An apparatus for treating a relief plate precursor, such as a printing plate precursor, with a liquid, includes a treatment compartment for treating the relief plate precursor with a liquid, and a transport system for use with one or more transport bars. A transport bar thereof is configured to be coupled to a relief plate precursor. The transport system is configured to move the transport bar with the coupled relief plate precursor through the treatment compartment. The transport bar is provided with a coupling portion configured to couple the transport bar to the transport system. A protection system is configured to guide and evacuate liquid such that the transport system is protected against wetting with the liquid of the treatment compartment.

A printing apparatus and a printing method for applying ink to a surface of a printing plate in a predetermined pattern and then transfer the ink applied in the shape of the pattern to a substrate. A scale is formed on the surface of the printing plate; the printing apparatus includes a plate cylinder on which the printing plate is provided, an image recording section that applies the ink to the surface of the printing plate in the predetermined pattern by an ink jet method, a reading unit that reads the scale and obtains position information data of the scale, a signal generation part that generates a signal based on the position information data obtained by the reading unit, and an adjustment part that adjusts an ejection timing of the ink in the image recording section on the basis of the signal obtained by the signal generation part.

An apparatus for exposure of a relief precursor having a first side and an opposite second side includes a light source to expose the relief precursor during relative movement between the light source and the relief plate precursor; a moving means to cause a first relative movement between the light source and the relief precursor to expose the first side of the relief precursor, to cause a second relative movement between the light source and the relief precursor to expose the second side of the relief precursor, and to move the light source between a first position and a second position. The first and second positions are on opposite sides of a plane of the relief precursor. At least one of the first and the second relative movement is a reciprocating movement.

A printing intaglio (100A), (100B) is a printing intaglio for use in intaglio printing, the printing intaglio having a surface which has a plurality of first recessed portions (12) that form a pattern to be printed, wherein at least one of the plurality of first recessed portions has a plurality of minute recessed portions (16p) inside the first recessed portion, and when viewed in a direction normal to the surface of the printing intaglio, a two-dimensional size of the plurality of minute recessed portions is not less than 10 nm and less than 500 nm.

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.

Provided is a fully automatic gravure plate-making processing system capable of manufacturing a gravure plate-making roll more quickly as compared to a conventional case, achieving space saving, performing an unattended operation even in the nighttime, and reducing dust between individual processes. The fully automatic gravure plate-making processing system includes: a first industrial robot for chucking and handling an unprocessed plate-making roll; a second industrial robot for chucking and handling the unprocessed plate-making roll; a roll stock apparatus, a photosensitive film coating apparatus, a laser exposure apparatus, an ultrasonic cleaning apparatus with a drying function, a grinding wheel polishing apparatus, and a paper polishing apparatus, which serve as processing apparatus arranged in a handling area of the first industrial robot; and a degreasing apparatus, a copper plating apparatus, a developing apparatus, an etching apparatus, a resist removal apparatus, a surface hardening film forming apparatus, and an ultrasonic cleaning apparatus, which serve as processing apparatus arranged in a handling area of the second industrial robot, to thereby perform plate-making processing.

A photosensitive resin printing plate precursor includes at least a substrate and a photosensitive resin layer, the photosensitive resin layer containing: (A) a partially saponified polyvinyl acetate, (B) a polyamide having basic nitrogen, (C) a compound having an ethylenic double bond, and (D) a photopolymerization initiator; the photosensitive resin layer including at least an underlayer and a printing surface layer; the substrate, the underlayer, and the printing surface layer being included in this order; and the photosensitive resin layer containing, as the partially saponified polyvinyl acetate (A), those (A1) having an average polymerization degree of 1,200 to 2,600 in the printing surface layer and those (A2) having an average polymerization degree of 400 to 800 in the underlayer.

A gravure printing roll that enables printing of fine dots with a size close to that of cells and enables printing on a print subject, such as a printing substrate, without changing the appearance of the print subject. The gravure printing roll includes: a gravure printing roll body; and cells formed in a peripheral surface of the gravure printing roll body. Each of the cells has an opening with a ratio between a dimension in a circumferential direction of the gravure printing roll body and a dimension in an axial center direction of the gravure printing roll body (dimension in the circumferential direction/dimension in the axial center direction) being 1.15 to 7, and have an opening area of 3900 m.sup.2 or smaller.

A printing intaglio (100A), (100B) is a printing intaglio for use in intaglio printing, the printing intaglio having a surface which has a plurality of first recessed portions (12) that form a pattern to be printed, wherein at least one of the plurality of first recessed portions has a plurality of minute recessed portions (16p) inside the first recessed portion, and when viewed in a direction normal to the surface of the printing intaglio, a two-dimensional size of the plurality of minute recessed portions is not less than 10 nm and less than 500 nm.

A photosensitive resin printing plate precursor includes at least a substrate and a photosensitive resin layer, the photosensitive resin layer containing: (A) a partially saponified polyvinyl acetate, (B) a polyamide having basic nitrogen, (C) a compound having an ethylenic double bond, and (D) a photopolymerization initiator; the photosensitive resin layer including at least an underlayer and a printing surface layer; the substrate, the underlayer, and the printing surface layer being included in this order; and the photosensitive resin layer containing, as the partially saponified polyvinyl acetate (A), those (A1) having an average polymerization degree of 1,200 to 2,600 in the printing surface layer and those (A2) having an average polymerization degree of 400 to 800 in the underlayer.