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 mask element for flexographic printing is provided. The mask element can be used for preparing a mask that has a mask image. The mask element can include: a transparent polymeric carrier sheet; a barrier layer on the transparent polymeric carrier sheet, wherein the barrier layer comprises non-crosslinked nitrocellulose; and an imaging layer on the barrier layer, wherein the imaging layer includes a non-silver halide thermally-ablatable material comprising non-crosslinked nitrocellulose, carbon black, and an infrared (IR) dye. In some aspects, the mask element further includes a transparent overcoat layer on the imaging layer. The mask can include: imaged regions in the imaging layer, wherein the imaged regions have optical apertures that are substantially devoid of the carbon black and non-crosslinked nitrocellulose thereof; and non-imaged regions in the imaging layer, wherein the non-imaged regions have the non-crosslinked nitrocellulose, carbon black, and infrared dye.

A digitally imageable, photopolymerizable relief precursor at least comprising, arranged one above another in the order stated, (A) a dimensionally stable carrier; (AH) optionally, an adhesion-promoting layer; (B) a relief-forming layer, at least comprising a crosslinkable elastomeric binder, a first ethylenically unsaturated monomer, and a photoinitiator; (C) at least one interlayer, at least comprising a first, non-radically crosslinkable elastic polymer; (D) a laser-ablatable mask layer, at least comprising a second, non-radically crosslinkable elastic polymer, a UVA light-absorbing material, and an IR light-absorbing material; and optionally (E) a removable cover layer; characterized in that the layer (C) and optionally the layer (D) comprise at least one second ethylenically unsaturated monomer.

A printing plate having a printing surface for receiving ink, including a defined area of an image intended to print with ink and a surface pattern applied to the defined area. The surface pattern includes a plurality of rows each having a plurality of diagonally oriented line segments, each line segment corresponding to an ink-carrying relief structure in a raised area of the plate, the plurality of diagonally oriented line segments having orientations alternating between a positive angle in one row and a negative angle in an adjacent row, wherein each line segment has a first end aligned with a middle portion of and spaced apart from a first line of a first adjacent row and a second end aligned with a middle portion of and spaced apart from a second line of a second adjacent row.

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.

The present invention provides a flexographic printing plate precursor which makes it possible to precisely reproduce the pattern of a microcell on the surface of a printing plate without requiring the use of any specialized device or any additional step, and thus to improve the ink laydown on a solid-printed part. A flexographic printing plate precursor comprising at least a support (A), a photosensitive resin layer (B), an oxygen barrier layer (C) and a heat-sensitive mask layer (D) which are laminated in this order, wherein a photosensitive resin composition constituting the photosensitive resin layer (B) comprises (a) a polymer prepared by polymerizing a conjugated diene, (b) an ethylenically unsaturated compound and (c) a photopolymerization initiator, and wherein the content of the photopolymerization initiator (c) in the photosensitive resin composition is 2 to 9% by mass.

The present invention provides a flexographic printing plate in which the problem of ink entanglement, i.e., the direct connection of ink on a dot convex part to ink on an adjacent dot convex part, is reduced. A flexographic printing plate obtained from a flexographic printing plate precursor comprising at least a support (A), a photosensitive resin layer (B) and a heat-sensitive mask layer (C) which are laminated in this order, wherein, on a surface of the printing plate, there are provided dot convex parts, a dot valley part formed between the dot convex parts, and a floor part, and wherein a side surface of the dot valley part and the floor part have been subjected to the same finishing exposure treatment and the same exposure treatment using a germicidal lamp, characterized in that the adhesion force of the floor part on the printing plate is 2.0 N/mm.sup.2 or less.

Disclosed herein are methods for patterning two-dimensional atomic layer materials, the methods comprising: illuminating a first location of an optothermal substrate with electromagnetic radiation, wherein the optothermal substrate converts at least a portion of the electromagnetic radiation into thermal energy, and wherein the optothermal substrate is in thermal contact with a two-dimensional atomic layer material; thereby: generating an ablation region at a location of the two-dimensional atomic layer material proximate to the first location of the optothermal substrate, wherein at least a portion of the ablation region has a temperature sufficient to ablate at least a portion of the two-dimensional atomic layer material within the ablation region, thereby patterning the two-dimensional atomic layer material. Also disclosed herein are systems for performing the methods described herein, patterned two-dimensional atomic layer materials made by the methods described herein and methods of use thereof.

A method of creating a bitmap for a printing plate, including defining an area of an image intended to print with a solid color, applying a halftone screen to the defined solid color area, and creating the bitmap embodying the halftone screen in the defined solid color area. The halftone screen pattern includes a plurality of dashes with a plus or minus 45-degree orientation, a plus or minus 135-degree orientation, or a combination of two or more plus or minus 45-degree and 135-degree orientations. Each dash or component dash thereof has a same number of two or more adjacent touching pixels in length and a number of one or more adjacent touching pixels in width, or the dashes are orthogonally arranged in rows and columns, or a combination thereof. Masks, plates, processes for making them, and print methods using the bitmaps are also described.

A method for manufacturing a display device including providing a protection resin having a base resin, a first initiator, and a second initiator to the non-display area, irradiating light having a first wavelength region to the protection resin to form a preliminary protection layer, bending the flexible substrate so that the bending part has a first curvature radius, and additionally curing the preliminary protection layer to form a protection layer.