JPH052929Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention is applied to printing sensitive materials, especially printing sensitive materials used for controlling the printing degree (exposure time or exposure amount) of photosensitive planographic printing plates (PS plates), etc. Regarding management gauges.
The gauge of the present invention can also be used to manage the developer used for developing PS plates, that is, to know the performance of the developer.

[Conventional technology]

A PS plate has a photosensitive layer on a support such as an aluminum plate, a plastic film or paper on which aluminum is laminated or vapor-deposited, and is exposed to a halftone image and then developed to form a lithographic printing plate for printing. .

This type of printing sensitive material usually has positive type and negative type depending on the type of photosensitive layer. The positive photosensitive layer is made of a material that is insoluble in aqueous alkaline solutions but becomes soluble when exposed to active light such as ultraviolet rays. Therefore, when a positive type photosensitive layer is imagewise exposed by contacting it with light, the portion of the photosensitive layer exposed to the light becomes soluble, so it is developed by rubbing the surface of the photosensitive layer with a sponge containing an alkaline developer. The exposed areas are then removed, leaving the unexposed areas to form an image.
On the other hand, a negative photosensitive layer is made of a material that is soluble in an aqueous alkaline solution but becomes insoluble when exposed to active light.When exposed imagewise, the portion of the photosensitive layer exposed to the light becomes insoluble, so it cannot be used in an alkaline developer. When developed, the unexposed areas are removed and the exposed areas remain to form an image.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

During the above-mentioned image exposure, if the exposure time or exposure amount (burning degree) is too long or too short and is not appropriate, a good quality image cannot be obtained. This is done by reading the number of clear stages. However, with this method, it is difficult to turn on/off clearly, and reading methods differ from person to person, making it difficult to obtain an appropriate degree of burning without individual differences. Furthermore, although this method could measure the amount of exposure, it was not possible to determine the effects of light circulation.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a control gauge for printed photosensitive materials that makes it possible to judge the degree of printing of printed photosensitive materials without individual differences.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a control gauge for printed photosensitive materials that can also be used to judge the performance of a developer for printed photosensitive materials as described later.

[Means for solving problems]

In this invention, line groups consisting of many parallel lines with a line width of 3 to 100 μm are sequentially connected to the outside from the center, and the line width of the parallel lines of each line group becomes gradually thicker as it goes outward. Arranged in a step shape, and (1) consists of one line group with the narrowest line width at the center, (2) each step consists of a plurality of line groups each having the same width or different widths, and (3) the center part The parallel lines of the line group, the parallel lines of each line group of the steps touching the outside, and the parallel lines of the line group between adjacent steps intersect, respectively, and (4) The line group as a whole has a side of several mm to several This is a control gauge for printing photosensitive materials, which is characterized by being arranged so that the size is 10 mm.

The control gauge of the present invention is particularly suitable for controlling the printing degree and developer of PS plates, but is not limited to this, and can also be applied to photosensitive materials such as so-called lithographic films.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention shown in the drawings will be described.

FIG. 1 is an enlarged view showing an example of the control gauge of the present invention, in which one square line group 1 consisting of a large number of parallel lines of the same width and having a line width of 6 μm is arranged in the center. In the next step, four line groups 2 consisting of parallel lines of the same width and having a line width of 8 μm are placed in contact with the outside so that the four line groups 2 form a square. Similarly, four line groups 3 are made of parallel lines of the same width and have a line width of 10 μm, and four line groups 4 are made of parallel lines of the same width and have a line width of 12 μm, which are in contact with the line groups of each step. four line groups 5 consisting of parallel lines of the same width each having a line width of 15 μm, and
Four line groups 6 consisting of parallel lines of the same width each having a line width of 20 μm are sequentially arranged in a step shape. In this embodiment, the parallel lines of line group 1, the parallel lines of line group 2, and the parallel lines of each line group (for example, 2 and 3) of adjacent steps are orthogonal to each other. Further, the size of the entire line group, that is, the length of one side of the square formed by the four line groups 6, which are the outermost steps in this example, is approximately 6 mm.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing another example of the present invention, in which one square line group 11 consisting of a large number of parallel lines of the same width and having a line width of 4 μm is arranged at the center. The direction of the line group 11 in this case is parallel to one diagonal of the square, as in the case of FIG. In the next step, four line groups 12 consisting of a large number of parallel lines of the same width and having a line width of 6 μm are arranged so as to form a square in contact with the outside of the line group 1. In this case, each of the four line groups 12 corresponds to the line group 11
It is parallel to the side of the square formed by , and the line width of that side is the same as the line width of the line group 12 (6 μm). Similarly, there are four line groups 1 consisting of parallel lines of the same width with a line width of 8 μm, which are in contact with the line groups of each step.
3. Four line groups consisting of parallel lines of the same width with a line width of 10 μm 14. Four line groups consisting of parallel lines of the same width having a line width of 12 μm 15. Parallel lines of the same width with a line width of 14 μm Four line groups 16 consisting of lines,
Four line groups 17 consisting of parallel lines of the same width each having a line width of 16 μm are sequentially arranged in a step shape.

Although the four parallel line groups of each step have the same line width in each step, in this embodiment, the four line groups of the outermost step have different line widths. That is, the line group 18 is
Line width of 20 μm, line group 19 is 30 μm, line group 20
has a line width of 40 μm, and line group 21 consists of parallel line groups with a line width of 50 μm, each of which is in contact with the line group 19 and parallel to each side of the square formed by the line group 19. It is located.

The line width of the sides of the square formed by the parallel line groups of each of the above steps is the same as the line group placed outside it, and therefore the square forming the base of each of the four parallel line groups of the outermost step , that is, four line groups 17
The line widths of the sides of each square are the same for each step, except for the sides of the square formed by line group 17.
and 50 μm.

Also, in this embodiment, the spacing between parallel lines in each step is chosen to be twice the line width of that step. For example, the interval between each line of the center line group 11 is
It is 8μm.

Further, in the case of FIG. 1, the parallel lines between the steps are orthogonal, but in the case of FIG. 2, they intersect at an angle of 45°.

Also, the triangle formed by the line group of each step,
At the apex (triangular part) of the square (only the center is a regular square), there are two or four blank spaces as shown in the figure, and at least one of them indicates the line width of the line group of the step, such as 4, 6, 8, etc. It is convenient to use the numbers.

The above shows one example of the present invention, and shows the relationship between the line width, the line width interval, and the line width of the four parallel line groups of each step (equal or different, if different, all four are different, The number of steps can be selected as appropriate.

When using the film, print the film with the above-mentioned pattern image on the margin area other than the image forming area at the periphery during the image exposure of the PS plate, develop it, and use the pattern image obtained to determine the degree of printing as follows. Do it like this.

For example, in the case of a positive PS plate, as mentioned above, the exposed part of the photosensitive layer becomes soluble during image exposure,
The unexposed area remains insoluble, and the soluble area is eluted by development, but as the exposure time becomes longer,
Light wraparound development occurs, and due to the presence of an image, light wraps around into areas that should be unexposed. The amount of light that wraps around varies depending on the exposure time, and particularly the reproducibility of thin lines changes. positive type
In the case of PS plates, as the exposure time becomes longer, the amount of light that wraps around the thin lines of the pattern increases,
This portion also becomes soluble and the photosensitive layer in the thin line portion is also eluted during development, so that the thin line is no longer reproduced. This development becomes more pronounced as the line width becomes narrower. Therefore, for example, when performing image exposure of a control gauge pattern as shown in FIG. 1 according to the present invention,
If the exposure time is short, for example, only line group 1 with a line width of 6 μm will be solubilized due to light wraparound, and only line group 1 will not be reproduced and will be whitened out (after development, the part corresponding to line group 1 will be whitened out). line image is not formed),
As the exposure time increases, this white development gradually becomes thicker lines, ie, line group 2, line group 3, and so on. Therefore, how many μm line width can be reproduced?
In other words, the degree of printing can be controlled depending on which line group is reproduced without being blown out.
Incidentally, in the above embodiment, the exposure time that can reproduce up to line group 3 is the appropriate exposure. This blank state can be visually observed if the pattern is of an appropriate size; if it is very small, a magnifying glass may be used.

The same is true for negative PS plates; the photosensitive layer corresponding to the thin lines becomes insoluble due to the wraparound of the light, and remains undissolved during development, just like the exposed areas, and the fine lines are not reproduced and line clusters start from the center. becomes a solid color (the color of the photosensitive layer) in sequence, and therefore, the degree of printing can be controlled by determining which line group is reproduced, as described above.

In the present invention, since the line groups are arranged as described above, it is extremely easy to visually determine which line groups have been reproduced, and it is not affected by individual differences.

Note that when making the above-mentioned determination, the degree of elution of the soluble portion of the photosensitive layer differs depending on the deterioration of the developer and the change in composition, so a developer of approximately the same composition is used for the development.

Further, this development can be used to know the performance of the developer. In other words, when the exposure time is constant, the degree of elution of the insolubilized portion depends on the amount of light that wraps around, and the performance of the developing solution. If possible, expose with the same exposure time,
When line group 2 can be reproduced (line group 1 is the only line group that cannot be reproduced), it can be seen that the developer has deteriorated and its performance has deteriorated. That is, the management gauge of the present invention can also be used for managing developer.

In addition, the control gauge of the present invention shown in Fig. 2 is used in the same manner as described above, and is even more precise because it has a large number of steps and the four groups of parallel lines on the outermost step each have different line widths. management.

The present invention has been explained above using a special example, but
It is not limited to this, and various modifications are possible.

For example, the shape of the line group can be a combination of a square and a circle, a combination of equilateral triangles, a combination of an equilateral triangle and a circle, etc. Further, the line width is not limited to the above example, and can be appropriately selected from 3 to 100 μm, which is a line width that is affected by the wraparound of light during exposure. Although the size of the entire line group is set to be approximately 6 mm, it is not limited to this, and may be any size that fits within the margin outside the image area of the PS plate.
(In this invention, it is expressed as several mm to several tens of mm). Furthermore, in the above example, the parallel lines of each line group were shown to be orthogonal and to intersect at 45 degrees, but this is to make it easier to identify the line groups of each step.
They do not necessarily need to intersect at right angles or at 45 degrees, but it is sufficient that they intersect to the extent that they can be identified.

[Effects of the invention] According to the present invention, the degree of baking of PS plates, etc. can be determined extremely easily without individual differences even by visual inspection, and the performance of the developer for PS plates, etc. can also be known. You can obtain a control gauge for sensitive materials. Also, according to the present invention, it is possible to use both negative and positive PS versions;
There is no need to make a separate one for positive use.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged view showing one example of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing another example of the present invention. 1,11~... line group.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] Line groups consisting of a large number of parallel lines with a line width of 3 to 100 μm are sequentially connected to the outside from the center, and the line width of the parallel lines of each line group gradually decreases as it goes outward. The steps are arranged in steps so as to be thick, and (1) each step consists of one group of lines with the thinnest line width at the center, (2) each step consists of multiple groups of lines each having the same width or different widths, (3) The parallel lines of the line group at the center, the parallel lines of each line group of the steps touching the outside, and the parallel lines of the line groups between adjacent steps intersect, and (4) The line group as a whole has one side. A control gauge for printed photosensitive materials, characterized in that the gauges are arranged so that the size is several mm to several tens of mm.