JPH11149151A - Method and device for manufacturing film sheet for plate making - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a device for manufacturing a film sheet for plate making which can automatically print a register mark, etc., for sticking a film original plate, whose accuracy is stable, and whose operation load is small. SOLUTION: The device for manufacturing the film sheet 5 for plate making has a main stage 1, a printing head 2, and an XY moving means 3. In this case, as to the device for manufacturing the film sheet for the plate making and the method applied to the device, the stage 1 holds the film sheet 5 for the plate making on a holding surface and the printing head 2 has a laser outputting means and a thermal transfer printing means, so that printing is performed by the transfer of a thermal transfer ink layer to the film sheet 5 for the plate making from the thermal transfer sheet by the irradiation of a laser beam, and the XY moving means 3 has a moving stage 4 holding the head 2, and the stage 4 is moved to the specified position of the stage.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention belongs to the technical field of printing. In particular, before printing on a printing press, a printing plate is created in advance, but a register mark is used on the plate-making film sheet used in the plate-making process to create a large sticking sheet for baking to create the printing plate. And a device for printing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, eight pages of printed matter such as books and catalogs are laid out on a printing plate (there may be 16 pages or 32 pages). In a process before preparing the printing plate, plate making is performed in units of each of eight pages or two facing pages, and a film master is obtained in each unit. Then, the obtained film master is laid out at a predetermined position of the plate-making film sheet on a page basis to obtain a large pasting sheet. This layout is performed so that when the signature is obtained by folding the printed matter, a proper passing page is obtained.

Here, a film sheet for plate making is a base sheet (base film) having good dimensional stability and surface smoothness used in plate making, and is usually a sheet mainly made of polyester such as PET ( Film).
In particular, as one of the plate making film sheets, a sheet serving as a base material of a large sticking sheet provided with register marks for sticking a film master (printing pattern) will be described here. In addition, the large pasting sheet is a sheet for printing on a printing plate obtained by pasting a film original plate or the like on a plate-making film sheet.

[0004] Although it differs depending on the process, in most cases a pair of (2
One printing plate is produced using the large adhesive sheets.
That is, the large adhesive sheet used for the printing plate on which eight pages are laid out has four pages, which are half pages, laid out. In order to obtain a printing plate, when this pair of (two) large adhesive sheets is used, baking is performed twice, and when one large adhesive sheet is used, one baking is performed. Is performed. P for offset printing
The close contact printing is performed on the S plate to obtain a printing plate. Also,
In gravure printing, baking is performed by winding a gravure plate cylinder coated with a resist. In the case of conventional gravure printing and screen gravure printing (corrosion gravure), close contact printing is performed on a carbon tissue or the like.

[0005]

In the case of a multi-color printed matter, large-sized sheets having the same number of colors as those of the large-sized sheets are to be prepared. There is a need to do. Also, PS version,
In the case of printing on a gravure plate cylinder, carbon tissue, or the like, it is necessary to accurately align them. For this reason, a register mark called a "register mark" for positioning at the time of pasting the film master or for positioning at the time of printing is manually pasted on the plate making film sheet in advance. This register mark attached to the film plate for plate making is a silver halide photographic film obtained by exposing and developing a "dragonfly" pattern. The large adhesive sheet is provided with an automatic register mark for printing, a density scale, an original plate identification code, and the like. These are also silver halide photographic films obtained by exposing and developing a pattern, and are manually attached to a film plate for plate making.

In this conventional method, the accuracy is not stable because of manual operation, the process is complicated, the work load is large, and time is required. If the accuracy is poor, it is determined that the print registration when printing each color after printing has been started is not correct, and printing is stopped. In that case,
Significant losses occur due to waste of printing materials such as paper, ink, and plate material, waste of processing steps, and stoppage of operation of the printing press. In addition, there is a possibility that an irreparable situation may be caused if the delivery date is reached. Therefore, the object of the present invention is to
Register mark for pasting film master, register mark for printing, automatic register mark for printing, density scale,
An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a method for manufacturing a plate-making film sheet that can automatically print an original plate identification code and the like, stabilize accuracy, and have a small work load.

[0007]

The above objects are achieved by the present invention described below. That is, the present invention provides a plate-making film sheet manufacturing apparatus having a main stage, a print head, and XY moving means, wherein the main stage holds the plate-making film sheet on a holding surface thereof, and The head has laser output means and thermal transfer printing means,
The thermal transfer ink layer is transferred from the thermal transfer sheet to the plate making film sheet by irradiating a laser beam to perform printing, and the XY moving means has a moving stage that supports the print head, and the moving stage is a moving stage of the stage. A plate-making film sheet manufacturing apparatus which moves to a predetermined position ".

According to the present invention, the plate making film sheet is held by the holding surface of the main stage, and a laser beam is irradiated by the laser output means of the print head, whereby the heat transfer sheet of the heat transfer printing means of the print head is used to remove the plate making film. The thermal transfer ink layer is transferred to the sheet and printing is performed, and the print head supported by the moving stage of the XY moving means is moved to a predetermined position on the main stage by the XY moving means. That is, the print head transfers the thermal transfer ink layer to different positions of the film sheet for plate making while moving, the register mark for attaching the film master, the register mark for printing, the automatic register mark for printing, the density scale, A printing pattern such as an original plate identification code is formed on a film plate for plate making. Since this printing is performed automatically, the accuracy is stable and the work load is small.

[0009] The present invention also provides that the print head has a condensing means for condensing a laser beam, and that the laser beam has a size of 10 to 300 μmφ on the printing surface of the plate-making film sheet adsorbed on the holding surface. A variable plate making film sheet manufacturing apparatus ". According to the present invention, the size of the laser beam on the printing surface of the plate-making film sheet adsorbed on the holding surface can be varied between 10 and 300 μmφ by the condensing means for condensing the laser beam of the print head. Therefore, it is possible to form a print pattern having a line width suitable for each of a register mark for attaching a film original, a register mark for printing, an automatic register mark for printing, a density scale, an original identification code, and the like.

The present invention is also an apparatus for producing a plate making film sheet, wherein the main stage has a suction means for adsorbing the plate making film sheet to the holding surface. According to the present invention, the plate making film sheet is suctioned to the holding surface of the main stage by the suction means. That is, the plate-making film sheet adheres without floating from the main stage, and the printing surface of the plate-making film sheet can be made flat. Therefore, the printing suitability of the plate-making film sheet is improved and good print quality is obtained, and the positional accuracy of a print pattern such as a register mark becomes extremely good.

[0011] The present invention also provides a method of adhering a plate making film sheet and a thermal transfer sheet, a step of irradiating a laser beam to the contacted portion along a desired print pattern, a step of irradiating the plate making film sheet with the thermal transfer sheet. And a peeling step of peeling off the sheet from the sheet. " According to the present invention, the plate making film sheet and the thermal transfer sheet are brought into close contact with each other by a contacting process, a laser beam is irradiated along a desired print pattern by an irradiation process, and the plate making film sheet and the thermal transfer sheet are separated by a peeling process. . In this way, printing is performed on the plate-making film sheet. Since this manufacturing method can be performed automatically, the accuracy is stable and the work load is small.

[0012]

Next, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments. FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of the appearance and configuration of a plate-making film sheet manufacturing apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a main stage, 2 is a print head, 3 is an XY moving means, 4 is a moving stage, and 5 is a film sheet for plate making. As shown in FIG. 1, the main stage 1 holds a plate making film sheet 5 on its holding surface. The print head 2 is supported by a moving stage 4 of the XY moving means 3.

The XY moving means 3 has an arrow marked "X".
And a moving stage 4 supported by the support so as to be capable of linear movement and moving in the direction of arrow ← → (Y direction) marked “Y”. Generally, the X direction and the Y direction shown in the figure are orthogonal to each other. That is, the moving stage 4 can move in the X direction and the Y direction, and can move to an arbitrary position above the main stage 1. Therefore, the moving stage 4
Can be moved to any position above the surface of the main stage 1 that holds the film-making plate 5.

The moving mechanism of the XY moving means 3 includes a pulse motor or a servo motor, a driving unit including a motor driving device (driver) and a position control device, and the above-described support and the moving stage 4 moving in a linear direction. And a guide portion comprising a mechanical device for guiding the vehicle. XY
Since the moving means 3 is a known technique, a detailed description thereof will be omitted here. In particular, for the purpose of printing the alignment mark, the XY moving means 3 that can be used in the present invention is required to have the positioning accuracy of the moving stage 4 that is suitable for the purpose. For the purpose of the present invention, in consideration of overprinting in multicolor printing, the reproducibility in repetition when sequentially printing on the plate making film sheet 5 for each color printing plate is more important than the absolute accuracy. .

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the print head 2. 2, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The same applies to the following drawings. In FIG. 2, 21 is a laser output means, 22 is a laser beam,
Reference numeral 23 denotes a light condensing unit, reference numeral 24 denotes a transmission member, and reference numeral 25 denotes a thermal transfer sheet. The laser output means 21 is a device for outputting a laser beam such as a semiconductor laser. Laser output means 21
The laser beam 22 output from the laser beam is condensed by the condensing means 23 which is an optical system composed of a convex lens or the like, and the diameter (beam diameter) of the light beam becomes small.

The diameter of the condensed laser beam 22 is variable on the surface of the plate making film sheet 5 held on the holding surface of the main stage 1 on which printing is performed by the thermal transfer sheet 25. For example, a print pattern with a line width suitable for each of a registration mark for pasting a film original, a registration mark for printing, an automatic registration mark for printing, a density scale, and an original identification code (character number, bar code). In order to form it, it is preferable to make the size variable in the range of 10 to 300 μmφ. The method of making the dimensions variable is to provide an aperture having a predetermined opening diameter in the optical path of the laser output means 21 and the light condensing means 23. The light condensing means 23 and the plate making film sheet 5 held by the main stage 1 are provided. , A mechanism for changing the distance from the print surface to the print surface is provided.

The thermal transfer sheet 25 is, as shown in FIG.
It is in the form of a roll of ink ribbon,
The thermal transfer sheet 25 is unwound from a supply-side reel (the left side in FIG. 2), and is taken up by the other winding-side reel. The transmissive member 24 presses the thermal transfer sheet 25 against the printing surface of the plate-making film sheet 5 to make it adhere. The transmitting member 24 is a transparent member that transmits a laser beam, but may be a member having a hole in a portion through which the laser beam passes.
The thermal transfer sheet 25 is in close contact with the plate making film sheet 5 during the execution of the predetermined printing, and is not transferred. The thermal transfer sheet 25 is transported between printings as necessary, and the transmissive member 2
No. 4 releases the operation of pressing the thermal transfer sheet 25 against the printing surface of the plate-making film sheet 5 to bring the thermal transfer sheet 25 into close contact therewith. That is, at the time of transfer, the transmission member 24 and the heat transfer sheet 2
5 rises and is separated from the plate-making film sheet 5.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a printing process of the apparatus for manufacturing a film sheet for plate making of the present invention. FIG. 3A shows a process of irradiating the laser beam 22, and FIG. 3B shows a process of peeling the thermal transfer sheet 25. As shown in FIG. 3A, the thermal transfer sheet 25 includes a base layer 31 and an ink layer 32. Ink layer 32 of thermal transfer sheet 25
Is brought into close contact with the printing surface of the film sheet 5 for plate making.
In this state, a predetermined position is irradiated with the laser beam 22. The irradiation position of the laser beam 22 is moved in accordance with a pattern to be printed, for example, a register mark figure. The movement of the laser beam 22 will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the laser beam 2
After the irradiation of 2, the thermal transfer sheet 25 which has been in close contact with the printing surface of the plate making film sheet 5 is peeled off from the printing surface. The ink layer 32 of the thermal transfer sheet 25 irradiated with the laser beam 22 remains on the printing surface of the plate-making film sheet 5 to form a print pattern, for example, a register mark pattern. When the laser beam 22 is irradiated, the thermal transfer sheet 25 is heated at that portion and the temperature rises. This laser beam 2
As a result of the heating by the heat transfer sheet 2, the ink layer 32
Is transferred to the plate making film sheet 5.

As such a thermal transfer sheet 25, a known thermal transfer sheet such as a sublimation transfer type thermal transfer sheet and a heat melting type thermal transfer sheet can be used. When printing a register mark for pasting the film original, the register mark may be any as long as the register mark has a visible density. When printing a register mark for printing on a printing plate,
It is necessary to have a density that blocks light for printing. For example, a thermal transfer sheet containing carbon black as a black pigment can be used as the ink layer 32.

When a general thermal transfer sheet 25 for printing on plain paper is used, the adhesiveness to the plate making film sheet 5 made of a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film is poor. Durability (especially abrasion resistance) may be poor. The durability of the printing pattern formed on the plate-making film sheet 5 needs to maintain the required shape density at least until printing on the printing plate. The point is how to handle the plate making film sheet 5, but if there is a problem with the durability of the printed pattern, a protective film (for example, a transparent adhesive tape) is placed on the printed pattern formed on the plate making film sheet 5. , Or by applying a transparent adhesive or the like by a spray method or the like to provide a protective layer. Of course, when printing is performed on the plate making film sheet 5 made of a PET film, a special heat transfer sheet 25 having excellent durability of the printed pattern can be used, or the printed pattern can be adhered to the printing surface of the plate making film sheet 5. It is also possible to provide an undercoat layer for improving the properties.

Next, the movement of the laser beam 22 will be described. As described above, when printing a specific pattern on the film-making plate sheet 5, it is necessary to move the laser beam 22 along the print pattern. One of the methods of moving the laser beam 22 (the first method) is to move the print head 2 by the XY moving means 3,
In this method, the laser output means 21 and the light condensing means 23 fixed to the print head 2 are moved, and the laser beam 22 is moved accordingly. In this case, the thermal transfer sheet 2
5, and the thermal transfer sheet 25 is used as the plate making film sheet 5.
The transmission member 24 presses the laser beam 22 and stops while printing is performed. This stop only needs to be stopped within a predetermined moving range of the laser beam 22.

One of the methods of moving the laser beam 22 (the second method) is to move the print head 2 to a predetermined position by the XY moving means 3 and then stop the XY moving means 3. Then, another xy moving means is provided in the print head 2, and the laser output means 21 is moved by the other xy moving means, thereby moving the laser output means 21 and the condensing means 23. One of the methods of moving the laser beam 22 (the third method) is to scan the laser beam 22 in the xy directions by an optical system including a movable mirror or the like, and to transfer the transfer sheet 25 by the heat transmitting member 24. Pressed film plate 5 for plate making
It is a method of irradiating the light. In the present invention, any method of moving the laser beam 22 can be used, and the method is not limited thereto.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a suction / adhesion mechanism of the main stage of the apparatus for manufacturing a plate-making film sheet according to the present invention. FIG. 4A is an enlarged view showing a cross section of a surface where the plate making film sheet 5 is brought into close contact with suction, and FIG. 4B is a view showing an example of the entire configuration of the suction / contact mechanism of the main stage. . 4, reference numeral 5 denotes a plate making film sheet; 41, a perforated plate; 42a, 42b, 42c, 42d, holes formed in the perforated plate 41; 43, a vacuum chamber;
Is a vacuum pump. As shown in FIG. 4A, a surface (holding surface) of the main stage 1 for holding the plate making film sheet 5 is constituted by a perforated plate 41.
The holding surface communicates with the vacuum chamber through the holes 42a, 42b,.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the vacuum chamber 43 is connected to a vacuum pump 45 by a pipe 44. When the vacuum pump 45 is operated, the air inside the vacuum chamber 43 is exhausted to the outside through the pipe 44, and the inside of the vacuum chamber 43 is evacuated. Here, the vacuum is a state lower than the atmospheric pressure. When the holes 42a, 42b,... Formed in the perforated plate 41 are open, air flows into the vacuum chamber 43 through the holes 42a, 42b,. When the holes 42a, 42b,... Formed in the perforated plate 41 are closed and closed by the plate making film sheet 5, air does not flow in and the plate making film sheet 5 is closed. 41 will be attached by suction. Since sound is generated when air flows in, holes 42a, 42b,.
Is usually provided only in the area closed by the plate-making film sheet 5.

The suction contact mechanism of the main stage 1 is usually
Used in the next step. First, in main stage 1,
The plate-making film sheet 5 is positioned and placed at a predetermined position on the holding surface. Next, the vacuum pump 45 is operated,
The plate-making film sheet 5 is brought into close contact with the perforated plate 41 by suction. Next, predetermined printing is performed on the plate-making film sheet 5. After printing, the vacuum pump 45 is stopped. If necessary, a valve (not shown) provided in the pipe 44 or the like is opened to return the pressure inside the vacuum chamber 43 to the atmospheric pressure. The plate making film sheet 5 is removed from the holding surface of the main stage 1.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically print a register mark for pasting a film original, a register mark for printing, an automatic register mark for printing, a density scale, an original identification code, and the like. An apparatus for producing a film plate for plate making that can be performed, has a stable accuracy, and has a small work load is provided. Further, the print head has a light condensing means for condensing the laser beam, and the dimension of the laser beam is 10 to 10 on the printing surface of the plate-making film sheet adsorbed on the holding surface.
According to the present invention, which is variable in a range of 300 μmφ, a line width suitable for each of a register mark for pasting a film master, a register mark for printing, an automatic register mark for printing, a density scale, a master identification code, and the like. Can be formed. Further, according to the present invention, the main stage has an adsorbing means for adsorbing the plate-making film sheet to the holding surface. According to the present invention, the printing suitability of the plate-making film sheet is improved, good printing quality is obtained, and printing patterns such as register marks are obtained. Is extremely good in positional accuracy. In addition, a contacting step of bringing the plate making film sheet and the thermal transfer sheet into close contact, an irradiation step of irradiating the adhered portion with a laser beam along a desired print pattern, and a peeling step of peeling off the plate making film sheet and the thermal transfer sheet, According to the present invention, the printing is performed on the film making plate by these processes, and the printing can be performed automatically, so that the accuracy is stable and the work load is small.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance and configuration of a plate-making film sheet manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a print head.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a printing process of a plate making film sheet manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a suction / adhesion mechanism of a main stage of the plate making film sheet manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main stage 2 Print head 3 XY moving means 4 Moving stage 5 Plate making film sheet 21 Laser output means 22 Laser beam 23 Condensing means 24 Transmission member 25 Thermal transfer sheet 31 Base layer 32 Ink layer 41 Perforated plates 42a, 42b, 42c, 42d hole 43 vacuum chamber 44 piping 45 vacuum pump

Claims (4)

[Claims] An apparatus for manufacturing a plate making film sheet having a main stage, a print head, and XY moving means, wherein the main stage holds the plate making film sheet on a holding surface thereof, Has a laser output unit and a thermal transfer printing unit, performs printing by transferring a thermal transfer ink layer from the thermal transfer sheet to the plate making film sheet by irradiating a laser beam, and the XY moving unit supports the print head. An apparatus for manufacturing a plate-making film sheet, comprising: a moving stage; and moving the moving stage to a predetermined position on the main stage. 2. The printing head according to claim 1, wherein said printing head has a light condensing means for converging a laser beam, and said laser beam has a dimension of 1 on a printing surface of said plate making film sheet held on said holding surface.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is variable within a range of 0 to 300 [mu] m [phi]. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said main stage has an adsorbing means for adsorbing said plate making film sheet to said holding surface. 4. A step of adhering the plate making film sheet and the thermal transfer sheet to each other, an irradiation step of irradiating a laser beam to the contact portion along a desired print pattern, and a step of irradiating the plate making film sheet and the thermal transfer sheet with each other. A method for producing a film sheet for plate making, comprising: a peeling step of peeling.