JPH0252353A - Processing method and device for developing photosensitive planographic printing plate - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To securely develop both or one surface of a photosensitive planographic printing plate with a least necessary amt. of a developing soln. by coating a rear side surface of a photosensitive planographic printing plate with a predetermined amt. of an unused developing soln. and proceeding the development by holding the applied developing soln. on the surface of the printing plate while carrying the plate with a point contact roller. CONSTITUTION:A developing soln. 24 is applied on a front and rear surface of the photosensitive plate (PS plate) 12 by means of a coating block 30 of the developing soln. The developing soln. discharged from a slit of the coating block 30 forms beads between the PS plate 12 and a flat part and is applied on the surface of the plate while transporting the PS plate 12. Therefore, there is no fear for causing coating of excessive amt. of the developing soln. on the PS plate 12. The PS plate 12 applied with the developing soln. on the front and the rear surfaces by means of the coating block 30 is transported further in an arrow mark (A) direction. The developing soln. is held while the plate is pinched between wire bar pairs 40-46 and carried. Thus, the development is proceeded. By this constitution, least necessary amt. of the developing soln. is applied on both front and rear surfaces of the PS plate 12, and both surfaces are developed securely.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a photosensitive lithographic printing plate developing method and apparatus for developing a photosensitive lithographic printing plate on which an image has been printed.

[Prior Art] A photosensitive lithographic printing plate on which an image has been printed is conveyed to a photosensitive lithographic printing plate developing device and developed.

This development can be carried out either by spraying, in which a developing solution is supplied to the plate surface of the photosensitive material by spraying, or by immersing the photosensitive planographic printing plate in a developing tank containing a developing solution. There is a so-called depth method, in which the plate surface of a photosensitive lithographic printing plate is coated with a required amount of developer, and there is a metering method, in which development is performed by applying a required amount of developer to the surface of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate. However, in the case of the above-mentioned one-spray type, the developing solution is recycled and used, so that it gradually deteriorates due to components eluted from the photosensitive layer of the photosensitive material. Furthermore, when the developer is alkaline, it is also degraded by carbon dioxide gas in the air.

Furthermore, in the case of the dip method, since the photosensitive lithographic printing plate is immersed, a large amount of developer is charged, and the developer deteriorates as the number of sheets processed increases. As a method for preventing the deterioration of this developing solution, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 50-144502 and 5.1-62
No. 004, JP 55115039, JP 56-1
Although each publication of No. 2645 proposes a means for replenishing the developer replenisher, the device is complicated and expensive. Furthermore, when replacing the developer with a new developer, there were cases where the developer that was still usable was discarded. For this reason, it has not been possible to use the developing solution efficiently without wasting it.

On the other hand, in the case of the metering method, the amount of developer used is smaller than that of the one-way spray method or the depth method.
There is an advantage that the device is simple because no replenishment device or circulation device is required.

In this metering method, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-87964 proposes a method in which a developer is applied to a photosensitive planographic printing plate while it is conveyed in the vertical direction.

However, in this case, there is a problem that the applied developer naturally falls downward, staining the photosensitive lithographic printing plate located below and staining the inside and surroundings of the apparatus.

In addition, in the case of the above-mentioned vertical conveyance, it is necessary to change the direction of the photosensitive planographic printing plate, which is conveyed along the approximately horizontal direction, to the approximately vertical direction, and for this purpose, guides, conveyance rollers, etc. are required. Become. For this reason, it has been proposed that the photosensitive lithographic printing plate be conveyed along a substantially horizontal direction and subjected to development processing.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when the photosensitive planographic printing plate is conveyed in a substantially horizontal direction and the developer is applied using the metering method,
If the plate on which the image is recorded is on the top side, the developer will not fall downward and will be held on the plate, but if it is on the bottom side, the developer will fall naturally and will not fall downward. Therefore, it was not possible to reliably develop both the upper and lower surfaces or the lower surface of the photosensitive planographic printing plate.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for developing a photosensitive lithographic printing plate, which can reliably develop both the upper and lower sides of a photosensitive lithographic printing plate using the minimum necessary amount of developer. The purpose is to

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a photosensitive lithographic printing plate development processing method and apparatus for automatically conveying and developing a photosensitive lithographic printing plate on which an image has been printed, the method and apparatus comprising: After applying a predetermined amount of a substantially unused developer to at least the lower surface of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate while conveying the plate in a substantially horizontal direction,
While conveying the photosensitive planographic printing plate with a point contact roller,
It is characterized in that the applied developer is held on the photosensitive lithographic printing plate surface and developed.

[Function] In the present invention having the above configuration, the photosensitive planographic printing plate on which the image has been printed is conveyed in the horizontal direction and a predetermined amount of developer is applied to at least the lower surface, and then the developer is applied with a point contact roller. The photosensitive planographic printing plate is developed by holding and conveying the developer.

In this way, in the present invention, the minimum necessary predetermined amount of developer is applied to the photosensitive planographic printing plate while being conveyed, and the applied developer is retained for development processing. Both the upper and lower surfaces or the lower surface can be reliably developed with the minimum amount of developer required.

The developer used in the present invention has a surface tension of 5Qdyne at 25°C as described in Japanese Patent Application No. 61-307056.
/cm or less, and the clay is preferably 5 cp or more and 10,000 cp or less at 25°C as described in Japanese Patent Application No. 63-1701.

[Embodiment] First Embodiment FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a photosensitive planographic printing plate processing apparatus 10 to which the present invention is applied.

The photosensitive lithographic printing plate processing apparatus 10 includes a developing section 14 for developing a photosensitive lithographic printing plate (hereinafter referred to as "PS plate") 12 on which images have been printed on both upper and lower surfaces by a printing device (not shown), and a developing section 14 for developing a photosensitive lithographic printing plate (hereinafter referred to as "PS plate") 12, which has images printed on both upper and lower surfaces by a printing device (not shown). Washing section 1 for washing the 23rd edition 12 of
6, and a desensitization treatment section 18 for applying a desensitization treatment liquid to the 23rd plate 12. These developing sections 14
, the water washing section 16, and the desensitizing section 18 are provided in the above order, and the 23rd plate 12 with images printed on both the upper and lower surfaces is conveyed substantially horizontally and processed.

As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of conveying rollers 20 is arranged on the side where the 23rd plate 12 is inserted into the developing section 14. A 23rd printing plate 12 with images printed on both upper and lower surfaces by a printing device (not shown) is inserted between the pair of transport rollers 20.

The developing section 14 is equipped with a drain tank 22 .

The drain tank 22 is open at the top and has a substantially inverted mountain shape with the bottom central portion protruding downward.

Above the drain tank 22, two pairs of conveying rollers 26 and 28 are arranged along the conveying direction of the 23rd printing plate 12 (the six directions of arrows). The transport roller pair 26, 28 is rotatably supported by a pair of side plates (not shown), and is rotated by the driving force of a driving means (not shown) transmitted thereto. The 23rd printing plate 12 sent out from the pair of conveying rollers 20 is conveyed along a substantially horizontal direction above the drain tank 22 by the pair of conveying rollers 26 and 28, and is sent to the washing section 16.

A pair of developer application blocks 30 are arranged between the transport roller pair 26 and the transport roller pair 28 on the transport roller pair 26 side. These developer application blocks 30 are arranged above and below the conveyance path of the 23rd plate 12, respectively, and apply the developer to the upper and lower surfaces of the 23rd plate 12 sent out from the pair of conveyance rollers 26.

A pair of developer application blocks 3D as shown in FIG.
is the upper block 3 placed above the conveyance path of the 23rd plate 12.
It consists of 0A and a lower block 30B arranged below, and the upper block 30A and lower block 30B have the same shape but are arranged at different positions. Here, the lower block 30B will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lower block 30B is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, with both upper corners cut off over the entire length in the longitudinal direction, and a flat portion is formed in the center along the width direction of the PS plate. A slit 32 opening upward is formed in the lower block 30B. This slit 32 is connected to the lower block 30
It is formed inside B and communicates with a passage 34 provided along the longitudinal direction.

This passage 34 is a pipe line 3 penetrating the bottom of the drain tank 22.
It is connected to 6. A supply pump 3 is installed in the middle of the pipe line 36.
8 is arranged, and the operation of this supply pump 38 supplies the developer 24 in the developer tank 51 to the lower block 30B.
It is designed to be supplied to The developer 24 supplied to the passage 34 passes through the slit 32 and is discharged onto the lower surface of the 23rd plate 12 to be applied thereto. upper block 3
Similarly, a pipe 36 is connected to 0A, and the developer 24
is supplied, and a developer 24 is applied onto the upper surface of the 23rd plate 12.

Four pairs of wire pars 40, 42, 44, and 46 are arranged in this order between the developer application block 30 and the pair of transport rollers 28. The pair of wire pars 40 is formed by winding a wire 50 spirally around the outer periphery of a shaft 48, as shown in FIG. 4A. The wire 50 has a diameter of 0
, 1 to 3 mm in diameter can be used, but 0.3 to 1 mm in diameter is more preferably used. The diameter of this wire 50 is set to a predetermined value, and the diameter of this wire 50 is set to 23
It comes into contact with the upper surface of the plate 12.

This wire par 40 is also pivotally supported by a pair of side plates (not shown) like the pair of transport rollers 26, 28, and is rotated by the driving force of a driving means (not shown).

The pair of wire pars 42, 44, and 46 are formed in the same manner as the pair of wire pars 40, but the diameters of the wires are different, that is, the wires of the wire pars 40 to 46 become thicker from thinner toward the conveyance downstream side. However, even if the wire is made thicker, it is easier to match the rotation line speed of the wire bar by keeping the outer diameter of the wire bar the same. Also, as shown in FIG. 4B, wire bars wound at different pitches P can also be used. That is, the pitch P of the pair of wire pars 42 to 46 changes from a dense state to a coarse state toward the conveyance downstream side of the 23rd plate 12. These pair of wire pars 40 to 46 are designed to sandwich and convey the 23 plate 12 and to hold the developer 24 applied to both the upper and lower surfaces.

Further, one end of a conduit 52 is communicated with the bottom of the developer tank 51 . In the middle of this pipe line 52, a circulation pump 54,
A heat exchanger 56 is arranged.

The other end is communicated with a developer tank 51. By the operation of the circulation pump 54, the developer 24 in the developer tank 51 is circulated and heated to a predetermined temperature.

Further, one end of a pipe line 58 is communicated with the bottom of the drain tank 22 . A valve 60 is disposed in the middle of this conduit 58. By opening this valve 60, the developer 24 in the drain tank 22 is discharged.

The washing section 16 is equipped with a washing tank 76, and above the washing tank 76, two pairs of transport rollers 68, 70 are arranged in sequence along the transport path of the 23rd printing plate 12. These conveyor roller pairs 68 and 70 are supported by a pair of side plates (not shown), and are rotationally driven by the driving force of a driving means (not shown). By this drive, the 23rd plate 12 is conveyed in a substantially horizontal direction.

Spray pipes 72, 74 are arranged between the transport roller pair 68 and the transport roller pair 70.

The spray pipe 72 is connected to the 23rd plate 12 on the conveying roller pair 68 side.
spray pipe 74.
is arranged below the conveyance path of the 23rd printing plate 12 on the conveyance roller pair 70 side. These spray pipes 72 and 74 are provided with a plurality of discharge ports along the axial direction, with the spray pipe 72 opening toward the transport roller pair 68 and the spray pipe 74 opening toward the transport roller pair 70. .

The spray pipes 72 , 74 communicate at one end with a conduit 78 that communicates with the bottom of the washing tank 76 .

A flush water supply pump 80 is disposed in the middle of this pipe line 78, and by the operation of this flush water supply pump 80,
Rinsing water 82 contained at the bottom of the rinsing tank 76 is adapted to be supplied to the spray pipes 72,74.

Further, one end of a pipe line 84 is connected to the bottom of the washing tank 76 . A valve 86 is disposed in the middle of this conduit 84, and when the valve 86 is opened, the washing water 82 in the washing tank 76 is discharged.

The desensitization treatment section 18 is equipped with a desensitization treatment tank 88 . A desensitizing liquid 102 is stored at the bottom of the desensitizing tank 88 .

Above the desensitization treatment tank 88, two pairs of conveyance rollers 90 and 92 are arranged along the conveyance direction of the 23rd printing plate 12. These conveyance roller pairs 90 and 92 are pivotally supported by a pair of side plates (not shown), and are rotated by the driving force of a driving means (not shown). The 23rd plate 12 sent out from the transport roller pair 70 is inserted into the transport roller pair 90,
The paper is transported substantially horizontally by a pair of transport rollers 92.

Spray pipes 94 and 96 are arranged between the transport roller pair 90 and the transport roller pair 92.

The spray pipe 94 is connected to the 23rd plate 12 on the conveying roller pair 90 side.
The spray pipe 94 is disposed above the conveyance path of the 23rd printing plate 12 on the conveyance roller pair 92 side.

These spray pipes 94 and 96 have a plurality of discharge ports formed along the axial direction, and the spray pipes 94 and 94 are opened toward the transport roller pair 90 and the spray pipe 94 is opened toward the transport roller pair 92. .

One end of the spray pipes 94 and 96 communicates with a conduit 98 that communicates with the bottom of the desensitization treatment tank 88. A supply pump 100 is disposed in the middle of this pipe line 98, and the operation of this supply pump 100 causes the desensitization treatment tank 88 to
The desensitizing treatment liquid 102 inside is sprayed into the spray pipe 94.96.
It is designed to be supplied to

Further, one end of a conduit 104 is connected to the bottom of the desensitization treatment tank 88 . A valve 10 is located in the middle of this conduit 104.
6 is arranged, and by opening this valve 106, the desensitizing treatment liquid 102 in the desensitizing treatment tank 88 is discharged.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be explained.

The 28 plate 12, on which images have been printed on both upper and lower surfaces by a printing device (not shown), is inserted into a pair of conveyance rollers 20, and then inserted between a pair of conveyance rollers 26 of the developing section 14. The 28 plate 12 inserted between the pair of conveying rollers 26 is conveyed substantially horizontally and sent out toward between the pair of conveying rollers 28.

The developer 24 is applied to the upper and lower surfaces of the 28 plate 12 sent out from the transport roller pair 26 by the developer application block 30 . In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, the developer discharged from the slit 32 of the developer application block 30 forms a bead between the 28 plate 12 and the flat part.
As the 28 plate 12 is transported, a developer is applied onto the plate surface. This prevents the developing solution from being applied onto the PS plate 12 more than necessary, so the developing solution is not wasted.

The 28 plate 12, whose upper and lower surfaces have been coated with a developer by the developer application block 30, is further conveyed in the direction of arrow A, held and conveyed by pair of wire pars 40 to 46, retains the developer, and is developed with the developer. Ru.

When the 28 plate 12 is held and conveyed by the wire pars 40 and 46, some developer may overflow and flow down from both ends of the PS plate 12, but since this flowing developer has not yet been used for development, it is collected and circulated. It may be re-supplied.

As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to apply the minimum necessary amount of developer to both the upper and lower surfaces of the 28 plate 12, and it is possible to reliably develop both the upper and lower surfaces.

A developing solution is applied to both the upper and lower surfaces, and the developed 28 plate 12 is sent to the washing section 16 by a pair of conveying rollers 28.

The 28 plate 12 sent out from the transport roller pair 28 is inserted between the transport roller pair 68.

The 28 plate 12 inserted into the transport roller pair 68 is transported in a substantially horizontal direction and inserted between the transport roller pair 70. During this conveyance, the 28 plate 12 is washed by supplying washing water to both upper and lower surfaces thereof through the spray pipes 72 and 74. After being washed with water, the 28 plate 12 is inserted between a pair of conveyance rollers 90, sent out between a pair of conveyance rollers 92, and desensitized by a desensitizing section 18.
It is conveyed in a substantially horizontal direction above. During this conveyance, a desensitizing treatment liquid is applied by spray pipes 94 and 96. The 28 plate 12 coated with the desensitizing treatment liquid is sent out of the photosensitive planographic printing plate processing apparatus 10 by a pair of transport rollers 92 and is transported to a drying device (not shown).

In this embodiment, the pair of wire pars 40 to 46 were used, but a roller 12 having protrusions on the outer periphery as shown in FIG.
8 may be used.

Other embodiments will be described below. Note that the same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, conveyance rollers 108.11O are arranged above the developer tank 22 near the conveyance roller pair 20, with the conveyance roller 108 at the top and the conveyance roller 110 at the bottom. These conveyance rollers 108 and 110 are pivotally supported by a pair of side plates (not shown), and are rotated by the driving force of a driving means (not shown) transmitted thereto. The 28 plate 12 sent out from the pair of transport rollers 20 is inserted between these transport rollers 108 and 110, and is transported along a substantially horizontal direction.

A developer guide plate 112 having an L-shaped cross section is arranged above the conveyance roller 108 . This developer guide plate 112
A spray pipe 114 is arranged between the transport roller 108 and the transport roller 108 . This spray pipe 114 is communicated with a conduit 36 that communicates with the bottom of the drain tank 22 . A supply pump 38 is disposed in the middle of the pipe line 36, and the operation of the supply pump 38 causes the spray pipe 114 to
The developer is supplied to. The developer supplied to the spray pipe 114 is guided by a developer guide plate 112 and supplied to the conveyance roller 108.

Approximately half of the outer circumference of the conveying roller 110 is
It is immersed in a developer in a developer storage tank 116 located below. Therefore, when the conveyance roller 110 rotates, the developer in the developer storage tank 116 is brought out by the conveyance roller 110 and applied onto the PS plate 12.

Therefore, the 28th plate 1 sent out from the conveying roller pair 20
2, a developer is applied to its upper surface by a transport roller 108, and a predetermined amount of developer is applied to its lower surface by a transport roller 110. 28 plate 12 coated with developer
As in the first embodiment, the film is held and developed while being held and conveyed by pair of wire pars 40 to 46.

As a result, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

As shown in FIG. 6, a pair of conveying rollers 118 is arranged above the developer tank 22 near the pair of conveying rollers 20. As shown in FIG. The conveying roller pair 118 is a sponge roller, and as shown in FIG.
0 is formed.

This hollow portion 120 is closed at one end in the axial direction, and communicated with the conduit 36 at the other end. For this reason, supply pump 3
8 causes the developer to be supplied to the hollow portion 120 of the pair of transport rollers 118. The supplied developer permeates outward from the inside of the transport roller 118 and oozes out onto the surface. For this reason, there is no formation of air pockets in the developer.

Therefore, the 28th plate 1 sent out from the conveying roller pair 20
2 is inserted between the transport roller pair 118.

A predetermined amount of developer is applied to both upper and lower surfaces of the 28 plate 12 by the pair of transport rollers 118. At this time, 28th edition 12
Since the transport roller pair 118 is made of sponge, no air bubbles are generated in the developer applied to the surface of the developer. This allows the developer to be applied uniformly across the width of the 28 plate 12.

As in the first embodiment, the 28 plate 12 coated with the developer is transported by pair of wire pars 40, 42, 44, 46, while retaining the developer, and is thereby subjected to development processing.

Fourth example Next, a fourth embodiment will be described using FIG. 8.

As shown in FIG. 8, the 28th plate 12 of the transport roller pair 26
A pair of electrode rollers 122 is arranged on the downstream side in the conveyance direction. This electrode roller 122 is connected to a power source 124. The 28 plate 12 sent out from the pair of transport rollers is inserted between the electrode rollers 122. This electrode roller 122 is pivotally supported by a pair of side plates (not shown), and is rotated by the driving force of a driving means (not shown) transmitted thereto. By conveying this 28 plate 12, the surface of the 28 plate 12 is anodically charged.

On the downstream side of the electrode roller 122 in the conveying direction of the 28 plate 12, electrostatic spray guns 126 are arranged above and below the conveyance path of the 28 plate 12. This electrostatic spray gun 126 is a spray gun used for so-called electrostatic painting, and in this embodiment, a developer is sprayed with the electrostatic spray gun 126 instead of paint. This electrostatic spray gun 126 is in communication with the conduit 36. Therefore, the developer is supplied by the operation of the supply pump 38. The supplied developing solution is charged to the cathode and is adsorbed to the 28 plate 12 which is charged to the anode.

This supply amount is set to the minimum necessary amount that can develop 28 plates 12.

Therefore, the 28th plate 1 sent out from the conveying roller pair 26
2 has its surface anode charged by an electrode roller 122. The plate is transported in this state, and a cathode-charged developer is sprayed by the electrostatic spray gun 126, and is attracted to both upper and lower surfaces of the 28 plate 12, and a predetermined amount of developer is supplied.

The 28th plate 12 to which the developer has been supplied is further conveyed, and the first
Similarly to the embodiment, the developer is held while being conveyed to the wire bars 40 to 46. As a result, the PS plate 12 is developed.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention provides a photosensitive planographic printing plate development processing method and apparatus for automatically conveying and developing a photosensitive planographic printing plate on which an image has been printed, which comprises: After applying a predetermined amount of substantially unused developer to at least the lower surface of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate while conveying the printing plate in a substantially horizontal direction, the photosensitive lithographic printing plate is applied with a point contact roller. It is characterized by holding the applied developer on the surface of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate and developing it while conveying it, so it is possible to develop both sides or one side of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate with the minimum amount of developer required. An excellent effect can be obtained in that development processing can be carried out reliably.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of a photosensitive lithographic printing plate processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a developer application block, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a developer application block. P
4A and 4B are perspective views showing the wire bar, FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the second embodiment of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate processing apparatus, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the relationship with the S plate. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a third embodiment of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate processing apparatus; FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a sponge roller; FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the first embodiment of the photosensitive planographic printing plate processing apparatus. , FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing another roller. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Photosensitive planographic printing plate processing device 12... PS plate, 14... Developing section, 24... Developer, 30... Developer application block, 40-46... Wire bar 108 ... Conveyance roller, 118 ... Conveyance roller pair, 122 ... Electrode roller, 126 ... Electrostatic spray gun.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A method for developing a photosensitive lithographic printing plate, which automatically transports and develops a photosensitive lithographic printing plate on which an image has been printed, wherein the photosensitive lithographic printing plate is transported in a substantially horizontal direction while the photosensitive lithographic printing plate is After applying a predetermined amount of substantially unused developer to at least the lower surface of the lithographic printing plate, the applied developer is transferred to the photosensitive lithographic plate while the photosensitive lithographic printing plate is conveyed by a point contact roller. A method for developing a photosensitive lithographic printing plate, which comprises holding the plate on the surface of the printing plate and developing the plate. (2) A photosensitive planographic printing plate development processing device that automatically conveys and develops a photosensitive planographic printing plate on which an image has been printed, comprising means for conveying the photosensitive planographic printing plate in a substantially horizontal direction; means for applying a predetermined amount of a substantially unused developer onto at least the lower surface of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate; after coating, the photosensitive lithographic printing plate is conveyed by a point contact roller;
1. A photosensitive lithographic printing plate development processing apparatus, comprising means for holding the applied developer onto the photosensitive lithographic printing plate surface.