Process-less Plate: A New Chapter in Green Printing

In today's world where printing technology is changing with each passing day, Process-less Plate (wash-free plate) as an efficient and environmentally friendly digital pre-press platemaking technology is gradually becoming the new favorite of the printing industry. This technology not only greatly improves the efficiency of platemaking, but also significantly reduces environmental pollution, injecting new vitality into the development of green printing.

Process-less Plate is a printing plate that does not require washing and processing. The core of this technology is that after exposure, the printing plate can be directly printed on the machine without going through the traditional development process. This innovation not only simplifies the platemaking process, but also reduces the negative impact on the environment by reducing the use of chemicals.

From a professional perspective, the application of Process-less Plate is mainly due to the development of computer-to-plate (CTP) technology. CTP technology is an efficient and environmentally friendly digital pre-press platemaking technology. It uses computers and typesetting software to digitally process the original text image through typesetting editing and other processing, and then scans and prints the image directly on the printing plate. This process eliminates the intermediate product-film, and realizes a direct connection from computer to printing, thereby greatly improving the platemaking efficiency and image restoration rate.

As an important form of CTP technology, process-less plates have various types and characteristics. According to different photosensitive mechanisms, process-less plates can be divided into thermal and UV types. Thermal process-less plates use heat-sensitive coatings, and the laser head of the CTP machine applies heat energy to the surface of the plate to form an image. The coating of the non-exposed part will be melted and removed by heat energy to form a printed image. UV process-less plates use UV-sensitive coatings, and the image is formed by ultraviolet irradiation of the laser head. After these plates are exposed, they can be directly printed on the machine without wetting or chemical treatment, thus realizing true "waterless" printing.

In addition to being efficient and environmentally friendly, process-less plates have many other advantages. Using process-less plates can significantly shorten the preparation time for plate making and improve plate making efficiency. The traditional plate making process requires multiple steps such as film output, development, and fixing, while process-less plates omit these cumbersome links, making the plate making process more concise and efficient. The process-free plate can save the processing equipment and liquid, thus saving the plate making cost. This is undoubtedly a considerable economic saving for printing companies. Since the process-free plate does not need to use chemicals for development, it also reduces emissions and pollution, which helps to create a green printing environment.

In practical applications, the cost-effectiveness of process-less plates is particularly prominent. Especially in the field of commercial printing, the reuse characteristics of process-less plates make them more attractive. Compared with traditional CTP plates, process-free plates have significant advantages in cost, speed and image quality.