In the printing and packaging industry, the waste rate of PS plates should be controlled within 1%, but after the introduction of CTP plates, with the increase in the plate-making volume of CTP plates, it is difficult to control the waste rate within 1%. within, and even more than 2%. Therefore, it is an important goal in the printing and packaging industry to take feasible measures to reduce the waste rate. Next, the editor of Henan Huida Prinect Technology Co., Ltd. will take you understand how to effectively reduce the waste rate of CTP plates.
1. Equipment maintenance
The maintenance of CTP equipment must be in place. Daily maintenance, weekly maintenance, etc. must be carried out in strict accordance with the maintenance plan of the equipment to ensure the stable operation of equipment. Regularly clean the laser light path of the CTP equipment, and frequently clean and replace the filter core of the developing machine; regularly and thoroughly clean the developing machine, especially the sets of rubber rollers in the developing machine; for floating dirt on the printing plate, wipe off the protection with clean water first Glue, then use a small brush dipped in a little developer solution to lightly trace on the floating dirt, and quickly wipe it with water, repeat it several times, it can be removed, and then wipe the protective glue. Note that the residence time of the developer stock solution on the printing plate must be short, otherwise, it will damage the surrounding small dots.
2. Correctly store the CTP version
It is necessary to maintain the temperature and humidity stability of the storage environment of CTP plates. When storing CTP plates, be sure to pay attention to stacking them flat. Otherwise, due to the heavy weight of the plates, when there are too many stacked plates, the shelf for stacking the plates will sometimes deform under the action of gravity, resulting in the deformation of the CTP plates at the bottom. Deformed plates are often stuck in the plate processor during use, resulting in waste plates, and even damaging the rubber rollers of the plate processor in severe cases.
Different batches of CTP plates should be stored separately and marked, so as not to confuse or cause the CTP plates to be expired and invalid. In addition, pay attention to the stacking order, the new plate is inside, and the old plate is outside. Otherwise, due to the huge weight of the stacked CTP plates, it will be very difficult to bypass the new plates and use the old plates. It is stipulated that operators must wear clean work gloves when handling CTP plates, and plates must be prevented from folding and exposure during transportation.
3. Ensure that the CTP working environment is clean
Ensure that the CTP working environment is clean and the dust is as little as possible. The ambient temperature is controlled at 22-25°C, and the humidity is controlled at 50%-70%.
Fourth, the correct use of CTP equipment and plates
①The person in charge of plate materials must concentrate on making the plate, strictly follow the folded hands to make the plate, carefully check whether the template is correct, and communicate with the plate reader in time;
②Start the CTP equipment and plate processing machine before publication, observe whether the cycle of the plate processing machine is normal, whether it runs smoothly, whether there is any abnormal noise, and solve the problems found in time;
③When using different batches of plates, be sure to produce a plate for testing first, observe the exposure test signal bar on the edge of the plate, check whether the exposure value and resolution are within the normal range, and publish in large quantities if they are normal;
④The dots of the CTP plate will increase (shrink) during the exposure and development process, so the CTP must be linearized to ensure that the dots on the printing plate are consistent with the required dots. During use, adjust the laser power, clean and calibrate the laser light path, clean the plate processor, change the development parameters, and check whether the CTP is linear. The specific detection method of linearization: output test strips, measure the percentage of each dot with a printing plate dot detector and decide whether to adjust the linearization parameters according to the measurement results. Generally, the dot error is controlled within 2%;
⑤ For photopolymerized plates, the preheating temperature needs to be tested regularly. The detection method is to paste a temperature test strip on the back of the printing plate, take out the printing plate after preheating, and observe the temperature displayed on the temperature test strip. Generally, the preheating temperature is 99-121°C, and 110°C is the best. If the preheating temperature is too low, the printing plate is easy to fall off after being put on the machine; if the preheating temperature is too high, the printing plate is easy to get dirty.
Huida Print-All Technology company is an advanced and professional manufacturer of producing printing plates, mainly selling CTP, CTCP, and PS plates as well as offering ODM/OEMs, especially for the offset. For more information, please click the official website link here: https://www.huidaoffsetplate.com/.