Process-less Plate: Green Revolution in Printing Industry

In today's fast-growing printing industry, process-less plates are gradually becoming an important force in promoting the greening and efficiency of the industry. This technology, with its unique environmental characteristics and efficient plate-making process, is triggering a global innovation in printing technology.

Process-less Plate, or process-free plate, refers to a CTP printing plate that can be directly printed on the machine without developing after exposure during the computer-to-plate (CTP) process. The core of this technology lies in its special development mechanism. Some plates produce gaseous products through photochemical reactions, which evaporate directly without washing; while others can be printed with the help of the fountain solution of the printing press. This type of plate not only simplifies the plate-making process, but also greatly reduces the use of chemicals and waste liquid discharge, meeting the high environmental protection requirements of the modern printing industry.

Depending on the plate-making technology and materials, process-free plates can be divided into many types. Among them, thermal CTP plates and ultraviolet CTP plates are the two most common types. Thermal CTP plates use a heat-sensitive coating, and the laser head of the CTP machine applies heat energy to the surface of the plate to form an image; while UV CTP plates use a UV-sensitive coating, and form an image through UV irradiation. These plates not only have the characteristics of high sensitivity and high resolution, but can also complete platemaking in a short time, greatly improving printing efficiency.

The application range of treatment-free plates is wide, covering many fields such as commercial printing, newspaper printing, packaging printing and book printing. With the popularization and development of digital printing technology, more and more printing companies have begun to adopt CTP technology, and the market demand for treatment-free plates has also increased. Especially today when environmental protection requirements are becoming increasingly stringent, treatment-free plates have become the first choice for many printing companies with their unique environmental advantages.

In terms of environmental protection, the contribution of treatment-free plates cannot be ignored. In the traditional CTP platemaking process, a large amount of developer and rinse solution are required. These chemicals not only increase production costs, but also cause serious pollution to the environment. Treatment-free plates completely avoid this problem, do not require rinse processing steps, reduce the use of chemicals and waste liquid discharge, and reduce pollution to the environment.

Treatment-free plates are also energy-saving. In the traditional plate-making process, the washing and processing equipment consumes a lot of electricity and water resources, while the treatment-free plate eliminates this step and reduces energy consumption. At the same time, since the plate-making efficiency of the treatment-free plate is higher, it also reduces the waiting time and labor costs of printing companies and improves the overall production efficiency.

In the future, the treatment-free plate industry will continue to develop in a more efficient and environmentally friendly direction. Manufacturers will continue to develop new sensitive coating materials to improve the performance of the plate in terms of photosensitivity, image accuracy and durability. At the same time, with the continuous innovation and upgrading of printing technology, the treatment-free plate will also be combined with more advanced printing equipment and technologies to promote the transformation and upgrading of the entire printing industry.