A lithographic printing plate precursor including a support and a coating comprising a polymerisable compound, optionally a sensitizer, a photoinitiator and discrete particles is disclosed wherein the discrete particles comprise a crosslinked hydrophobic polymer backbone and a plurality of hydrophobic pendant grafts.

A lithographic printing plate precursor has an image-recording layer on a hydrophilic support, wherein the image-recording layer includes a polymer particle including an addition polymerization resin having a hydrophilic structure and a crosslinking structure. A method for producing a lithographic printing plate uses the lithographic printing plate precursor. A polymer particle includes an addition polymerization resin having a hydrophilic structure and a crosslinking structure. A composition includes the polymer particle.

Provided are a planographic printing plate precursor including an aluminum support, and an image recording layer and a protective layer which are provided on the aluminum support in this order, in which a thickness of the protective layer is 0.2 μm or greater, and Expression (1) is satisfied in a case where a Bekk smoothness of a surface of an outermost layer on a side opposite to a side where the image recording layer is provided is denoted by b seconds; a planographic printing plate precursor laminate; a plate-making method for a planographic printing plate; and a planographic printing method.

A lithographic printing plate precursor including a hydrophilized aluminum support, and a water-soluble or water-dispersible negative type image recording layer provided on the aluminum support, in which an arithmetic average height Sa of a surface of an outermost layer on a side where the image recording layer is provided is in a range of 0.3 μm to 20 μm; a method of producing a lithographic printing plate precursor; a lithographic printing plate precursor laminate formed of the lithographic printing plate precursor; a plate-making method for a lithographic printing plate; and a lithographic printing method.

IR-sensitive lithographic printing plate precursors provide a stable print-out image using a unique IR radiation-sensitive composition in an infrared radiation-sensitive image-recording layer. This IR radiation-sensitive composition includes: (1) a free radical initiator composition comprising a borate compound; (2) a free radically polymerizable composition; (3) an acid-sensitive color-changing compound that is represented by the Formula (I) identified herein; (4) an infrared absorber material; and a (5) color-changing compound of Formula (III) or Formula (IV) identified herein. After IR imaging, the exposed precursors exhibit desirable printout images especially in the 600-700 nm region of the electromagnetic spectrum and especially for observation using electronic sensing devices. The imaged precursors can be developed off-press or on-press.

Provided is a lithographic printing method including a preparing step of preparing a lithographic printing plate precursor which includes an aluminum support, and an image recording layer containing an acid color developing agent and an acid generator on the aluminum support, an exposing step of exposing the lithographic printing plate precursor, a developing step of supplying acidic dampening water to the exposed lithographic printing plate precursor and removing a non-image area of the image recording layer, and a printing step, in which the aluminum support includes an anodized aluminum film, the anodized film has micropores, and a value ΔS is 15% or greater and 60% or less.

Provided is an on-press development type lithographic printing plate precursor having a support, an image-recording layer, and an outermost layer in this order, in which the image-recording layer contains an infrared absorber, an electron-accepting polymerization initiator, and a polymerizable compound, LUMO of the electron-accepting polymerization initiator-LUMO of the infrared absorber is 0.45 eV or more, and the outermost layer contains a discoloring compound. Also provided is a method of preparing a lithographic printing plate and a lithographic printing method in which the on-press development type lithographic printing plate precursor is used.

A lithographic printing plate precursor includes a photopolymerizable coating and an overcoat which is deactivated after imagewise exposure and preheating of the precursor.

Provided are a planographic printing plate precursor including a support, and an image recording layer on the support, in which the image recording layer contains an infrared absorbing agent, a polymerization initiator, and a core-shell particle, a core portion of the core-shell particle contains a resin A containing a functional group A, and a shell portion of the core-shell particle contains a resin B containing a functional group B that is bondable to or interactable with the functional group A and a dispersion group; a method of preparing a planographic printing plate using the planographic printing plate precursor; and a planographic printing method carried out using the planographic printing plate precursor.

Lithographic printing plates are provided by imagewise exposing negative-working lithographic printing plate precursors having one or more radiation-sensitive imageable layers, followed by contacting with a processing solution that contains up to 10 weight % of one or more compounds represented by Structure (I) shown as follows:
R.sup.1—C(═O)—N(R.sup.2)—R.sup.3   (I)
wherein R.sup.1, R.sup.2, and R.sup.3 independently represent hydrogen or a substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group, or two or three of R.sup.1, R.sup.2, and R.sup.3 are combined to form one or more cyclic rings, and the total number of carbon atoms in the Structure (I) molecule is at least 7 and up to and including 33. Both negative-working and positive-working lithographic precursors can be imaged and processed using this processing solution using one or more successive applications of the same or different processing solution. The processing solution can be derived from a corresponding processing solution concentrate that can also be used for replenishment.