The present invention provides a printing plate precursor including a layer which includes particles and is provided at a printing surface side of an aluminum support, in which a modulus of elasticity of the particles is 0.1 GPa or more, and in a case where a Bekk smoothness of an outermost layer surface at the printing surface side is denoted by A second, a specific expression (1) is satisfied; a printing plate precursor laminate; a method for making a printing plate; and a printing method.

A method of manufacturing a printing cylinder. The method comprises providing a moulding apparatus comprising a cylindrical moulding vessel defining a moulding cavity (101). The vessel comprises at least one inlet for the ingress of moulding material. The method comprises performing an injection moulding operation comprising: injecting moulding material through the at least one inlet to substantially fill the moulding cavity with moulding material; and effecting hardening of the moulding material within the vessel (102). The method comprises removing the printing cylinder (103). At least part of the injection moulding operation is performed in the presence of an active pressure being applied to the moulding cavity.

Methods for fabricating stamps and systems for patterning a substrate, and devices resulting from those methods are provided.

Lithographic printing plate precursors are prepared with a unique substrate and one or more radiation-sensitive imageable layers. The substrate is prepared by two separate anodizing processes to provide an inner aluminum oxide layer having an average dry thickness (T.sub.i) of 650-3,000 nm and a multiplicity of inner micropores having an average inner micropore diameter (D.sub.i) of 15 nm. A formed outer aluminum oxide layer comprises a multiplicity of outer micropores having an average outer micropore diameter (D.sub.o) of 15-30 nm; an average dry thickness (T.sub.o) of 130-650 nm; and a micropore density (C.sub.o) of 500-3,000 micropores/m.sup.2. The ratio of D.sub.o to D.sub.i is greater than 1.1:1, and D.sub.o in nanometers and the outer aluminum oxide layer micropore density (C.sub.o) in micropores/m.sup.2, are further defined by the outer aluminum oxide layer porosity (P.sub.o) according to the following equation:
0.3P.sub.o0.8
where P.sub.o is 3.14(C.sub.o)(D.sub.o.sup.2)/4,000,000.

An on-press development type lithographic printing plate precursor including an aluminum support having an anodized film and an image-recording layer provided on the support, a shear droop shape in which an amount X of shear droop is from 25 to 150 m and a width Y of shear droop is from 70 to 300 m is provided on an edge portion of the lithographic printing plate precursor, and an area ratio of cracks present on a surface of the anodized film in a region corresponding to the width of shear droop Y of the lithographic printing plate precursor is 30% or less, and a method for producing a lithographic printing plate using the on-press development type lithographic printing plate precursor are provided.

Lithographic printing plate precursors are prepared with a unique aluminum-containing substrate prepared using two separate anodizing processes to provide an inner aluminum oxide layer of average dry thickness (T.sub.i) of 300-3,000 nm and a multiplicity of inner micropores of average inner micropore diameter (D.sub.i) of ?100 nm. An outer aluminum oxide layer is also provided to have a multiplicity of outer micropores of average outer micropore diameter (D.sub.o) of 15-30 nm and a dry thickness (T.sub.o) of 30-650 nm. A hydrophilic layer disposed on the outer aluminum oxide layer at 0.0002-0.1 g/m.sup.2 has at least a hydrophilic copolymer composed of (a) recurring units having an amide group and (b) recurring units comprising an OM group directly connected to a phosphorus atom, wherein M represents a hydrogen, sodium, potassium, or aluminum atom.

Provided are a lithographic printing plate precursor including an aluminum support, and an image recording layer on the aluminum support, in which the aluminum support includes an anodized film on a surface of the image recording layer side, the anodized film has micropores extending in a depth direction from the surface of the anodized film on the image recording layer side, an average pore diameter of the micropores in the surface of the anodized film is greater than 0 m and 0.03 m or less, an average maximum diameter of the micropores inside the anodized film is in a range of 0.04 m to 0.30 m, an average value A nm of thicknesses of surface opening portions and an average value B nm of thicknesses of internal maximum diameter portions satisfy a relationship of 2.5B/A28.0, and the image recording layer contains an acid color former; a method of preparing a lithographic printing plate using the lithographic printing plate precursor; and a lithographic printing method.

Provided are a lithographic printing plate precursor including an aluminum support, and an image recording layer on the aluminum support, in which the aluminum support includes an anodized film on a surface of the image recording layer side, the anodized film has micropores extending in a depth direction from the surface of the anodized film on the image recording layer side, an average pore diameter of the micropores in the surface of the anodized film is greater than 0 m and 0.03 m or less, an average maximum diameter of the micropores inside the anodized film is in a range of 0.04 m to 0.30 m, an average value A nm of thicknesses of surface opening portions and an average value B nm of thicknesses of internal maximum diameter portions satisfy a relationship of 2.5B/A28.0, and the image recording layer contains an acid color former; a method of preparing a lithographic printing plate using the lithographic printing plate precursor; and a lithographic printing method.

The present invention aims at providing a lithographic printing plate precursor, a lithographic printing plate manufacturing method, a printing method and an aluminum support manufacturing method that enable the resulting lithographic printing plate to have a long tiny dot press life. The lithographic printing plate precursor of the invention is a lithographic printing plate precursor having an aluminum support and an image recording layer disposed above the aluminum support. When measured over a 400 m400 m region of a surface of the aluminum support on the image recording layer side using a three-dimensional non-contact roughness tester, pits with a depth from centerline of at least 0.70 m are present at a density of at least 3,000 pits/mm.sup.2; and a surface area ratio S is not less than 35%, the surface area ratio S being determined using an actual area S.sub.x obtained, through three-point approximation, from three-dimensional data acquired by measurement at 512512 points in 25 m square of the surface of the aluminum support on the image recording layer side by means of an atomic force microscope and a geometrically measured area S.sub.o.

Provided are a planographic printing plate precursor for on-press development, including: an aluminum support; an interlayer which contains a compound containing a support absorptive group and a hydrophilic group; and an image recording layer which contains an infrared absorbing agent, a polymerization initiator, a polymerizable compound, and polymer particles formed of a styrene copolymer, on the aluminum support, in which the aluminum support is an aluminum plate having an anodized film on a surface in contact with the interlayer and the anodized film has micropores extending in a depth direction from a surface in contact with the interlayer, and an average pore diameter of the micropores in the surface of the anodized film is in a range of 20 to 40 nm; a method of preparing a planographic printing plate and a planographic printing method obtained by using the planographic printing plate precursor for on-press development.