Provided are a lithographic printing plate precursor having a support, an image recording layer, and an overcoat layer in this order, in which the overcoat layer includes a water-soluble polymer and particles, a melting point of the particles is in a range of 70 C. to 150 C., and a volume average particle diameter of the particles is greater than 0.7 m and a method of producing a lithographic printing plate obtained by using the lithographic printing plate precursor.

Provided are a printing plate precursor including a support, a layer containing a polymer on a printing surface side on the support, and a layer containing tabular particles on a non-printing surface side opposite to the layer containing a polymer in a state of sandwiching the support therebetween, and a printing plate precursor laminate which is obtained by laminating a plurality of the printing plate precursors, wherein the printing plate precursor laminate is formed such that an outermost layer on a surface where the layer containing the polymer is provided and an outermost layer on a surface where the layer containing the tabular particles is provided are laminated by being brought into direct contact with each other.

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.

Provided are an on-machine development-type lithographic printing plate precursor including: an image-recording layer on an aluminum support having an anode oxide film, in which an end portion of the lithographic printing plate precursor has a shear droop shape, the image-recording layer contains a compound having a support adsorptive property, having a molecular weight of 1,000 or less, and not having an unsaturated double bond group in a molecule, and a content of the compound is substantially the same in a plane of the image-recording layer and a method for producing a lithographic printing plate in which the lithographic printing plate precursor is used.

Provided are a lithographic printing plate precursor including an image recording layer on a support, in which the lithographic printing plate precursor has projections which are discontinuously formed on a surface of an outermost layer on a side where the image recording layer is provided, and a melting point of each projection is in a range of 70 C. to 150 C.; and a method of producing a lithographic printing plate obtained by using the lithographic printing plate precursor.

It is preferable that the method of producing a lithographic printing plate includes a step of image-wise exposing the lithographic printing plate precursor to form an exposed portion and an unexposed portion, and a step of supplying at least one of printing ink or dampening water to remove the unexposed portion.

Provided is a lithographic printing plate precursor having: a support; and an image-recording layer as an outermost surface layer on the support, in which the image-recording layer includes a hydrophilic polymer, an ion intensity derived from the hydrophilic polymer has a maximum value I1, the ion intensity being measured by a time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry in such a manner that cutting is carried out from an image-recording layer surface in a direction of the support by an Ar gas cluster ion beam method, a ratio d0/d1 of a thickness d0 of the image-recording layer to a depth d1 from an outermost layer at which the I1 is obtained is 2.0 or more, and a ratio I1/I0 of the I1 to an ion intensity I0 derived from the hydrophilic polymer at a depth from the outermost layer of the d0 is 1.5 or more.

Provided are a planographic printing plate precursor including: a support; and an image recording layer provided on the support, in which the image recording layer contains an infrared absorbing agent, a polymerization initiator, a polymerizable compound containing a hydrogen bonding group, and a hard polymer particle containing at least one group selected from the group consisting of a urethane group, a urea group, an imide group, an amide group, and a sulfonamide group on the surface of the hard polymer particle, and a number average primary particle diameter of the hard polymer particle is in a range of 0.01 to 1 m; and a plate-making method for a planographic printing plate obtained by using the planographic printing plate precursor.

Provided are a lithographic printing plate precursor having an image-recording layer on a hydrophilic support, in which the image-recording layer includes a. polymer having a constituent unit derived from a monomer having a solubility parameter of 20 MPa.sup.1/2 or more, an infrared absorber, and a polymer particle; a resin composition for producing a lithographic printing plate precursor including the polymer, an infrared absorber, and a polymer particle; and a method for producing a lithographic printing plate in which the lithographic printing plate precursor is used.

Provided are a lithographic printing plate precursor having an image-recording layer on an aluminum support, in which the image-recording layer contains a polymerization initiator, an infrared absorber, a polymer particle, and a polymerizable compound, and the polymerizable compound has a) a molecular weight of 1,500 to 3,000, b) a double bond equivalent of 200 or less, and c) a CLog P of 9 or less and a method for producing a lithographic printing plate in which the lithographic printing plate precursor is used.

A lithographic printing plate precursor is disclosed including a support and a coating comprising a polymerisable compound, an initiator and an infrared absorbing dye wherein the initiator and the infrared absorbing dye are capable of inducing a print-out image.