JPH01298359A - Printing plate developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable high-quality, high-performance, and high-efficient development control by supplying a constant amount of a liquid developer to a base slit nozzle for a constant time at the time of restarting when the development of a printing plate is halted for a long time. CONSTITUTION:When the development of the developer coating type developing device for the printing plate 101 is restarted after its long-time halt, the developer is supplied for a constant time to a developer supply slit member 20 consisting of a flat sheet provided to a developer coating part and then the conveyance of the printing plate 101 to the developer coating part is started within a specific time. In this case, the continuous discharge amount of the liquid developer is, for example, 162cc/minute and the constant time is one minute. Consequently, an irregularity in coating due to a temporary change in the composition of the liquid developer applied to the printing plate surface and a change in the state of a discharge port is eliminated.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention maintains the developer solution in a fresh state by diluting and stirring the developer stock solution with water, and develops high-quality printing plates automatically, accurately, and The present invention relates to a printing plate developing device that supplies a small amount of developer and is improved to enable efficient development.

[Conventional technology]

As shown in FIG. 3, a developing device for a printing plate using a photosensitive material, especially a PS plate, has its various functions housed in a frame 1, and is installed on the floor via jack bolts 13. A printing plate 101 such as a PS plate is supplied from the insertion table 102, is conveyed while being held by the conveyance rollers 2A and 2B, and is held by the guide roller 2C, and is conveyed by the shower pipe 3.
The developing solution is sprayed onto the surface of the printing plate, and the brush roller 5 further facilitates the swelling, dissolution and peeling of the photosensitive layer on the wet surface, thereby promoting development.Then, the developing solution is transported to the next water washing step, where it is exposed to water flow from a shower pipe. The plate is sprayed and washed with water, and then a gum solution or rinsing solution is applied to the surface of the printing plate to complete the development process and to be collected.

The developer in the developer tank 9 is circulated and temperature-controlled by the pump P through the heat exchanger 9A, and is repeatedly circulated and used while being discharged from the shower pipe 3 by the pump 8A.

Similarly, the water in the washing tank lO and the rinsing liquid in the rinsing tank 11 are also pumped into the shower pipe 3 by pumps 8B and 8C, respectively.
It is used in circulation while being discharged from A and 3C. However, the temperature is not controlled like a developer.

During this period, although not shown, the new liquid is also periodically replaced with the old liquid.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In this type of printing plate development device, the developer is easily oxidized,
Even if the developer is recycled and refilled with new solution, the developer deteriorates significantly and it is difficult to obtain stable development quality, and the apparatus is contaminated due to scattering of the developer in the shower bath.

In order to overcome these drawbacks, it is necessary to provide a developing device that can uniformly and uniformly apply a small amount of developer to the surface of a printing plate.

However, in a printing plate developing device that supplies a small amount of developer, the developer that is supplied and applied to the photosensitive surface must always be fresh and accurately diluted.

Therefore, it is not advisable to store a large amount of diluted developer solution in a large capacity tank that is open to the atmosphere, and it is better to take out the stock solution in small lofts corresponding to the required amount from a closed container and apply it while diluting it. The applicant believes that it is reasonable to maintain the However, even if such measures are taken, when the PS plate supply is stopped for a long time and development is resumed, for example at the start of the day, the small amount of developer supply system, especially near the developer outlet for coating the printing plate, may dry out. In this case, the developer may have deposits attached to it. Therefore, in such a case, the composition of the developer applied to the printing plate surface may change temporarily or the state of the ejection ports may change, resulting in uneven coating.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a small amount developer supply type printing plate developing device with high development quality that solves these problems.

[Means to solve the problem]

The purpose of this is that when resuming development after a long pause in a developer application type printing plate development device, the developer is supplied to the developer supply slit member, which is provided in the developer application section and consists of a flat sheet, for a certain period of time. This is achieved by a printing plate developing device characterized in that the printing plate is controlled to start conveying the printing plate to the developer application section within a predetermined time after supplying the developer.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the drawings, members having the same functions as those of the conventional example are indicated with the same numbers.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a developing device for a printing plate, especially a PS plate, using the photosensitive material of the present invention has various functions housed in a frame 1 and is installed on the floor via a jack port 13. Then, the level is adjusted by the adjustment nut 13A.

Then, a printing plate 101 such as a PS plate is supplied from the insertion table 102 via the breather roller section 130, and is fed to the conveyance roller 2A.
, 2B and is conveyed while being held by guide rollers 2c. Then, at the pace slit nozzle section 2o, which is a discharge port for applying the developer, fresh developer is discharged little by little as needed onto the photosensitive layer surface of the printing plate supplied onto the guide roller 2C, and is evenly and uniformly applied. . Next, in a shallow-bottomed dip developing tank section 50, the printing plate being conveyed is transferred to a roller 1.
5, the photosensitive layer is immersed and developed, and the brush roller 5 facilitates the swelling, dissolution, and peeling of the photosensitive layer on the wet surface, thereby promoting development, and is transported to the next washing step, where it is bathed in a stream of water from a shower pipe. After washing with water, proceed to the next gum application step or rinsing step. Although not shown, the film is collected after the development process is completed through a drying process.

Here, the shallow-bottomed deep developing tank has a large liquid surface area, and since the printing plate 101 guided by the roller 15 is conveyed and stirred in the liquid, it is easy to evaporate. Therefore, a lid 40 is provided as means for preventing evaporation. Incidentally, dip development using a shallow-bottomed dip development tank is provided to eliminate undeveloped areas, called edge effects, around the printing plate caused by coating and development. This undeveloped area is undesirable because it causes staining during the printing process. However, the freshness of the developer here is not required so much.

Next, the supply pump 110 to the developer mixing section 60 and the base slit nozzle section will be explained.

A developing solution stock solution is put into a cartridge tank 61, and the tank is mounted on a movable pedestal 64 that slides along a fixed pedestal 65.
It is placed upside down and connected from the column 62 of the tank to the injection port of the auxiliary tank 68 with a hose. The upper part of the auxiliary tank 68 forms a tapered section 67 and is open to the atmosphere. However, since the contact area with the atmosphere is small, the stock solution is less likely to be oxidized. The lower part of the auxiliary tank 68 forms a wide part 68A, and is lower than the lowest part of the cartridge tank 61. By making a part of the auxiliary tank 68 transparent, it becomes possible to know the liquid level inside the cartridge tank, and a float switch SWO is provided as a liquid level detector in the auxiliary tank near the bottom of the cartridge tank. If you do this, the developing solution in the cartridge tank will be used until it is empty, and even if the float switch SWO is activated, there will still be developing solution in the auxiliary tank, so you can add a new developing solution to the cartridge tank without stopping the operation of the entire device. Can be exchanged.

Here, the cartridge tank 61 is convenient because it can be used as a commercially available cubic tanker filled with undiluted solution almost as is. And auxiliary tank 68
A hose is connected from the discharge port of the pump to the inlet of the pump 69A, and a hose is connected to the mixing tank 81 from the discharge port of the pump.

On the other hand, the dilution water tank 71 is connected to the inlet of the pump 69B, and the discharge port of the pump is piped to the mixing tank.

Normally, the discharge amount of each pump is adjusted so that the amount of dilution water is 5 parts per 1 part of the undiluted developer solution. However, the degree of dilution is not limited to this, and can be adjusted in various ways.

In this way, both liquids in the mixing tank are sufficiently mixed by the stirrer 82, and both liquids are mixed while being injected until the float switch SWI detects the detection. Then, after stopping and waiting, when the level detection float switch SW3 in the developer storage tank detects that the remaining amount of developer is low, the valve opening/closing solenoid is activated and the valve 83 at the bottom is activated.
is opened and the developer is fed from a portion 87 near the bottom of the storage tank 85. During this time, feeding of the developer stock solution and water to the mixing tank 81 is stopped. Then, the mixed developer flows into the developer storage tank, and when the float switch SW2 detects the liquid level, the valve opening/closing solenoid is activated to close the valve, and the developer stock solution and water are injected into the mixing tank again. Stirrer 82 is driven. Then, the mixing dilution of the next lot of developer is completed before the developer of the previous lot is consumed. Therefore, the developer solution storage tank 85
The supply of developer from the printer is not interrupted during printing plate development.

The developer in the developer storage tank 85 is connected from the outlet at the bottom of the tank to the inflow side of the supply pump 110 by piping. The pump 110 is a bellows pump 111°112.1
13 are used in three series, and the suction and discharge are repeated with a phase shift of 120'' from each other, so that the pulsation on the discharge side is eliminated and uniform developer application is performed. The developer discharged from 110 is sent to temperature controller 1.
By passing through 15, the developer is sent to the base slit nozzle section 20 at a constant temperature, and the developer is applied to the printing plate.

Now, the water in the washing tank 10 and the rinsing liquid in the rinsing tank 11 are supplied to the shower pipes 3A and 3 by pumps 8B and 8C, respectively.
It is recycled and used while being discharged from C. During this time, although not shown, the new liquid and the old liquid are exchanged periodically.

By the way, the developing device of the present invention is equipped with a base slit nozzle to constantly supply new solution in the amount necessary for coating and development without circulating the developer. A small-volume development system is used in which the liquid is collected in a tank (tank) and is basically used as waste.

The photosensitive material, developer, and exposure conditions used in this example are specifically as shown below. However, it is of course not limited to this.

Positive type PS plate A JIS 1050 aluminum plate with a thickness of 0 to 24 mm was immersed in a 2% sodium hydroxide aqueous solution, degreased, and then electrochemically roughened in a dilute hydrochloric acid solution. After planarization and thorough washing, anodization treatment was performed in a dilute hydrochloric acid solution to form an oxide film of 2.5 g/m'' on the surface of the aluminum plate.

The obtained aluminum plate was washed with water, dried and stirred, and a photosensitive solution having the following composition was applied to a dry weight of 2.5 g/m'', and dried to obtain a positive type 25 plate.The dimensions of the plate were 101003X.
It was set at 800.

(Photosensitive liquid) Resorcinol-benzaldehyde resin 7-toquinone-1,2-diazide (2)-5-sulfonic acid ester (described in Example 1 of JP-A-56-1044)... 1 part cresol
Phenol-formaldehyde resin...3 parts jar
Naphthoquinone-1,2-diad(2)-5-sulfonic acid ester of t-butylphenol-benzaldehyde resin (described in Example 1 of JP-A-60-31138)...0.1 part Crystal violet (dye manufactured by B, A, S, F)...0
．． 05 parts ethylene glycol monomethyl ether...
A transparent positive film was attached to the positive type 25 plate obtained and 70 ci was heated using a 2 kilowatt metal halide lamp.
Exposure was carried out for 60 seconds from a distance of .

In addition, a 0.24o+m thick JIS 1050 aluminum plate was degreased by immersing it in a 20% aqueous sodium phosphate solution, electrochemically roughened in a dilute nitric acid solution, and thoroughly washed. 1. Perform anodizing treatment in a dilute sulfuric acid solution.
An oxide film of 5 g/m'' was formed on the surface of the aluminum plate.

The obtained aluminum plate was further immersed in an aqueous sodium metasilicate solution for pore sealing, washed with water, and dried. Then, the following photosensitive solution was applied to a dry weight of 2.0 g/m'' and dried. A negative 25th edition was obtained.

(Photosensitive liquid) Bexafluorophosphate of a condensate of p-diazodiphenylamine and paraformaldehyde...1 part N-(
4-Hydroxyphenylmethacrylamide copolymer (described in Example 1 of Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-43890)...
・10 parts Victoria Pure Blue BOH (manufactured by Hodogaya Chemical Co., Ltd., dye) 0.2 g ethylene glycol monomethyl ether 100 parts Place a transparent negative film on this negative type 25 plate. Exposure was carried out for 30 seconds using a Kilowatt metal halide lamp from a distance of 70 cm.

The above-exposed positive type and negative type 25 plates were developed using the following developer solution (2) using the automatic developing machine shown in FIG.

Developer solution ■ (used for both positive and negative type 25 plates), sodium silicate (JIS Sodium Silicate No. 3) 5 parts by weight, sodium hydroxide 2 parts by weight, phenyl cellosolve 1 part by weight, Perex NB-L (product name) Anionic surfactant manufactured by Kao Corporation) 10 parts by weight Anhydrous sodium sulfite 1 part by weight Emulgen 147 (Product name: Nonionic surfactant manufactured by Kao Corporation) 0, 1
Parts by weight: 120 parts by weight of water Developer ■ (for positive PS version only) - 100 parts by weight of Potassium silicate A (potassium silicate manufactured by Nihon Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd.) - 1000 parts by weight of water - 20 parts by weight of benzoic acid - Emulgen 147 (Nonionic surfactant manufactured by Kako Co., Ltd.) 1 part by weight 20 parts by weight of 50% suisan potassium Adjustment solution The pH was adjusted to 13.00 at 25°C.

Developer ■ (for negative PS plates only) - Jetanolamine 1.5 parts by weight - Phenyl cellosolve 3.5 fEJ 1 part - p
tert-butylbenzoic acid 2.0 parts by weight/50%
Suisanka potassium 1.0 parts by weight, Perex NBL (Kako Co., Ltd. anionic surfactant) 1.0 parts by weight, sodium sulfite 0.3 parts by weight, water
Regarding the 90.7 weight part, positive type, and negative type developer, the present applicant has filed a patent application in 1983-5.
0499, the present applicant has filed an application in Japanese Patent Application No. 63-50498 regarding a developing solution exclusively for positive type and negative type.

Of course, this problem will not occur if such a development method is adopted and the printing plates are fed and transported at regular intervals, but if the printing plates are not fed for more than a certain period of time (approximately 5 minutes) or more, the subsequent When development is not carried out, the diluted and stored developer deteriorates and gradually loses its freshness.If left as it is, a small amount of fresh developer is directly supplied as needed, improving the quality of the developed finish. This eliminates the advantage of significantly improving image quality, and in some cases, results in poor development quality.

Therefore, when a subsequent printing plate is not supplied for a certain period of time or more, all or part of the developer in the diluted developer temporary storage tank 85 is drained into the collection vat by switching the valve 154 to the drain side.
Alternatively, instead of using the three supply pumps 110 to send the liquid to the base slit nozzle, switch the valve 153 and send the liquid to the deep developing tank 50 in the second development zone. To remove unnecessary liquid, switch the valve 155 of the developer tank 50 to the drain side and drain it into the collection vat (
The method is to drain the liquid into a drain tank).

Further, in the present developing device, the supply pump 110
A portion of the developer sent to the base slit nozzle 20 in the development zone will be stored in the vat 158 there, but while the development progresses steadily and the developer in the vat is fresh, the valve 152 will be closed. By switching the developer, it is also possible to return the developer to the storage tank 85 and take a circulation route. Also, when the freshness is lost, the valve 15
Switch 2 to the drain side to drain the liquid. Further, as mentioned above, when the specific time period during which the freshness is considered to be lost and the pause time of 5 minutes has elapsed, a portion of 16 cc of the diluted developer in the developer storage tank 85 is transferred to the base of the first development zone. It passes through the slit nozzle 20 and is stored in the vat 158, and the same amount of developer is passed through the valve 151 and pumped into the vat 158.
56 to the vat 50 of the second development zone. And what is no longer needed is valve 15 as mentioned above.
5 into the drain tank, and in some cases, the valve 151 can be switched to drain the liquid directly into the drain tank.

Thus, various drainage modes are programmable.

In this way, the performance of the developer is maintained and managed so that correct standard development is carried out on the printing plate in small quantities efficiently and without waste.

Then, as mentioned above, when it is detected that the printing plate has not been fed for more than 5 minutes and the development has been suspended, 16 cc of fresh developer is stored in the vat 158 of the first development zone from the base slit nozzle 20 for 6 seconds. At the same time, the same amount of developer is supplied from the same byte 158 to the vat 50 of the second development zone by the valve 151 and pump 156. This maintains the freshness of the developer in the vats 158 and 50 and the cleanliness inside the base slit nozzle.

By the way, the treatment for pauses of about 5 to 15 minutes remains stable as described above, but when restarting development after turning off the power to the device and pausing for a longer period of time, the base slit nozzle must be When it dries, some components in the developer often precipitate on its inner surface. Even if the developer is supplied and applied to the printing plate under these conditions, the composition of the developer itself may have changed, or the deposits may have accumulated inside the nozzle, resulting in unevenness in the discharge amount and discharge condition. This results in uneven coating.

In order to avoid such a phenomenon, when restarting development after a long pause, turn on the power switch when operating the developing device, and when the preparation for operation is completed, start pumping the developer from the tank 85 into the base slit nozzle 20 for one minute. Approximately 162 in the case of Kikuzen version through pump 110 and valve 153
It continues to be supplied at a discharge rate of cc/min.

Figures 2-A, 2-B, and 3 are 70-charts that organize the above actions in an easy-to-understand manner.

As mentioned above, the discharge rate and fixed time for continuously supplying the developer were 162 cc/min and 1 minute in this embodiment, but they are not limited to this, and if the developer formulation changes, it may be changed. Of course, it is possible to select the optimal discharge amount and time.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, ten small volumes of the developing solution are diluted and stirred for each loft, and the resulting developer is put into a temporary storage tank to supply the required amount for dispensing, and further develops the printing plate. When the machine is stopped for a long time, by replenishing the base slit nozzle with a certain amount of developer for a certain period of time before restarting, fresh new developer solution is always applied to the printing plate, resulting in high quality and high performance. It has now become possible to realize a printing plate developing device that supplies a small amount of developer and is capable of highly efficient development management.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of one embodiment of the present invention. Figures 2-A and 2-B are overall flowcharts of one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram of a conventional circulation type developing device. 20--Base slit nozzle section 60--Developer mixing section 61-m-Cartridge tank 68-m-Auxiliary tank 81-m-Mixing tank 82-11 Stirrer 83--1 Solenoid valve 85-11 Temporary developer storage tank 110--supply pump S WO, S Wl, S W2. S W3---Float switch for liquid level detection 151.152.153, 154.155-m-Switching valve 156---Pump 158-11 Butt

Claims (1)

[Claims] When starting development after a long pause in the developer application type printing plate development device, the developer was supplied for a certain period of time to a developer supply slit member composed of a flat sheet provided in the developer application section. A printing plate developing device characterized in that the printing plate developing device is controlled so as to start conveying the printing plate to a developer application section within a predetermined time.