Abstract: A negative-working lithographic printing plate has a coating which is imaged by heating an area of the coating with an infrared laser and actinically reacting the coating in the heated area with ultraviolet or visible radiation. The coating contains an infrared absorber but the coating is not imageable by infrared radiation or by the heat generated. The imaging time is reduced since the actinic reaction rate is increased at the elevated temperature.

Abstract: The invention relates to the development of lithographic printing plates and comprises the application of a thin film of developer solution to each plate in a controlled manner using a jetting printhead. Sensors and control means activate and deactivate the jetting printhead in response to the presence or absence of a plate. The developer is allowed to dwell on the plate as it is conveyed across a support structure for a sufficient time to allow for percolation into and/or dissolution of the soluble areas of the coating and is then washed off and sent to waste.

Abstract: The invention relates to the application of a uniform film of a fluid to the surface of a flat workpiece as it is being conveyed through a workstation. The invention is specifically directed to the development of lithographic printing plates and comprises the application of the thin film of developer solution to each plate in a controlled manner using a wire-wound coating device and a unique manner of metering and feeding fresh fluid to the wire-wound device. Specifically, the fluid is gently fed onto the wire-wound device by simple volumetric displacement and overflow from the inside of a hollow tube onto the wire and the flow is controlled by sensing the beginning and end of each workpiece or plate. The hollow tube may be the wire-wound component or it may be a tube mounted above the wire-wound component.

Abstract: The invention relates to the development of lithographic printing plates and comprises the application of a thin film of developer solution to each plate in a controlled manner using a jetting printhead which scans the plate to apply the developer solution as the plate is conveyed under the jetting printhead. Sensors and control means activate and deactivate the scanning jetting printhead in response to the presence or absence of a plate. The developer is allowed to dwell on the plate as it is conveyed across a support structure for a sufficient time to allow for percolation into and/or dissolution of the soluble areas of the coating and is then washed off and sent to waste.