A method for obtaining a raised pattern on a substrate and to the device used, wherein the method includes the following steps of moving a substrate having one face; supplying a with a first face; projecting onto the first face a raised-pattern product using digital printing technology so as to generate a positive raised pattern on the first face; fixing the positive raised pattern on the film; applying an overlay product; obtaining a negative raised pattern on the overlay product by contact with the positive raised pattern; and fixing the negative raised pattern on the face of the substrate.

An object of the present invention is to provide an aqueous developer for a flexographic printing plate capable of maintaining good developability and suppressing aggregation of a dispersion in the developer diluted with water after repeated use, and a manufacturing method of a flexographic printing plate using the same. The aqueous developer for a flexographic printing plate according to the present invention is an aqueous developer for a flexographic printing plate, containing a surfactant represented by Formula (1), and water.

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An object of the present invention is to provide an aqueous developer for a flexographic printing plate capable of maintaining good developability and suppressing aggregation of a dispersion in the developer diluted with water after repeated use, and a manufacturing method of a flexographic printing plate using the same. The aqueous developer for a flexographic printing plate according to the present invention is an aqueous developer for a flexographic printing plate, containing a surfactant represented by Formula (1), and water.

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Provided are a washing device and a washing method that achieve prevention of development scum adhesion, development uniformity, and development speed at the same time. This washing device performs development using a washing solution while transporting the flexographic printing plate precursor after imagewise exposure. The washing device includes a transport unit that transports the flexographic printing plate precursor along a predetermined transport path and a development unit that performs development on the flexographic printing plate precursor. The development unit includes a brush which is used for the development and a driving unit which controls rotation of the brush around a rotation axis and movement of the brush. The brush removes an unexposed portion of the flexographic printing plate precursor to perform the development, and the rotation axis of the brush is a fixed axis passing through one point in the brush. The driving unit rotates the brush in a state in which the rotation axis of the brush passes through a surface of the flexographic printing plate precursor, and moves the rotation axis of the brush in at least one direction intersecting the rotation axis.

Provided are a washing device and a washing method that achieve prevention of development scum adhesion, development uniformity, and development speed at the same time. This washing device performs development using a washing solution while transporting the flexographic printing plate precursor after imagewise exposure. The washing device includes a transport unit that transports the flexographic printing plate precursor along a predetermined transport path and a development unit that performs development on the flexographic printing plate precursor. The development unit includes a brush which is used for the development and a driving unit which controls rotation of the brush around a rotation axis and movement of the brush. The brush removes an unexposed portion of the flexographic printing plate precursor to perform the development, and the rotation axis of the brush is a fixed axis passing through one point in the brush. The driving unit rotates the brush in a state in which the rotation axis of the brush passes through a surface of the flexographic printing plate precursor, and moves the rotation axis of the brush in at least one direction intersecting the rotation axis.

Systems and processes for making a flexo plate, and plates made thereby. Non-printing indicia defined by areas of presence and absence of polymer in the plate floor created using microdots imaged during a LAMS layer imaging step are readable downstream of the washing or other non-cured-polymer-removal step but not to print in the printing step. The non-printing indicia may define a repeating pattern of alphanumeric characters, non-text graphics, or a combination thereof. A difference in growth of plate structures corresponding to different types of microdots may be used for characterizing processing conditions.

Systems and processes for making a flexo plate, and plates made thereby. Non-printing indicia defined by areas of presence and absence of polymer in the plate floor created using microdots imaged during a LAMS layer imaging step are readable downstream of the washing or other non-cured-polymer-removal step but not to print in the printing step. The non-printing indicia may define a repeating pattern of alphanumeric characters, non-text graphics, or a combination thereof. A difference in growth of plate structures corresponding to different types of microdots may be used for characterizing processing conditions.

A method correctly mounts printing plates in a printing press. The method uses prepress software, a transport device, an identification device disposed on the transport device or on a printing plate, and a scanning device. The prepress software defines a sequence of print jobs to be processed by the printing press and sends data for making the printing plates for the print jobs defined in the processing sequence to a platesetter. The platesetter produces the corresponding printing plates. The produced printing plates are deposited on the transport device, the transport device is conveyed to the printing press, and the identification device of the transport device or of a printing plate is scanned by a scanning device at the printing press and the print jobs that have been identified in this way are compared to the print jobs which the prepress software has assigned to the printing press.

A photosensitive flexographic printing form, and process for manufacturing the same. The printing form includes a base, a first series of relief patterns having a first elevation with respect to the base in an image area of the base, and a second series of relief patterns having one or more elevations lower than the first elevation and located outside of the image area.

A method of applying a pattern to a nonplanar surface. A stamp has a major surface with pattern elements having a lateral dimension of greater than 0 and less than about 5 microns. The major surface of the stamp has a functionalizing molecule with a functional group selected to chemically bind to the nonplanar surface. The stamp is positioned to initiate rolling contact with the nonplanar surface, and contacts the nonplanar surface to form a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of the functionalizing material thereon and impart the arrangement of pattern elements thereto. The major surface of the stamp is translated with respect to the nonplanar surface such that: a contact pressure is controlled at an interface between the stamping surfaces and the nonplanar surface, and a contact force at the interface is allowed to vary while the stamping surfaces and the nonplanar surface are in contact with each other.