A composite panel for use in the manufacture of a letterpress plate has a carrier layer, with at least one photo layer which can be structured via electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range. The photo layer is arranged on the carrier layer. The task of proposing a composite panel use in the manufacture of a letterpress plate is achieved by the fact that a barrier layer is provided. The barrier layer is arranged on the side of the photo layer opposite to the carrier layer. The barrier layer is essentially transparent in the wavelength range in which the photo layer can be structured. The present disclosure concerns a process for manufacturing a letterpress plate using at least one composite panel and a process for manufacturing a composite plate in accordance with the invention. The invention concerns the use of a composite material in a composite panel for a letterpress plate.

The present invention relates to a process for making an etched pattern comprising a step of depositing onto a printable metal surface droplets of an ink composition provided by a printing method, wherein the ink composition comprises a first ink vehicle being water, a second ink vehicle being an organic compound and an etchant being an acid or abase according to the Brnsted definition, characterized in that the ink composition has a pH in the range of from (0) to (4) or from (9) to (14). The invention further relates to substrates having a metal surface with an etched pattern, to the use of such substrates in various applications, to articles comprising the inventive substrate and to the use of the inventive process for the production of metal products.

The invention pertains to a photosensitive element, particularly a photopolymerizable printing form precursor; a method of preparing the photosensitive element to form a printing form for use in relief printing; and, a process of making the photosensitive element. The printing form precursor includes a layer of a photosensitive composition, a digital layer that is adjacent to a side of the photosensitive layer, and a cell pattern layer that is disposed between the photosensitive layer and the digital layer. The cell pattern layer includes a plurality of features in which each feature an area between 5 to 750 square microns and is composed of an ink that is opaque to actinic radiation and transparent to infrared radiation. Since the cell pattern layer is integral with the printing form precursor, digital imaging can occur rapidly with relatively low resolution optics to form a mask without needing to also form a microcell pattern of the digital layer. The printing form precursor having the integrated cell pattern layer facilitates the preparation of relief printing forms to have a print surface suitable for printing solids with uniform, dense coverage of ink.

A liquid photopolymer resin composition comprising: a) at least one ethylenically unsaturated prepolymer; b) at least one ethylenically unsaturated monomer; c) at least one photoinitiator; and d) at least one polythiol and a method of using the same to make soft relief image printing plates that have good tensile strength and elongation.

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a clich for offset printing and a clich for offset printing.

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a clich for offset printing and a clich for offset printing.

A device for producing flexographic printing plates starting from digitally imagable flexographic printing elements, with which at least the method steps of reverse exposure, main exposure, development using washout media, drying, and aftertreatment can be carried out in automated form, the device comprising at least two different transport devices with which the flexographic printing elements or plates, respectively, are transported through the device. A method for producing flexographic printing plates using said device.

A device for producing flexographic printing plates starting from digitally imagable flexographic printing elements, with which at least the method steps of reverse exposure, main exposure, development using washout media, drying, and aftertreatment can be carried out in automated form, the device comprising at least two different transport devices with which the flexographic printing elements or plates, respectively, are transported through the device. A method for producing flexographic printing plates using said device.

The invention pertains to a photosensitive element, particularly a photopolymerizable printing form precursor; a method of preparing the photosensitive element to form a printing form for use in relief printing; and, a process of making the photosensitive element. The printing form precursor includes a layer of a photosensitive composition, a digital layer that is adjacent to a side of the photosensitive layer, and a cell pattern layer that is disposed between the photosensitive layer and the digital layer. The cell pattern layer includes a plurality of features, and is composed of an ink that is opaque to actinic radiation and transparent to infrared radiation. Since the cell pattern layer is integral with the printing form precursor, digital imaging can occur rapidly with relatively low resolution optics to form a mask without needing to also form a microcell pattern of the digital layer.

A finished flexo plate with printing dots and non-printing indicia. The printing dots have an elevation above the plate floor sufficient to transfer ink to a substrate in a printing step, whereas the non-printing indicia are configured for persistent readability relative to the plate floor but have a height relative to the plate floor insufficient to transfer ink to the substrate in the printing step. The non-printing indicia define a pattern of alphanumeric characters, non-text graphics, or a combination thereof, and are disposed on the plate floor in the form of areas of presence and absence of polymer defined by structures formed of microdots, each microdot having an elevation relative to the plate floor lower than a printing height.