the heating efficiency of the air.

By repeating the uncured resin collecting operation, the uncured resin of the photosensitive resin layer 10 applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100 is almost removed, and the uncured resin collecting mechanism 140 moves to the retracted position. Instead, when the uncured resin wiping mechanism 150 is held at a predetermined position close to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100, a thin sheet having a void in the surface thereof such as a nonwoven fabric or a sponge supplied from the sheet raw material roll 151 is used as a cleaning solution. Is pressed against the photosensitive resin layer 10 on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100 by the elastic roll 152, and the uncured resin remaining on the surface or inside the photosensitive resin layer 10 is removed with the rotation of the cylinder 100. It is moved by the drive roll 153 while being transferred upward, and is wound by the winding mechanism 154.

When the above operation is completed, the uncured resin wiping mechanism 150 is moved to the retracted position, and the photosensitive member is exposed to the active light emitted from the active light source 161 of the active light irradiator 160 while the cylinder 100 continues to rotate. The entire surface of the conductive resin layer 10 is post-exposed to produce a seamless cylinder printing plate. Before the post-exposure operation, the surface modification treatment mechanism 200 is held close to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 100 at a predetermined position, and the surface modification agent 50 stored in the supply tank 201 is rotated while the cylinder 100 is rotated. If the post-exposure operation is performed after applying the entire surface of the photosensitive resin layer 10 by the application roll 202 to modify the surface properties of the photosensitive resin layer 10, the surface characteristics of the photosensitive resin layer are improved, and the effect of the post-exposure is further improved. Will rise.

[0034]

As described above, according to the method of the present invention, the photosensitive resin liquid is uniformly applied to the outer peripheral surface of the metal cylinder base material to be processed into a seamless cylinder printing original plate having no seams, and the digital image is processed. Since an image is formed directly on the photosensitive resin liquid applied from the data, the process of producing a negative film output from a conventional imagesetter or the like is unnecessary, streamlining and resource saving, and further processing by dry development. As a result, an environment-friendly plate-making system that does not generate any washing waste liquid is obtained. Further, according to the apparatus of the present invention, this method can be easily performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a manufacturing apparatus suitable for carrying out the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a manufacturing apparatus suitable for carrying out the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a photosensitive resin liquid is irradiated with active light by a DMD method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10: Photosensitive resin liquid 20: Active light 30: Hot air 40: Wiping sheet 50: Surface modifier 100: Cylinder 101, 102: Shaft 103: Coupling 104: Rotating mechanism 105: Bearing 106: Rotary encoder 107: Guide Mechanism 110: Photosensitive resin liquid application mechanism 111: Bucket 112: Fixed plate 113: Opening / closing plate 114: Photosensitive resin liquid supply mechanism 120: Digital exposure head 121: Active light source 122: Condenser lens 123: Two-dimensional micro mirror array 124: Projection lens 130: Linear stage 131: Linear motor guide 132: Linear motor 133: Linear scale 134: Support table 140: Uncured resin recovery mechanism 141: Hot air knife 142: Air blower 143: Heater temperature Mechanism 144: Air knife nozzle 145: Vacuum suction mechanism 146: Elastic blade 147: Suction nozzle 148: Separator 149: Vacuum pump 150: Uncured resin wiping mechanism 151: Wipe sheet material 152: Elastic roll 153: Drive roll 154 : Winding mechanism 160: Active light irradiator 161: Active light source 162: Shielding hood 200: Surface modification processing mechanism 201: Supply tank 202: Coating roll 300: RIP server 400: Controller

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Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A step of mounting a cylinder that enables a highly rigid cylinder having an adhesive layer with a photosensitive resin on the outer peripheral surface to be rotatable integrally with a rotation driving means, and (b) rotating the cylinder in a certain direction. (C) dividing the image forming area of the applied photosensitive resin liquid at a predetermined angle about the cylinder axis (cylinder-to-cylinder); This is an area that is exposed at once by one rotation stop operation, and is hereinafter referred to as a band.) The band is further divided evenly at a predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder axis (one exposure area, hereinafter referred to as an exposure area). ), The cylinder rotation angle of each of the divided bands (hereinafter referred to as the rotation angle), and the distance in the cylinder axis center longitudinal direction of each block constituting each band (hereinafter referred to as the linear axis distance). Calculation process to calculate
(D) (d-1) a main scanning step of linearly moving the digital exposure means on the basis of the calculated linear axis distance of the predetermined block; (d-2) the first scanning step based on a digital image recording signal prepared in advance. A block image process of independently modulating an active light beam and selectively exposing the active light beam for each minute section (a unit of exposure, hereinafter referred to as a pixel) of a two-dimensional matrix of a block forming a block constitutes one band. (D-3) One cycle consisting of a band image process repeated for the number of blocks and a sub-scanning process for rotating the cylinder based on the calculated rotation angle of the predetermined band is repeated for the number of all bands. A digital image process for forming an image corresponding to the digital image recording signal on the entire surface of the resin liquid, (e) a process for removing the uncured resin from the photosensitive resin layer, and (f) a process for removing the cylinder from the rotation driving means Seamless cylinder printing plate manufacturing method of, wherein the Li Cheng. (D) after the digital image process, (g) successively performing a laminating step of repeating the steps (b) to (d) at least once on the digitally formed photosensitive resin layer. The method for producing a seamless cylinder printing plate according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A post-exposure step of irradiating the entire surface of the photosensitive resin layer on which an image has been formed with active light between the step (e) of removing the uncured resin and the step (f) of removing the cylinder,
3. The method for producing a seamless cylinder printing plate according to claim 1, wherein a step of modifying the surface of the photosensitive resin layer on which an image is formed and a subsequent post-exposure step are added. 4. A photosensitive resin liquid having a constant thickness is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder between (a) a mounting step of the cylinder and (b) a coating step of supplying the photosensitive resin liquid. Wherein the step of uniformly irradiating the photosensitive resin liquid with actinic light while rotating the liquid and performing a full-curing exposure for curing all of the applied photosensitive resin liquid is repeated once or more. The method for producing a seamless cylinder printing plate according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising rotating the cylinder in a certain direction between a step of supplying the photosensitive resin liquid and a step of dividing and calculating the image forming area of the photosensitive resin liquid. The method for producing a seamless cylinder printing plate according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an excitation exposure step of uniformly irradiating the entire surface with active light at a light amount at which the reactive resin liquid is not cured is added. 6. A rotation drive mechanism having a structure in which a cylinder can be integrally connected to rotate and stop accurately at a predetermined rotation angle, and (B) means for detecting a rotation angle of the cylinder; C) a photosensitive resin liquid supply mechanism including means for applying the photosensitive resin liquid to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder to a constant thickness and means for separating the photosensitive resin liquid from the outer peripheral surface; and (D) a photosensitive resin applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder. The rotation angle is calculated by dividing the liquid image forming area into bands, and the divided bands are further divided into blocks to calculate a linear axis distance. Based on the linear axis distance, the digital exposure head is moved straight to a predetermined block position. A controller for transmitting a control signal for moving the digital exposure head and a control signal for rotating the rotary drive mechanism of the cylinder by a predetermined angle after the digital exposure head linearly moves by one band; and (E) Means for receiving and storing the digital image recording signal, converting it into an active light modulation electronic control signal, and all elements forming a two-dimensional matrix having an active light source and receiving the active light are provided with the active light modulation signal. Means for independently modulating the active light for each of the elements based on an electronic control signal to selectively irradiate the pixels of one block of the photosensitive resin liquid, and digital exposure comprising a lens provided on the transmission path of the active light A head, (F) a mechanism for receiving a control signal from the controller, holding the exposure head at a fixed distance from the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder, and linearly moving the exposure head in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder axis, and (G) an image on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder. Means for removing the uncured resin of the formed photosensitive resin layer. 7. The apparatus for producing a seamless cylinder printing plate according to claim 6, wherein an actinic light irradiator is provided around the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder. 8. A seamless cylinder printing plate according to claim 6, wherein a mechanism for modifying the surface of the photosensitive resin layer on which an image is formed is provided around the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder. Manufacturing equipment. 9. (E) The digital exposure means of the digital exposure head includes a DMD (Digital Micromirror
9. The apparatus for producing a seamless cylinder printing plate according to claim 6, wherein the device is a transmission liquid crystal, a reflection liquid crystal, or a semiconductor laser array. 10. The actinic light irradiator according to claim 7, wherein the actinic light irradiator is an ultraviolet light source outputting a wavelength range of 200 to 450 nanometers, such as a metal halide lamp, a high-pressure mercury lamp, a chemical lamp, or a germicidal lamp. An apparatus for producing a seamless cylinder printing plate according to any one of the above. (G) A means for removing the uncured resin of the photosensitive resin layer on which an image is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder is an uncured resin collecting mechanism comprising an elastic blade provided on a suction nozzle and a hot air knife. 7. A wiping mechanism for wiping an uncured resin in addition thereto.
An apparatus for manufacturing a seamless cylinder printing plate according to any one of claims 10 to 10.