JPS60192693A - Plate-making image film and production thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To produce a plate-making image film extremely easily in light room conditions and directly without any intermediate step which might lower the image quality of recorded information, by a method wherein a silicone layer adhesive to an image material and repellent to a printing ink is provided on a specified transparent base by coating, is hardened, then an ink image is formed thereon by an ink jet device, followed by inking by the contact of the printing ink to selectively adhere the printing ink to the surface layer of only the image part, and the printing ink is dried. CONSTITUTION:A silicone layer adhesive to the image material and repellent to the printing ink is provided on the transparent base having a thickness of not larger than 200mum and a ray transmittance of not lower than 70% by coating, and is hardened, followed by providing an ink image thereon by an ink jet device. Thereafter, inking by the contact of the printing ink is conducted to selectively adhere the printing ink to the surface of only the image part, followed by drying the ink. The image is formed by an ink jet printing process coupled directly to a system capable of freely processing and editing digital information supplied from a computer and outputting the processed and edited information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to an image film for plate making and a method for producing the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a one-image film for plate making in which digital information stored using an inkjet device is output in large quantities using jet ink.

<Prior art> The present applicant has already disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-63,937 that a toner image (elephant) is formed on a light-transmitting substrate having a toner-adhesive and ink-repellent surface. We proposed a film that produces an image film for plate making by forming a toner image using electrophotography, fixing it, and inking it. This method is completely different from film for plate making such as diazo film and photopolymer film, and is expected to be superior in terms of system simplicity and economic efficiency.However, this method is not without its problems.

Image formation by electrophotography is an extremely effective method when an original image or a draft manuscript is provided. However, this method generally records analog information and cannot record digital information output from a computer or the like. In order to output digital information using electrophotography, there is a method such as placing the information on a laser beam or the like and outputting it onto a photoconductive photoreceptor, and then creating an image by using the resulting electrostatic latent toner. will be taken.

In this case, first, the cost of the device inevitably becomes extremely high.

After the digital information is outputted by some method to make a hard copy, it is also possible to use this as a draft manuscript, for example, to form a toner image on an interfacial film for plate making using electrophotography. There is a problem that an extra machine is required, the number of steps increases, and the image quality deteriorates. What is the reason for the decrease in image quality?

Once the output image (8) goes through intermediate steps such as projection, transfer, and development, it becomes blurred and its resolution decreases. In electrophotography, during toner development and transfer, the electrostatic latent image is irregularly adhered to granular toner, causing disturbances at the edges, and the toner image becomes further blurred due to irregular flight and transfer in the electrostatic field. . Furthermore, the electrophotographic method has the disadvantage that toner adheres to non-image areas, resulting in a significant deterioration in the quality of each 9-image image. Furthermore, as is known from the example of electrophotographic copying machines, maintaining a high level of image quality requires a great deal of maintenance effort, requiring frequent cleaning of the drum, etc.

<Object of the Invention> The object of the present invention relates to an image film for plate making on which stored digital information is directly recorded using jet ink, and a method for manufacturing the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to an image film for plate making obtained by forming an inkjet image on the surface of a transparent film having an ink-repellent silicone layer and further increasing the density of the image area with printing ink. Another object of the present invention is to produce an image film for plate making very easily in a bright room, using stored information directly without any intermediate steps that would degrade the image quality.

<Structure of the Invention> The present invention is based on a transparent substrate having a thickness of 200 μm or less and a light transmittance of 70 cm or more, coated with silicone that is adhesive to images and repellent to printing ink. The present invention relates to an image film for plate making, characterized in that an ink image area is adhered and further has dried printing ink 1- on the surface layer of the image area, and a method for producing the same.

Manufacture involves coating a transparent substrate with a thickness of 200 μm or less and a light transmittance of 70% or more with a silicone layer that is adhesive to paint materials and repellent to printing ink, hardening it, and applying an inkjet device on top of it. After an ink image is formed, inking is performed by contact with the printing ink to selectively adhere the printing ink to the surface layer of only the image area, and the printing ink is dried.

The method used for image formation in the present invention is an inkjet print method that is directly connected to a system that can freely process and edit digital information from a computer and output it. The ink, of course, contains a polymer that has adhesive strength to the ink-repellent silicone printing plate.

°The inkjet method is a type of non-impact recording method.
This is a method of recording information on a recording member by ejecting and flying small droplets of recording medium liquid (ink) from the orifices of minute nozzles. At this time, the surface of the recording member (in the present invention, a transparent plate-making film coated with silicone) is moved as necessary, and the ink in the form of a jet is directed toward the moving surface.

It will be modulated by electrical signals associated with the digital information and will arrive on the member to form an ink image.

Recording of information using ink is direct. In the case of the inkjet method, although the ink droplets are of a certain size, they are output according to information that has been planned or processed in advance and is therefore of high value both aesthetically and aesthetically. . That is, since each ink droplet can be made smaller, the image quality can be improved, and in addition to obtaining a high quality of, for example, 16 dots/image, there is no adhesion to non-printing areas and no background smearing occurs.

The same goes for handwriting using ink. An example of a system that provides excellent images using the inkjet printing method is Electronic Composition Sakura (Toshi FX).
500 system) and word processors. As seen in these systems, the inkjet printing method, which outputs digital information in conjunction with a computer, can of course output directly onto plate-making film, and has excellent information processing capabilities. For example, the FX-500 not only outputs digital information in a fixed pattern, but also outputs variously processed images such as enlarged/reduced images, 2 rotations, 9 inversions, deformed images, negatives, positive images, and edited images. images possible at once. This method has much greater flexibility than a method such as an electrophotographic copying machine, which can only copy a positive image from a draft original onto a plate-making film.

In relation to printing, offset printing requires a plate material with a normal image, and direct printing requires a reverse image, but the image film for plate making of the present invention allows image conversion at will. can do.

The plate-making film that can be used in the present invention has a silicone coating layer that has both ink repellency and ink polymer adhesion. Silicones of this type primarily consist of dimethylpolysiloxane bonds, with side chains containing oxygen, nitrogen, and
Halogen contains a unit having a polar group containing a sulfur atom or a group selected from a phenyl group.

In this case, examples include those which may further contain metals such as titanium, zirconium, zinc, etc. in the main chain or side chain. A preferable example of a sheet having such a coating film is JP-A-56-62253. Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-36699. JP-A-56-109788. JP-A-54-166101. Tokuko Sho 54 42286 (
Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-2915), Special Publication No. 55-19755
(JP-A-51-74702), JP-A-51-4'2
602. Examples include JP-A-52-56608.

In addition, a heterophasic polymer composition containing a copolymer 'tL- which is a copolymerization of an organic block and a siloxane polymer block (JP-A-50-1806 and JP-A-51-66008)
), a photocurable compound containing a reacted organosilicon compound having a group containing a petro atom (JP-A-52-105)
002 and 52-116304), those having an incompletely cured polysiloxane plate surface (Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-35
884, 52-4552). Among these, silicone compositions containing polar groups and metals, such as those disclosed in JP-A-56-62253, are preferred in terms of ink polymer adhesion and stability over time.

Such sheets and ink polymer systems have an adhesive strength of 20 g/cm or more, preferably 50 g/cm, determined by a constant adhesive force measurement method.
F! It must always show a value of 7 cm or more. Here, the adhesive strength is determined by placing a certain amount of ink polymer homogeneously on a paulownia paper, heat-fixing it at 160°C for 1 minute, and then using an adhesive (that does not dissolve the ink polymer) on the ink polymer to attach it to another sheet. After 24 hours, the adhesive peel strength between the sheet and the ink polymer is measured using a tensile strength tester.

The transparent substrate used here is, for example, a polymer film or a sheet-like material, and may be a composite as long as the conditions are met.

Polyester is used as a polymer for polymer films.

Polyamide, crystalline polyolefin, polystyrene, ionomer, polycarbonate, polyphenylene sulfide, polysulfone, polyvinyl chloride, cellulose, acetyl cellulose.

Polyimide, etc., and modified products thereof are used.

These film substrates may be appropriately coated with other resins or compounds.

The transparent substrate itself may have a multilayer structure2.
It may also be a material that has photosensitivity as a function.

The jet ink used in the present invention is one that exhibits strong adhesion to the silicone layer on the film surface. Of course, since the ink immediately after the image is formed on the film surface is in a solution state, adhesion is not considered, but the image that remains after the ink solvent is removed is mainly made up of polymer, and is generally treated by heat treatment. This results in strong adhesion. The essential components of jet ink are a solvent (mixture) mainly consisting of an organic solvent and an adhesive polymer.

In particular, polymers have a decisive influence on adhesion.

The preferred polymer is one that has an affinity for silicone, has a polar group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen, etc., and whose molecular weight increases due to crosslinking. For example, the following can be mentioned.

(a) Epoxy resin, (b) Epoxy resin and 2 in the molecule
A modified epoxy resin obtained by reacting a compound containing at least one carboxyl group or an amine group.

(C) A system consisting of a hydroxyl group-containing polymer and these (aL (b) and/or (C) and a compound of a metal with a valence of more than 2), a system consisting of a hydroxyl group-containing polymer, an alkylno-hydrodiene polysiloxane, and a catalyst. etc. can be given.

Examples of epoxy resins include bisphenol A/diglycidyl ether type resins, those using novolak instead of bisphenol A, dicarboxylic acid diglycidyl ester type resins, and unsaturated compounds such as cyclopentadiene and drying oils. Examples include those in which an epoxy group is introduced into the base (relatively low molecular weight and has two or more epoxy groups).

Examples of compounds containing two or more carboxyl groups in the molecule used in the reaction in (b) are:

Maleic acid, fumaric acid, phthalic acid, adipic acid.

In addition to chlorendic acid, examples include polyhydric carboxylic acids produced by the reaction of acid anhydrides and polyhydric alcohols.

Examples of compounds containing two or more amine groups in the molecule include ethylenediamine, diethylenetriamine, phenylenediamines, piperazine, and the like.

Examples of hydroxyl group-containing polymers include (meth)acrylic acid 2
Copolymers containing hydroxyalkyl (meth)acrylates such as hydroxyethyl and 2-hydroxypropyl (meth)acrylate as copolymerization components, polyvinyl alcohol derivatives (containing residual hydroxyl groups) such as polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl formal, etc. I can do it.

Examples of compounds of metals with a valence of 2 or more are:

Examples include aluminum acetylacetonate, iron (Ill) acetylacetonate IGO (+10 acetylacetonate, aluminum acetate, zinc acetate, ferric chloride, etc.).

Examples of solvents for dissolving the various components listed above to create ink include dioxane, methyl cellosolve, cellosolve acetate, dimethyl formamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, isopropyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, tertiary phthyl alcohol, trichloroethane, Various hydrocarbons such as methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, butyl carpitol acetate, ethyl butyrate, butyl acetate, and various hydrocarbons can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

A method for producing a plate-making film for forming an ink image is obtained by dissolving the silicone-based coating composition described above in an organic solvent, coating it on a transparent substrate using a known method, and drying it. .

Examples of the coating method include a slit die coating method, a roll coating method, and a spray coating method. After coating, the composition is dried to remove the solvent and, if necessary, further subjected to heat treatment to form an image-forming film. The heat treatment temperature is, for example, 80 to 200°C, preferably 100 to 1
A range of 80°C is used. The coating thickness of the composition is 01 to 100μ, preferably 0.3 to 1μ, as a film after drying.
It is 0μ. In addition, the transparent substrate to be coated may be treated with another adhesive compound to improve adhesion with the coating film, or may be surface-treated to have minute physical irregularities. good.

The solvent is removed from the jet ink image formed on the plate-making film by a suitable method, and the image is generally fixed by heating.

Image corrections can also be made before fixing.

It may be performed after fixing or before or after fixing. For simple erasing, it is sufficient to use a solvent that dissolves the image material well, such as a polymer solvent for jet ink.

Image modification such as dot etching is performed using a solvent with appropriate solubility or swelling property. for example.

Examples include a7ton, methyl cellosolve, butylcarpitol acetate, dimethylformamide, dioxane, etc., and may be used by appropriately mixing them.

As a mixed solvent, a non-solvent such as water, alcohol, or hydrocarbon may be added to adjust the solubility.

Both peaks of ink are generally colored with dye, and the output image is a colored image, but the two colors are not very dark and the optical density is generally 1.0 or less. Since this level of density is insufficient for use as an image film for plate making, in the present invention, inking is performed to improve the optical density of the toner image area.

Inking is generally carried out by transferring ink kneaded with an ink mixing roller to an inking roller, from which it is supplied onto the image film surface. The image film surface to be inked should be sufficiently ink repellent in non-jet ink image areas.

Further, in order to ensure sufficient ink adhesion to the jet ink image area, the ink coating is subjected to rotational contact with a roller at least once and usually about 2 to 30 times.

Inking may be performed with manual rollers.

In this way, no matter how low the optical density of the original jet ink image area may be, the optical density will be reduced to 6 by inking.
Improved by about 4 degrees.

Any suitable commercially available ink can be used as the ink, but one that is easily repelled by the silicone layer is preferred. Any type of ink may be used, including one that dries in the air, one that dries and solidifies with ultraviolet rays, infrared rays, or just heat.

The ink is generally preferably an ink designed for waterless lithography. Some inks can be used for offset printing using dampening water, and the ink repellency may be further improved by adding a small amount of silicone oil to these inks.

Example 1 A jet ink image was formed on a transparent film whose surface was coated with silicone, and the obtained image film was inked with printing ink to prepare an image film for plate making.

(1) Silicone coated film Transparent polyester film (manufactured by Toshiku Co., Ltd.), Lumirror 1T type, thickness 100μ [11] On top of the coating liquid with the following composition, the weight after drying and curing is 1.0g/m2
Coating, I! ! A plate film was prepared.

a. Di-methylpolysiloxane (tone silicone)
Co., Ltd., contains terminal silanol groups, average molecular weight 22.00
0) 100 parts, γ-glycidoxyprobyltrimethoxytalane/γ
-115 of methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane
Mixture (all manufactured by Tone Silicone Co., Ltd.) 6 parts C, di-isopropoxy titanium acetylacetonate
Part 3 d, “Isopar E” (Esso Chemical C stock)! )9
81 parts of the above coating mixture a to d was uniformly applied onto a polyester film using a slit die coater, air-dried, and cured for 2 minutes in an open air at 160°C.

(2) Jet ink A liquid for image formation (jet ink) was prepared as follows.

In a container equipped with a condenser and stirring device.

60 parts of styrene, 60 parts of lauryl methacrylate.

Add 10 parts of 2-hydroxyprobyl methacrylate, 50 parts of Isopar G#, and 72 parts of azobisisobutyronitrile O, and heat to 80°C while stirring gently under a nitrogen stream.
After carrying out the polymerization reaction for 10 hours.

Furthermore, 50 parts of methyl isobutyl ketone and 0.2 parts of azobisisobutyronitrile were added and polymerization was continued for 10 hours.
A copolymer solution with a solids content of 50 g was obtained.

20 parts of the copolymer solution thus obtained.

Dilute by adding 15 parts of "ISOPAR E" and 15 parts of methyl isobutyl ketone, add 1 part of methylhydrodiene polysiloxane SH-1107 (manufactured by Tone Silicone Co., Ltd.) and 05 parts of dibutyltin acetate, and add 80 parts of dibutyltin acetate while stirring. The reaction was allowed to take place at °C for 1 hour.

Add to this solution 50 parts of Isopar E'', 1 part of glacial acetic acid, and a dye (manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd., Sumiplast Blue O).
A.) 0.5 part was added, dissolved, and filtered to obtain a jet ink.

(3) Image formation on coated film Using the ink obtained in (2) above, one image was formed using an inkjet device. The device is a pressure pulse on-demand type equipped with a stainless steel nozzle with a diameter of 60 μm, and the ink is ejected and flies toward the film by a pressure pulse converted from an electric signal. The film is held in a rotating cylinder.

With this device, 6/- images can be obtained at a pulse repetition frequency of 2 kHz and an applied pulse voltage of 40 V. The silicone-coated film on which an image was formed was heat-treated at 160'a for 1 minute to fix the jet ink image. An ink image consists of lines, letters, and solid areas, and the non-image areas are completely clean and have a beautiful array of light blue color (optical density 050).

(4) Inking of image film The resulting image film is inked.

An image 1 image film for plate making was prepared by selectively increasing the optical density of the image f quadrant. Inking uses a hand roller,
The ink used was one prepared for waterless lithographic printing. The ink uses high boiling point hydrocarbon as a solvent and has a resin content of 64
%, carbon content is 17%, and has good fluidity. When inking was carried out using a no-rad roller, the ink selectively adhered to the jet ink image areas, and the non-image areas repelled the ink, resulting in a clean, deep-colored image. The inking film thus obtained was coated with 160'c.
.

Heat treatment in a hot air oven for 1 minute to assimilate and ink.
It took hold. The plate-making image showed an optical density of 6.5 or higher in the inked portion of the film.

Patent applicant Higashi Shikikai Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A transparent substrate with a thickness of 200 μm or less and a light transmittance of 70% or more is coated with silicone that is adhesive to image materials and repellent to printing ink, and a jet ink image area is adhered thereon, and the image An image film for plate making, characterized in that it has a dried printing ink layer on the surface layer of the plate. (2) On a transparent substrate having a thickness of 200 μm or less and a light transmittance of 70% or more, a silicone layer that is adhesive to the image material and repellent to printing ink is applied and cured. After forming an ink image on it using an inkjet device, inking is performed by contacting the printing ink to selectively adhere the printing ink to the surface layer of only the image area,
The plate-making side (which is characterized by drying the printing ink)
Method of manufacturing elephant film.