JP2003107730A - Pretreatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely supply washing water to the entire area from a tip to a rear end of a planographic printing plate before performing brushing with a brush roller. SOLUTION: A washing part 18 of a pretreatment apparatus is provided with a spray pipe 52 and a channel brush 72 on an upstream side of the brush roller 48 and a tip part of bristles 74 of the channel brush is arranged so as to be projected to a conveying path of a photopolymer plate 12. The washing water jetted from the spray pipe is supplied to the bristles of the channel brush while being diffused along a width direction of the photopolymer plate by a flow straightening plate 68, the entire area in the width direction from the tip to the rear end of the photopolymer plate 12 is brought into contact with the bristles and thus, the washing water is surely supplied to the entire area of the photopolymer plate without irregularities. Thus, an overcoat layer is not partially left on a surface of the photopolymer plate and development irregularities due to the partially left overcoat layer are prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pretreatment device for performing pretreatment such as removal of an overcoat layer prior to developing a printing plate such as a photopolymer plate having an overcoat layer formed thereon.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a photosensitive lithographic printing plate having a photosensitive layer formed on a support made of aluminum or the like, a light-receiving portion and a non-light-receiving portion are formed on the photosensitive layer by exposure, and then a developing treatment is performed with a developing solution. By removing the unnecessary photosensitive layer, an image is formed.

On the other hand, in the photosensitive lithographic printing plate, a photosensitive layer is formed on the support by a photoadhesive layer, a photopolymerizable layer, etc., and further,
There is a so-called four-layer photopolymer plate whose surface is protected by an overcoat layer. When the photopolymer plate is heated to a predetermined temperature, the photopolymerization layer of the light receiving portion is firmly adhered to the support through the photoadhesive layer to enhance the printing durability. Further, the overcoat layer covering the photopolymerizable layer is dissolved by water.

From this point, when developing the photopolymer plate, a preheating step and a pre-water washing step are provided before the automatic developing device or the developing step, and the photopolymer plate is heated prior to the development processing, and then the photopolymer plate is processed. By brushing while supplying cleaning water to the surface, the overcoat layer is removed so that the photopolymerized layer in the unreceived portion can be surely removed during the development process.

When developing such a photopolymer plate, it is necessary to surely remove the overcoat layer prior to the treatment with the developing solution. For this,
In the pre-water washing step, water is supplied from the spray pipe to the surface of the photopolymer plate to swell the overcoat layer with water, and then the surface of the photopolymer plate is brushed with a brush roller. That is, the overcoat layer is swollen by washing water to be dissolved and peeled easily.

On the other hand, the dissolution and peeling property of the overcoat layer is greatly affected by the time during which the cleaning water is attached to the overcoat layer. If the adhesion time is short, the solubility and the peeling property are poor. It is necessary to perform brushing with a brush roller at least 3 seconds after supplying water to the surface of the photopolymer plate.

For this purpose, a horizontal photopolymer plate conveying path is provided in the pre-water washing step, and the cleaning water supplied from the spray pipe provided in front of the brush roller is discharged to the photopolymer plate. There is.

However, in the pre-water washing step having such a structure, the solubility and peeling property of the overcoat layer can be improved at the intermediate portion in the transport direction of the photopolymer plate, but the end portions before and after the transport direction can be improved. In particular, especially at the tip portion, the wash water easily flows down, and the wash water cannot be stored for a required time, so that the solubility and the peeling property of the overcoat layer are deteriorated, and the wash water easily becomes uneven and adheres. Therefore, uneven removal of the overcoat layer may occur, and the removed and left overcoat layer may cause a partial delay in development when the photopolymer plate is subjected to development processing.

There is a problem that such a development delay greatly affects the finish of the photopolymer plate subjected to the development treatment and appears in a printed matter using the photopolymer plate.

[0010]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above facts, and is a treatment in which an overcoat layer partially remains when a pre-washing treatment is performed prior to the development treatment using a developing solution. It is an object of the present invention to propose a pretreatment device that prevents unevenness from occurring.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is to provide a cleaning water on the surface of the planographic printing plate while conveying the planographic printing plate, prior to the development processing of the image-wise exposed planographic printing plate. A pretreatment device for brushing the surface of the lithographic printing plate with a brush roller, the pretreatment device being provided on the upstream side of the brush roller in the transporting direction along the transport width direction of the lithographic printing plate A dampening member having a water-retaining tip portion that protrudes into the path and contacts substantially uniformly along the width direction of the lithographic printing plate, and the longitudinal direction is provided along the conveyance width direction of the lithographic printing plate, A spray pipe that is sprayed toward the dampening member from the spray holes formed along the longitudinal direction by supplying the cleaning water,
It is characterized by including.

According to the present invention, the dampening member is arranged on the upstream side of the brush roller so as to project into the carrying path of the planographic printing plate, and the dampening member is carried toward the brush roller. Contact along the width direction of. Further, the spray pipe ejects cleaning water toward the dampening member.

As a result, the dampening member is wetted by the washing water ejected from the spray pipe, and the lithographic printing plate comes into contact with the dampening member, whereby the washing water is applied to the surface of the lithographic printing plate along the width direction. Supply evenly.

At this time, since the dampening member projects into the transport path of the lithographic printing plate, the cleaning water is surely supplied not only to the intermediate portion along the transport direction but also to the front end portion and the rear end portion. Can be brushed with a brush roller.

Therefore, even when the overcoat layer is removed from the surface of the lithographic printing plate, for example, it is possible to reliably prevent the overcoat layer from remaining at the front end portion or the rear end portion of the lithographic printing plate, and the lithographic printing plate can be prevented. When the plate was developed,
It does not cause uneven development.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the dampening member is adjacent to the dampening member, the longitudinal direction of the dampening member is along the longitudinal direction of the dampening member, and one end side in the width direction is inclined toward the dampening member. The cleaning pipe is characterized in that the cleaning pipe is sprayed from the spray pipe so as to diffuse the cleaning water in the longitudinal direction and flow down toward the dampening member.

According to the present invention, cleaning water is jetted from the spray pipe to the straightening vane. The current plate supplies the cleaning water to the dampening member while diffusing the cleaning water along the longitudinal direction which is the width direction of the planographic printing plate.

Thus, the cleaning water can be reliably supplied to the entire area of the dampening member in the longitudinal direction, and the cleaning water can be evenly supplied to the entire area of the surface of the planographic printing plate along the width direction.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the conveying path of the planographic printing plate is inclined so that the brush roller side is lower than the position where the dampening member is provided.

According to the present invention, the lithographic printing plate is conveyed so that the brush roller side is lowered at least between the dampening member and the brush roller. As a result, the cleaning water supplied from the dampening member can be collected on the surface of the lithographic printing plate between the dampening member and the brush roller, so brushing with the brush roller while the surface of the lithographic printing plate is sufficiently wet It can be performed.

In the present invention as described above, it is preferable to use a channel brush as the dampening member. This allows
It is possible to supply cleaning water to the surface of the planographic printing plate evenly along the width direction. Incidentally, in the present invention, not only the brush roller, as long as the desired rubbing property can be secured,
A rubbing member having any configuration can be used.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a pretreatment device 10 applied to this embodiment.

This pretreatment device 10 uses a rectangular thin plate made of aluminum or the like as a support, and after imagewise exposing a lithographic printing plate having a photosensitive layer formed on one surface of the support by an exposure device (not shown). It is used when performing a developing treatment, and is used for performing a preheating treatment and a prewashing treatment prior to the developing treatment. In the planographic printing plate processed by the pretreatment device 10, a photoadhesive layer and a photopolymerization layer are provided as a photosensitive layer in an overlapping manner, and an overcoat layer is formed as an oxygen blocking layer on the upper surface of the photosensitive layer. The so-called photopolymer plate described above is applied (hereinafter referred to as "photopolymer plate 12").

The photopolymer plate 12 having the four-layer structure is
Image exposure is performed by scanning a laser beam based on image data with an exposure device such as a setter, so that the polymerization reaction of the image portion of the photopolymerization layer is promoted. Further, the photopolymer plate 12 is subjected to a heat treatment (preheat treatment) prior to the development treatment, whereby the polymerization reaction of the photopolymerization layer in the image portion is promoted and the photopolymerization layer interposes the photoadhesion layer. As a result, it firmly adheres to the support, and thus the printing durability during printing can be improved. Further, the photopolymer plate 12 is subjected to a pre-water washing treatment to remove the overcoat layer, whereby the development treatment time can be shortened and the finish quality can be improved.

In the pretreatment device 10, the photopolymer plate 12 is subjected to preheating treatment and prewashing treatment prior to the developing treatment. The photopolymer plate 12 pretreated by the pretreatment device 10 is developed by an automatic developing device. This automatic developing device is an automatic developing device having an arbitrary structure capable of developing the photopolymer plate 12. Can be used. Further, the pretreatment device 10 applied to the present embodiment may be used independently from the automatic developing device, or may be used by being connected to the automatic developing device.

In the pretreatment apparatus 10, a preheating section 16 as a preheating step is provided in the machine frame 14 on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the photopolymer plate 12, and a prewashing section 18 as a prewashing step is provided downstream. It is provided on the side.

An insertion port 20 is formed in the machine frame 14 on the upstream side of the preheating unit 16, and the insertion port 20 and the preheating unit 1 are also provided.
A pair of conveying rollers 22 is provided between the two, and the photopolymer plate 12 is inserted into the insertion port 22 along the direction of arrow A, and is sandwiched by the pair of conveying rollers 22 and pulled in. A plate detection sensor 24 is provided inside the insertion port 20, and the plate detection sensor 24 detects the tip of the photopolymer plate 12 inserted from the insertion port 20 to convey the pair of conveying rollers 22. Etc. are started to be driven.

In the preheating unit 16, a plurality of skewer rollers 28 are arranged in the heating chamber 26. This skewered roller 2
The reference numeral 8 indicates, for example, that when a plurality of short rollers are provided with a predetermined gap to support the rollers and each roller is slightly movable along the axis, the pre-heating unit 16 heats the photopolymer plate 12. Even if the support is thermally expanded, the support is prevented from waviness or the like.

Further, in the heating chamber 26, a heater 32 is provided as a heating means on the inlet 30 side, and a circulation fan 34 is provided on the upstream side of the heater 32.

The circulation fan 34 sends air toward the heater 32 and jets the heated air into the conveying path of the photopolymer plate 12 so that the air in the heating chamber 26 becomes substantially uniform in temperature. Stir. At this time, the circulation fan 34
Ejects the air heated by the heater 32 provided on the inlet 30 side toward the conveying path of the photopolymer plate 12 (in the direction of arrow B), so that the surface of the photopolymer plate 12 entering from the inlet 30 To remove the cold air of the photopolymer plate 12 by scraping it off,
The heating of the photopolymer plate 12 by the heater 32 is promoted.

In the preheating section 16, the photopolymer plate 12 is used.
When passing through the heating chamber 26, the photopolymerizable layer of the photopolymer plate 12 is accurately polymerized and cured so that a predetermined temperature and a predetermined heating time are achieved, and the printing durability of the photopolymer plate 12 is increased. Is increasing.

On the other hand, the photopolymer plate 12 that has passed through the heating chamber 26 is sent from the outlet 36 to the pre-water washing section 18.
A cooling unit is provided between the outlet 36 of the heating chamber 26 and the pre-water washing unit 18, and before the washing water is supplied to the photo-polymer plate 12 sent from the heating chamber 26 by the pre-water washing unit 18, the photo-polymer plate The photopolymer plate 12 is prevented from being abruptly cooled by the wash water supplied in the pre-water washing section 18 by applying a wind to the 12 by a cooling fan (not shown) to cool the photopolymer plate 12 and prevent wrinkles. May be.

A water washing tank 38 is provided in the front water washing section 18, and a washing tank 40 for storing the washing water is formed in the water washing tank 38.

In the pre-water washing section 18, conveying rollers 42, 44 and 46 are arranged in a staggered manner on the pre-heating section 16 side.
The transport rollers 42, 46 are provided so as to face the upper surface of the photopolymer plate 12, and the transport roller 44 is arranged between the transport rollers 42, 46 so as to face the lower surface of the photopolymer plate 12. .

As a result, the photopolymer plate 12 sent to the pre-water washing section 18 is conveyed between the conveying rollers 42, 46 and the conveying roller 44.

The upper end portion of the transport roller 44 is located above the lower end portions of the transport rollers 42 and 46, and the tangent lines on the lower end sides of the transport roller 42 and the transport roller 46 are in contact with the respective rollers. Since the photopolymer plate 12 is provided so as to face downward toward the downstream side in the transport direction, when the photopolymer plate 12 is transported between the transport rollers 42 and 46, the photopolymer plate 12 is slightly convex upward by the transport roller 44. It is curved so as to have a curved shape, and is delivered slightly obliquely downward from between the transport rollers 44 and 46.

The transport rollers 42 and 46 are skewer rollers each of which is capable of slightly moving in the axial direction, and the transport rollers 42 to 46 are arranged in a staggered manner. In addition to this, even if the photopolymer plate 12 heated by the preheating unit 14 contracts, wrinkles and the like are prevented from occurring.

On the other hand, the front water washing section 18 has a conveying roller 46.
Brush roller 48 and backup roller 5 on the downstream side of
0s are provided in a pair at the top and bottom. The contact position between the brush roller 48 and the backup roller 50 is
It is lower than the bottom edge of. As a result, the photopolymer plate 12 is tilted from between the transport rollers 44 and 46 and is fed between the brush roller 48 and the backup roller 50.

A spray pipe 52 is provided between the conveying roller 46 and the brush roller 48 in the front water washing section 14, and a spray pipe 54 is provided above the brush roller 48.
Is provided. The cleaning water in the cleaning tank 40 is supplied to each of the spray pipes 52 and 54 by a cleaning pump (not shown) or the like. Note that any conventionally known configuration can be applied to the supply of cleaning water to the spray pipes 52 and 54, and detailed description thereof will be omitted in the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the spray pipe 52
Has a hollow inside and is open at one end side in the longitudinal direction. In addition, a plurality of ejection holes 56 are formed in the spray pipe 52 at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction. As a result, the cleaning water supplied to the spray pipe 52 is
It is ejected from the ejection hole 56.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a holder 58 is attached to the spray pipe 52.
The holder 58 has a substantially L-shaped cross section formed by a top plate 60 arranged substantially horizontally and a descending plate 62 extending downward from one end side in the width direction of the top plate 60. The direction is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the spray pipe 52.

Both ends in the longitudinal direction of the descending plate 62 are bent inward, so that the leg plates 64 are formed in pairs. Each of the leg plates 64 is formed with an insertion hole 66 corresponding to the outer diameter of the spray pipe 52.

Further, the holder 58 is provided with a current plate 68 extending from a lower end portion which is an end portion in the width direction of the descending plate 62. The current plate 68 is inclined so as to face obliquely downward when the top plate 60 of the holder 58 is arranged substantially horizontally.

The holder 58 is connected to the spray pipe 52 by inserting the spray pipe 52 into each of the insertion holes 66 from one end side in the longitudinal direction. At this time, the spray pipe 52 and the holder 58 are held by a bracket (not shown) so that the ejection hole 56 faces the vicinity of the bent portion between the lower plate 62 and the current plate 68, and the longitudinal direction of the spray pipe 52 is changed. The front water washing unit 1 is arranged along the width direction which is a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the photopolymer plate 12.
It is attached at a predetermined position of 8.

As a result, the cleaning water jetted from the jet holes 56 of the spray pipe 52 flows down on the straightening plate 68 while being diffused in the width direction of the photopolymer plate 12 which is the longitudinal direction of the straightening plate. There is.

The top plate 60 of the holder 58 has a lower plate 62.
A backing plate 70 is formed at the opposite end. The backing plate 70 is formed by bending the widthwise end of the top plate 60 so as to be substantially parallel to the down plate 62, and the spray pipe 52 is disposed between the down plate 62 and the backing plate 70. To be done.

A channel brush 72 provided as a dampening member is attached to the contact plate 70. The channel brush 72 bends, for example, a bundle of bristles 74 having a predetermined length at an intermediate portion thereof, and inserts the bent portion into a channel member 76 having a substantially U-shaped cross section, with respect to the channel member 76. Any material formed by fixing the bristle material 74 to the channel member 76 by performing crimping or the like and then trimming so that the tips of the bristle material 74 are aligned with a predetermined length can be used.

A holding plate 78 is attached to the holder 58. The restraining plate 78 is bent along the width direction so as to be slightly acuter than a right angle to form a restraining portion 80. By attaching the restraining plate 78 to the top plate 60 of the holder 58, The restraining portion 80 faces the contact plate 70 of the holder 58.

In the channel brush 72, the channel member 76 is opposed to the contact plate 70 of the holder 58 so that the bristle material 74 faces downward. In this state, the holding plate 78 is attached to the top plate 60 of the holder 58. At this time, the backing plate 7
The channel brush 72 is fixed by sandwiching the channel member 76 between 0 and the restraining portion 80 and fixing it to the holder 58.
Are attached to the holder 58.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the channel brush 72 attached to the holder 58, the lower end portion of the bristle material 74 is
The length is below the flow regulating plate 68, whereby the cleaning water ejected from the spray pipe 52 adheres to the bristle material 74 of the channel brush 72 and is held between the bristle materials 74. , Excess wash water is hair material 74
Run off from.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the tip of the bristle material 74 of the channel brush 72 is projected to the inclined conveying path of the photopolymer plate 12 between the conveying roller 46 and the brush roller 48. This allows the channel brush 72
The (bristle material 74) comes into contact with the surface of the photo-photopolymer plate 12 sent between the transport rollers 44 and 46 and between the brush roller 48 and the idle roller 60 so as to rub the surface.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the channel brush 72 is longer than the width dimension of the photopolymer plate 12, so that the entire region of the photopolymer plate 12 in the width direction is evenly contacted. It is like this.

At this time, if the cleaning water is jetted from the spray pipe 52, the cleaning water is evenly supplied to the upper surface of the photopolymer plate 12.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
A holder 58 is attached to the spray pipe 54 provided above the reference numeral 8, and the lower end of the current plate 68 of the holder 58 is directed toward the upper portion of the brush roller 48. As a result, the cleaning water ejected from the spray pipe 54 is supplied to the brush roller 48 while being diffused along the axial direction of the brush roller 48 by the straightening plate 68.

The brush roller 48 is an idle roller 50.
A predetermined brush pressure is obtained when the photopolymer plate 12 is sandwiched between the brush roller 48 and the idle roller 50. When passing between
The brush roller 48 brushes the surface of the photopolymer plate 12.

Incidentally, as shown in FIG.
Between the spray pipe 52 and the photopolymer plate 12
A guide plate 82 is provided on the lower side of the transport path of the photopolymer plate 12, and the rear end of the photopolymer plate 12 sent out between the transport rollers 44 and 46 is washed by its own weight or surface. It is reliably prevented that the washing water drooping greatly due to the weight of the water and flowing on the surface of the photopolymer plate 12 flows down and adheres to the transport roller 44. As a result, the cleaning water containing the components of the overcoat layer that has adhered to the transport roller 44 adheres to the back surface of the photopolymer plate 12, so that the photopolymer plate 12 slips between the idle roller 50 during transport. There is no possibility that the photopolymer plate 12 gets dirty or gets dirty.

Further, a guide plate 84 is provided below the idle roller 50 so as to be inclined, so that the cleaning water jetted from the spray pipes 52 and 54 can be used as the idle roller 5.
The cleaning water falling from 0 to the guide plate 84 prevents the cleaning water falling from the idle roller 50 from bubbling or scattering of the cleaning water by directly hitting the surface of the cleaning water stored in the cleaning tank 40. I am trying to do it.

On the other hand, in the front water washing section 18, the brush roller 4
On the downstream side of 8, a skewer roller 86 is provided. The skewer roller 86 is disposed above the conveying path of the photopolymer plate 12, and the photopolymer plate 12 passing between the brush roller 48 and the idle roller 50 is brushed by the brush roller 48. Therefore, it is prevented from floating up and coming off the transport path.

A conveying roller pair 88 is provided at the most downstream side of the front water washing section 18. This transport roller pair 88
From the spray pipes 52, 54 to the photopolymer plate 1
The photopolymer plate 12 is sent out while squeezing the cleaning water supplied to 2 from the front and back surfaces of the photopolymer plate 12.

The uppermost overcoat layer of the photopolymer plate 12 easily swells and peels off with water, and can be surely removed by rubbing with the brush roller 48 or the like in this swollen state.

In the front water washing section 18, the transport rollers 44, 46
The cleaning water is supplied from the spray pipe 52 to the upper surface of the photopolymer plate 12 delivered from between the spaces to swell the overcoat layer, and then the brush roller 48.
Photopolymer plate 12 by brushing with
The overcoat layer is removed from the upper surface of the.

In the pre-water washing section 18, the overcoat layer removed from the surface of the photopolymer plate 12 is collected in the washing tank 40 together with the washing water. Also,
Fresh washing water is supplied to the washing tank 40 by a new liquid supply means (or a replenishing means) not shown, and the overcoat layer is provided together with the excess washing water by the unshown overflow means. It is designed to be discharged from the cleaning tank 40.

The conveying roller pair 88 is arranged in the machine frame 14 and sends out the photopolymer plate 12 from the discharge port 90. As shown in FIG. 1, the conveying roller pair 88 in the machine frame 14 is provided. When 88 is omitted and a processing device such as an automatic developing device is arranged adjacent to the downstream side of the preprocessing device 10, the conveying roller pair provided at the uppermost stream of this processing device is used as the conveying roller pair 88. May be.

In the pretreatment device 10 thus constructed, when the image-exposed photopolymer plate 12 is inserted into the preheating section 16, the photopolymer plate 12 is exposed.
By heating at the preset heating temperature and heating time,
The degree of polymerization of the photopolymerizable layer in the image area is increased to increase the printing durability.

The photopolymer plate 12 having passed through the preheating section 16 is sent to the prewashing section 18. In the pre-water washing unit 18, the conveying rollers 42 to 46 arranged in a staggered manner feed the photopolymer plate 12 in a diagonally downward direction while applying a conveying force. As a result, the photopolymer plate 12 is fed between the brush roller 48 and the backup roller 50.

By the way, in the pre-processing apparatus 10, when the plate detection sensor 24 detects the insertion of the photopolymer plate 12, the pair of conveying rollers 22 and the like are started to start the conveying process of the photopolymer plate 12. At the same time, in the pretreatment device 10, the spray pipe 5 provided in the pre-water washing unit 18 is based on the plate detection timing of the plate detection sensor 24.
The cleaning water in the cleaning tank 40 is supplied to 2, 54.

When the cleaning water is supplied to the spray pipe 54, the cleaning water is ejected toward the straightening plate 68, and the cleaning water is supplied to the brush roller 48 while being diffused by the straightening plate 68.

When the cleaning water is supplied to the spray pipe 52, the cleaning water is supplied from the ejection holes 56 to the flow straightening plate 68. As a result, the cleaning water is flown by the flow straightening plate 68 in the width direction of the photopolymer plate 12 to the channel brush 7.
While being diffused in the longitudinal direction of 2, the water flows down on the baffle plate 68 toward the bristle material 74 of the channel brush 72, washing water adheres to the bristle material 74 of the channel brush 72, and the bristle material 7
During 4 the washing water is stored.

The tip of the photopolymer plate 12 fed from between the transport rollers 44 and 46 is fed between the brush roller 48 and the backup roller 50 while contacting the tip of the channel brush 72. At this time,
The bristle material 74 of the channel brush 72 protruding into the conveying path of the photopolymer plate 12 contacts the tip of the photopolymer plate 12 so as to rub against it.

As a result, the cleaning water between the bristle materials 74 of the channel brush 72 is supplied to the tip of the photopolymer plate 12. At this time, the bristles 7 of the channel brush 72
4 is provided so as to contact the entire region of the photopolymer plate 12 in the width direction, the photopolymer plate 1
The cleaning water is supplied from the bristle material 74 of the channel brush 72 to the entire tip in the width direction of the tip end of the second brush 2.

As described above, in the photopolymer plate 12 to which the cleaning water is uniformly supplied in the entire width direction, the overcoat layer is swollen by the cleaning water, and the photopolymer plate 12 is easily backed up with the brush roller 48. Roller 50
And is brushed by the brush roller 48.

Therefore, the overcoat layer is surely removed from the tip of the photopolymer plate 12 without unevenness.

Further, from the spray pipe 52 to the straightening plate 68
If the cleaning water supplied through the channel brush 72 becomes excessive, it flows down from the channel brush 72 to the surface of the photopolymer plate 12 in contact with the channel brush 72. At this time, the photopolymer plate 12
Since the brush roller 48 is conveyed while being slanted so as to be low, the cleaning water is collected on the surface of the photopolymer plate 12 on the upstream side of the brush roller 48.

When the washing water is accumulated on the surface of the photopolymer plate 12, the washing water surely causes the overcoat layer to swell, and the overcoat layer is sufficiently swollen to be brushed by the brush roller 48 so as to be overcoated. The layer is reliably removed.

The channel brush 72 has a bristle material 74.
Since the front end of the photopolymer plate 12 protrudes into the conveying path of the photopolymer plate 12, cleaning water for swelling the overcoat layer is surely brought into contact with the rear end of the photopolymer plate 12, and the photopolymer plate 12 Supply to the entire surface of.

Therefore, in the photopolymer plate 12, the overcoat layer at the rear end portion is surely removed.

Further, the photopolymer plate 12 which has been brushed by the brush roller 48 to remove the overcoat layer is sandwiched by the pair of transport rollers 88, so that the cleaning water is squeezed out together with the overcoat layer removed from the surface. And sent to the next process.

As described above, in the pretreatment device 10 applied to the present embodiment, the cleaning water is surely supplied from the front end portion to the rear end portion of the photopolymer plate 12, and the brush roller 48 is supplied.
Since the brushing is performed by the method, the overcoat layer does not become uneven and remain at the front end portion and the rear end portion. Therefore, when developing the photopolymer plate 12,
The overcoat layer remaining on the surface does not cause uneven development such as uneven development due to partial development, and the surface of the photopolymer plate 12 can be uniformly developed and finished.

The present embodiment described above does not limit the configuration of the present invention. For example, although the channel brush 72 is used as the dampening member in the present embodiment, the dampening member of the present invention is not limited to this, and instead of the channel brush 72, a general brush, a band-shaped water retaining member is used. A cloth material such as a woven fabric having high property or a sponge material can be used. At this time, it is preferable that the abrasion resistance is high, whereby abrasion due to contact with the surface of the photopolymer plate 12 can be suppressed and the photopolymer plate 12 can be used for a long time.

Further, in the present embodiment, the cleaning water ejected from the spray pipe 52 is supplied to the bristle material 74 of the channel brush 72 via the straightening plate 68, but the straightening plate 68 is not used. The jet water 56 may be directed to the hair material 74, and the cleaning water may be directly ejected to the hair material 74.

Further, the present invention is applied to a pretreatment device having an arbitrary structure in which the surface of a lithographic printing plate such as the photopolymer plate 12 is rubbed with a rubbing member such as a brush roller while supplying cleaning water to the surface. can do.

[0082]

As described above, according to the present invention, the cleaning water jetted from the spray pipe is spread by the dampening member over the entire area from the leading end to the trailing end in the conveying direction of the lithographic printing plate in the width direction. Since it is possible to uniformly supply the overcoat layer, it is possible to reliably prevent the overcoat layer from partially remaining even when the overcoat layer or the like is removed from the surface of the planographic printing plate. That is, the overcoat layer and the like can be reliably removed from the entire surface of the planographic printing plate.

As a result, for example, an excellent effect that it is possible to surely prevent unevenness in finish such as development unevenness due to partial remaining of the overcoat layer is obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a pretreatment device applied to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of essential parts showing a schematic configuration in the vicinity of a spray pipe to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a main part when a vicinity of a spray pipe to which the present invention is applied is viewed from a conveyance width direction of a photopolymer plate.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Pretreatment device 12 Photopolymer plate (lithographic printing plate) 16 Pre-heating section 18 front water washing section 40 cleaning tank 48 brush roller 52 spray pipe 56 spout hole 58 holder 68 Current plate 72 channel brush (dampening member) 74 Hair material (dampening member)

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Akifumi Kimura             798 Miyadai, Kaisei-cho, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture             Shishi Film Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2H096 AA06 FA05 GA08

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pretreatment in which cleaning water is supplied to the surface of the planographic printing plate while conveying the planographic printing plate before developing the image-exposed planographic printing plate, and then the surface of the planographic printing plate is brushed by a brush roller. In the device, the tip end portion provided on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the brush roller along the conveyance width direction of the planographic printing plate and protruding in the conveyance path of the planographic printing plate is in the width direction of the planographic printing plate. A dampening member having a water-retaining property that makes a substantially uniform contact along the longitudinal direction, and the longitudinal direction is provided along the conveyance width direction of the planographic printing plate, and is formed along the longitudinal direction by supplying the cleaning water. A spray pipe that ejects from the ejected holes toward the dampening member, and a pretreatment device. 2. The cleaning pipe is provided adjacent to the dampening member, the longitudinal direction of the dampening member is along the longitudinal direction of the dampening member, and the one end side in the width direction is inclined toward the dampening member. The pretreatment device according to claim 1, further comprising a straightening plate that causes the cleaning water to flow down toward the dampening member while being diffused in the longitudinal direction when the water is ejected. 3. The lithographic printing plate transport path is inclined so that the brush roller side is lower than the position where the dampening member is provided.
The pretreatment device described in. 4. The pretreatment device according to claim 1, wherein the dampening member is a channel brush.