JPH01298361A - Printing plate developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an efficient development finish of high quality by using a small amount of an invariably fresh liquid developer even when the printing plate developing device is operated in a low room temperature state by controlling the operation of a heating device according to the room temperature. CONSTITUTION:Heat roller 140A and 140B are arranged as a couple of clamping and conveying roller above and below a conveyance path for a printing plate adjacently to an insertion base 102 for the printing plate. Then when the device installation room temperature is lower than a specific value, the heating devices 140A and 140B are so operated that the temperature nearby the surfaces of the heating devices 140A and 140B provided to a printing plate supply part on the upstream side of a developer coating part does not exceeds a set value and when the room temperature exceeds the specific value, the operation of the heating devices 140A and 140B is stopped. Consequently, the developer whose temperature is controlled by heating is prevented from contacting a large-capacity low heat source which is the printing plate 101 with large area and falls in temperature to the room temperature to cause large variation in development condition, thereby improving development quality.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention adjusts the supply temperature of photosensitive materials such as printing plates in a small amount developer application type printing plate development device, and is suitable for use in workplaces with imperfect air conditioning conditions. The present invention relates to a developing device with improved developing performance, especially developing performance in cold regions.

[Conventional technology]

As shown in FIG. 6, a developing device for a printing plate using a photosensitive material, especially a PS plate, has various functions housed in a frame 1, and is installed on the floor via a jack port 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 Yawer Pipe 3.
A developing solution is poured onto the surface of the printing plate, and the plan roller 5 further facilitates the swelling, dissolution and peeling of the photosensitive layer on the wet surface, thereby promoting development.The plate is then conveyed to the next water washing process, where it is exposed to a stream of water from a water pipe. Then, a gum solution or a 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 10 and the rinsing liquid in the rinsing tank 11 are pumped to the shower pipe 3A by pumps 8B and 8C, respectively.
, 3C, and are used in circulation. However, the temperature is not controlled like a developer.

During this time, although not shown in the drawings, new fluid is also periodically replaced with the concave fluid.

[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 uniformly and uniformly applies a small amount of fresh developer to the printing plate surface.

On the other hand, the environment of the place where the printing plate developing device is installed is not necessarily good, and there are places where the temperature is close to that of the outdoors, and even if it is not so, there are cases where the work starts early in the morning in winter, such as PS plate etc. The printing plate is cold, and if it were to be transported as it is to the developing device, the temperature conditions of the developer would be disturbed. In this case, the conventional method of developing in which a large amount of heated developer is applied is sufficient, but in the new method of applying a small amount of developer as needed, the temperature-controlled and heated phenomenon solution is When a large-area printing plate comes into contact with a large-capacity, low-temperature heat source, the temperature suddenly decreases, and the development conditions change significantly, resulting in a decrease in development quality.

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]

This purpose is to
If the temperature in the room where the device is installed is below a predetermined value, operate the heating device provided in the printing plate supply section upstream of the developer coating section so that the temperature near the surface of the heating device does not exceed the set value; This is achieved by a printing plate developing device characterized in that the heating device is controlled to stop operating when the room temperature exceeds the predetermined value.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention are shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4 (a).
) and (b).

In the figures, 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 its various functions housed in a frame 1 and is installed on the floor via a jack port 13. Then, horizontal adjustment is performed using the adjustment nut 13A.

Then, a printing plate 101 such as a PS plate is supplied from the insertion table 102 through the insulating chamber 130, held between the conveyance rollers 2A and 2B, and conveyed while being held by the guide roller 2C. Then, at the base slit nozzle section 20, fresh developer is flowed out in small amounts as necessary and uniformly applied onto the photosensitive material of the printing plate supplied onto the guide roller 2C. Next, in a shallow-bottomed dip developing tank 50, the printing plate being conveyed is guided by rollers 15 and subjected to immersion development, and a brush roller 5 facilitates swelling, dissolution, and peeling of the photosensitive layer on the wet surface. While promoting the development, the film is conveyed to the next washing process, where it is washed with water flow from the shower pipes 3A and 3C, and then proceeds to the next gum process or rinse application process.

The material is then subjected to a drying process (not shown), developed, and then collected.

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 +10 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 frame 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 area of contact with the atmosphere is small, the undiluted 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 in the force-tringe tank, and a float switch SWO can be installed as a liquid level detector in the auxiliary tank near the bottom of the cartridge tank. If provided, the developing solution in the cartridge tank will be used until it is empty, and even if the float switch is activated, there will still be developing solution in the auxiliary tank, so you can fill the cartridge tank with new developing solution without stopping the operation of the entire device. can be exchanged with. Here, it is convenient because it is possible to use Cartolino Gitanyl 611, which is commercially available in undiluted form as a cue retainer, almost as is. and,
A hose is connected from the outlet of the auxiliary tank 68 to the inlet of the pump 69A, and a hose is connected from the outlet of the pump to the mixing tank 81.

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. The mixing and dilution of the next lot of developer is then completed before the previous lot's developer 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 lit.

+12. Three IDs are used, and the suction and discharge are repeated with a phase shift of 120° from each other, so that pulsation on the discharge side is eliminated and uniform developer application is performed. The developer discharged from the pump 110 passes through a temperature regulator 115 to be kept at a constant temperature and is sent to the base slit nozzle section 20 to apply the developer to the printing plate.

Now, the water in the washing tank IO 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 in the drawings, the new liquid and the recess are replaced periodically.

By the way, in the developing device of the present invention, a base slit nozzle is provided so that the deposited solution is always supplied in the amount necessary for coating and development without circulating the developer, and a very small amount of surplus developer is collected in a separate collection vat. A small amount of development/stem is removed and discarded as waste.

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

A JIS 1050 aluminum plate with a thickness of 0.24 mm was immersed in a 2% aqueous sodium hydroxide solution, degreased, and then electrochemically roughened in a dilute hydrochloric acid solution. After 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.

After washing the obtained aluminum plate with water and drying, a photosensitive liquid having the following composition was applied to a dry weight of 2.5 g/m'' and dried to obtain a positive PS plate.The dimensions of the plate were 101003X.
It was set at 800.

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

Negative-tone PS plate Also, after degreasing a 0.24 mm thick JIS 1050 aluminum plate by immersing it in a 20% sodium phosphate aqueous solution, electrochemically roughening it in a dilute nitric acid solution, and thoroughly washing it. 1.5 by anodizing in dilute sulfuric acid solution
An oxide film of g/m2 was formed on the surface of the aluminum plate.

The obtained aluminum plate was further immersed in an aqueous solution of sodium metasilicate 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 PS version was obtained.

(Photosensitive liquid) Hexafluorophosphate of a condensate of p-diazodiphenylamine and paraformaldehyde...1 part N-(
4-Hydroxyphenylmethacrylamide copolymer (described in Example J of Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-43890)...
・10 parts Hiftria Pure Blue BOH (manufactured by Hodogaya Chemical Co., Ltd., dye)...0.2 parts Ethylene glycol monomethyl ether...100 parts A transparent negative film was adhered to this negative PS plate. Exposure was carried out for 30 seconds using a 2 kilowatt metal halide lamp from a distance of 70 cm.

The exposed positive and negative PS plates described above were developed using the following developer I using the automatic developing machine shown in FIG. 1I.

Developer solution (used for both positive and negative PS plates) - 5 parts by weight of sodium silicate (JIS Sodium Silicate No. 3) - 2 parts by weight of sodium hydroxide - 1 part by weight of ψ7 enyl cellosolve - 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) 011
Parts by weight: 120 parts by weight of water Developer ■ (for positive PS plates 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 Kao Corporation) 1 part by weight 20 parts by weight of 50% aquaculture potassium Adjustment solution The pH was adjusted to 13.oo at 25°C.

Developer ■ (for negative PS plates only) - Jetanolamine 1.5 parts by weight - Phenyl Cello True J 3.5 mm parts - p -
tert-butylbenzoic acid 2.0 parts by weight/50%
Aquatic potassium 1.0 weight 1 part, Perex NBL (Kao Corporation anionic surfactant) 10 weight 1 part, sodium sulfite 0.3 weight part, water
90.7 parts by weight, a developer for both positive and negative types was filed in Japanese Patent Application No. 63-50 by the present applicant.
No. 499, a developer exclusively for positive type and negative type has been filed in Japanese Patent Application No. 63-50498 by the present applicant.

If the printing plate is cold when a small amount of developer is applied, normal development will not occur and the normal development conditions will be deviated from. In order to solve this problem, an insulating chamber 130 was provided as shown in FIG. The structure and operation of this will be explained in some detail using FIGS. 2, 3, and 4(a) and (b).

First, a first embodiment using a heat roller will be described. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the insulating chamber 130 in that case, and FIG. 3 is an axial sectional view of the heat roller.

Adjacent to the printing plate insertion table 102, heat rollers 140A and 140B are disposed above and below the conveyance path of the printing plate 101 and also serve as a pair of nipping conveyance rollers. An insulating room 130 is configured to house the heat roller and temperature detectors 134A and 134B, and outer frames 13L 132 and 147, 148 of the insulating room 130 are provided, and a heat insulating material 133 is pasted on the inside. ing. However, a heat insulating material is not attached to the developing section side so that heat can be supplied to the developing section.

Here, the heat roller 14 as the heating device of this embodiment
The structure of the OA 140B will be explained using FIG.

Inside the heat roller, a roll heater 136 is constructed by wrapping a nichrome wire around a pipe-shaped member made of heat-resistant resin and sealing the top with heat-resistant insulating tape.A roll heater 136 is attached to a fixed shaft 135, and both ends are connected to a frame 147 and a frame 148.
It is supported by a bearing block 149 attached to.

The energizing cord of the heater is taken out to the outside of the frame through the hollow part of the fixing shaft 7 135 .

On the other hand, the rotating parts are aluminum pipe rollers 137A and 137B.
is coated with urethane rubber 138A or fluorine-based resin 138B, such as Teflon, and both ends thereof are concentrically and integrally connected to a post 139, and rotatably pivoted to a pole bearing 145 provided in a frame 147 and a bearing block 149. The drive is rotationally transmitted by a gear wheel fixed concentrically to the post 139.

As a result of this rotation, the printing plate is conveyed from the insertion table 102 and advances to the developing section, where it is heated by heat transfer by the heat roller.

Temperature detectors 134A, 1 are used to determine the degree of heating.
34B is installed in the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 to detect the temperature and turn on the power so that the temperature of the heating device using the heat roller does not exceed the set temperature (40°C in this example). It is designed to perform OFF adjustment.

However, in the present invention, a room temperature detector 181 is further provided to detect the room temperature of the developing device installation chamber. The detected temperature is considered to be approximately equal to the temperature of the printing plate itself immediately before being supplied to the developing device. When the printing plate passes through the heating device and reaches the development position, it is necessary that the temperature of the printing plate reaches an allowable temperature condition sufficient for normal development. In this case, when the detected temperature of the developing device installation chamber is below a predetermined value of 24°C by conducting an experiment, the heating device is energized, and the detected temperature is set to a predetermined value of 24°C.
If the temperature exceeds .degree. C., the heating device is controlled to be turned off.

In addition, if the room temperature drops too much, set the room temperature to the allowable value lO°
It is necessary to adjust the air to raise the temperature above 33°C, and when the room temperature is extremely high, to lower it to below the allowable value of 33°C.

This causes the room temperature to reach I O'C! When the temperature is ~33°C, the room temperature is detected and only the ON/OFF control of the heating device is performed, maintaining stable developing temperature conditions without any special air adjustment for room temperature adjustment, resulting in high quality printing plate development processing. became possible to achieve.

The above printing plate temperature control can be summarized as shown in the flowchart of FIG.

In this example, the temperature setting value near the surface of the heating device is set at approximately 40°.
The predetermined value t of the room temperature of the C1 developing device installation chamber is not limited to 24°c1, but when the allowable development temperature is changed, the heating chamber set temperature and the predetermined value t of the room temperature can be newly set according to the change. It goes without saying that there is.

Next, a second embodiment of the heating device will be described using the side sectional view of FIG. 4(a).

The insulating room 130A has outer frames 151, 152 and 16
1162, and two pairs of nipping rollers 156A and 156B are rotatably pivoted to bearings provided on the outer frame 161162 and can be driven in the transport path of the printing plate lot. Further, a heat insulating material 153 is attached to the inside of each frame as a heat insulating material. However, no heat insulating material is attached to the wall at the entrance to the developing section. The heated air in the insulating chamber 130A is then circulated inside the machine to the developing section.

Further, a plurality of heaters 159 or a single heater 159 are installed on the insertion table frame 157 provided at the lower part of the conveyance path, and a temperature detector 161A is also installed.

The heaters used in this example were an infrared heater, a sheathed heater, and a hot water heater, each of which was used individually to achieve the effect of heating the printing plate.

Further, as a third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4(b), a fan is provided in the heat-insulating chamber 13OA of the heat-insulating example of the second embodiment. There is almost the same heating effect as in the second embodiment.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, even when a printing plate developing device that applies a small amount of developer is operated at a low room temperature, development can be carried out without changing the allowable development condition temperature. This makes it possible to achieve high-quality developed finishes.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the greenhouse shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an axial cross-sectional view of the heat roller as the heating device shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4(a) is a side cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the greenhouse. FIG. 4(b) is a side cross-sectional view of the third embodiment of the greenhouse. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of printing plate temperature control. FIG. 6 is an overall configuration diagram of a conventional printing plate developing device. 20...Base slit nozzle section 50...Dip developing section 60...Developer mixing section 102...Printing plate 102...Insertion stand 115...Temperature regulator 130.130A...Insulation chamber 131.132,147,148,161,162...
・Outer frame 133.153...Insulating material 134A, 134B, 161A...Temperature detector 1
35... Fixed shaft 136... Roll heater 137A, 137B... Aluminum pipe roller! 38
A... Urethane rubber 138B... Fluorine resin 139... Boss 14OA, 140B... Heat roller 141...
Gear 145... Pole bearing 149... Bearing block 156A, 156B... Conveyance clamping roller 157...
- Insertion table frame 159... Heater 181... Room temperature detector t... Predetermined value

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a developer application type printing plate development device, if the temperature in the room where the device is installed is below a predetermined value, the temperature near the surface of the heating device installed in the printing plate supply section upstream of the developer application section will exceed the set value. A printing plate developing device characterized in that the heating device is operated within a range where the room temperature does not exceed the predetermined value, and the heating device is controlled to stop operating when the indoor temperature exceeds the predetermined value.