Method of controlling relief production system comprising plurality of production units and associated relief production system

Abstract

A method of controlling a letterpress production system (10) comprising a plurality of production units, the method comprising the steps of each of the plurality of production units (100, 100 ', 200) receiving a work instruction from a central control device (50) and storing the work instruction in a work instruction list, the job instruction comprises at least an identifier of a relief (14) to be produced from a relief precursor (12); after a plurality of production units have received a job instruction, one of the plurality of production units receives a relief precursor (12) and an indication of an identifier of the relief precursor (12), and processes the relief precursor (12) in accordance with the received job instruction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The field of the invention relates to relief production systems. Various embodiments herein relate to methods of controlling relief production systems and to associated relief production systems, production units and central control devices. Background Art

[0002] In known methods of controlling relief production systems, in order to manufacture a certain relief printing plate, specific commands need to be entered into different production units in the production system. Typically, an operator brings a precursor to a production unit and enters, for example, the precursor type and optionally also selects other settings.

[0003] The use of a central control device that communicates with one or more production units can make the process more autonomous. The central control device typically sends a job instruction to the first production unit in the production line, which then performs the job. The central control device can further coordinate the operations of the production units. The production units passively receive control signals from the central control device and perform the steps as indicated in the control signals from the central control device.

[0004] Furthermore, in some known methods of controlling relief printing plate production systems, all controls sent to all production units come from a central control unit. Therefore, the system is heavily dependent on the proper functioning of the central control unit. Furthermore, once production units are selected by the central control unit, they are used for plate production. Once the command is given by the central control unit, there is little possibility of switching production units.

[0005] Furthermore, in some known methods of controlling relief printing production systems, it is necessary to add an additional production unit. However, the additional production unit may not be manufactured by the same company as the existing production units in the system. Therefore, any additional production unit may not be compatible with the existing units in the system, and the additional production unit may not be able to receive or understand any control signals that are normally received by the existing production units. Summary of the invention

[0006] Some embodiments of the present disclosure allow a production unit to generate parameters for processing relief precursors not only based on signals from a central control device, but also adaptively based on information of each received relief precursor.

[0007] Some embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to avoiding interruptions when a production unit fails.

[0008] Some embodiments of the present disclosure reduce the dependence of the entire production system on a single central control device. Some embodiments of the present disclosure enable certain production units to be selected step by step according to the production status, for example, after the relief precursor has been processed by an upstream production unit, a more suitable production unit is selected to continue processing the relief precursor.

[0009] Some embodiments of the present disclosure enable production units that were not previously part of the production system and were not compatible with existing production units to receive instructions albeit from a central control device and / or interact with existing production units.

[0010] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for controlling a relief printing plate production system comprising a plurality of production units. The method comprises the following steps: - each production unit of the plurality of production units receives a job instruction from the central control device and stores the job instruction in a job instruction list, the job instruction comprising at least an identifier of a relief to be produced from a relief precursor; - after the plurality of production units receive the job instruction, one of the plurality of production units receives an indication of the relief precursor and an identifier of the relief precursor and processes the relief precursor according to the received job instruction.

[0011] Thanks to these steps, the production units can identify each relief precursor based on the identifier. In this way, the decision on how to process the relief precursor is at least partially decentralized to the production units. The burden on the central control device is reduced. And each production unit can flexibly choose how to best process the relief precursor based on their own processing characteristics. The identifier is attributed to the relief precursor at the beginning of the process and is used as an identifier throughout the process and as an identifier for the resulting relief.

[0012] In addition, the central control device sends the job instructions to each production unit. In this way, it is no longer necessary to prepare a job instruction specifically for each production unit. Instead, it is now the production unit that determines the parameters for processing the relief precursor based on the identifier of the relief precursor in addition to the parameters of the job instruction from the central control device.

[0013] Sending the work instruction can be achieved via wired, wireless, electromagnetic radiation, local or non-local network or a combination thereof. More specifically, any short-range or long-range communication means such as WiFi, cellular, Zigbee, etc. can be used between the central control device and the production unit and / or between the production units.

[0014] It should also be noted that the central control device may be disposed in a distributed manner in the cloud, and / or may be disposed in a local device.

[0015] Typically, the identifier comprises a unique identifier, such as a timestamp or a steadily increasing number. The unique identifier may comprise an object identifier as described in ITU-T Rec X.667 or ISO / IEC 9834-8:2005.

[0016] Preferably, the job instruction also includes one or more plate-related parameters, such as the type of plate, the thickness of the plate or the size of the plate. Using such plate-related parameters, the production unit can select appropriate configuration settings for the respective production unit to process.

[0017] Optionally, the job instruction may also include a customer identifier. In this way, the production unit can select configuration settings according to the wishes of a specific customer. For example, for a first plate type, different configuration settings may be selected for a first and a second customer. For this purpose, the production unit typically stores configuration settings for different types of plates and different customers.

[0018] Optionally, the job instruction may also include an image of the job. This allows the operator to easily identify and / or select the job instruction from a list of job instructions stored on the production unit.

[0019] The first aspect of the present disclosure may include any one or any technically possible combination of the following features:

[0020] The method further comprises, after or before one production unit has processed the relief precursor, another production unit of the plurality of production units receiving an indication of the relief precursor and an identifier of the relief precursor and processing the relief precursor according to the received job instructions.

[0021] With these features, the relief production system can process at least two relief precursors simultaneously based on received job instructions.

[0022] The method also includes broadcasting the operation instruction to multiple production units through the central control device.

[0023] Broadcasting here means sending the same job instruction to all destinations (multiple production units or all production units that can receive the job instruction from the central control device). With this feature, the burden on the central control device is further reduced because it does not have to distinguish between job instructions nor their destinations. Instead, if the relief plate precursor arrives at a production unit, then the production unit will be responsible for analyzing the job instruction. Additionally, sending exactly the same job instruction to the production unit eliminates the need to make a decision when the job instruction is sent from the central control device. Instead, the production unit can select the configuration settings for the production unit based on, for example, the plate-related parameters included in the job instruction.

[0024] In addition to broadcasting the same job instructions to all units, job instructions may be unicast or multicast to subsets of multiple production units. In this way, different job instructions may be sent to different subsets (e.g., a first multicast to all imagers, a second multicast to all exposure units, etc.).

[0025] The method further includes sending a work instruction via the central control device at the request of a production unit among the plurality of production units and / or when a production unit among the plurality of production units is turned on or reactivated (such as when switching from a sleep mode to an active mode).

[0026] In this possible situation, the central control device will not issue the operation command at will. Instead, it will issue the operation command only when certain (one or more) conditions of the production unit are met (here, when requested and / or turned on).

[0027] According to some embodiments, at least one production unit requests a list of job identifiers of all available jobs from the central control device 50. Then, the at least one production unit compares the list of job identifiers of the requesting production unit with the list of job identifiers of all available jobs received from the central control device 50. Then, the at least one production unit requests job instructions for at least one job whose job identifier is in the list of job identifiers of all available jobs but is missing in the list of job identifiers of the requesting production unit.

[0028] These features eliminate the need to create job instructions on the production units. Job instructions may be partially or fully created centrally on the central control device and / or partially or fully created by external software means and provided to the central control device. For example, an external software package may be used to lay out the job, and the production unit settings may be added to the job instructions by the central control device. In yet another embodiment, job instructions may also be created partially by the central control device and partially by the production units.

[0029] Furthermore, instead of requesting a complete job instruction from the central control device, the production unit only needs to request a job identifier from the central control device to see which job instructions it does not yet have. In this way, the computational cost of the production unit and / or the central control device is reduced.

[0030] This request is made periodically, for example, by a production unit.

[0031] According to some embodiments, at least one production unit compares the list of job identifiers of the production unit that issued the request with the list of job identifiers of all available jobs received from the central control device 50. If the production unit notices that there are jobs for which the production unit has job instructions but whose corresponding job identifiers are not in the list of job identifiers received from the central control device 50, the production unit removes the job instructions whose job identifiers are not in the list of job instructions received from the central control device 50. In this way, the job instructions on the production unit are synchronized with the job instructions available in the central control device 50.

[0032] The plurality of production units comprises a production unit group, and the one production unit is one production unit in the production unit group, wherein preferably the production units in the group perform substantially the same function in plate production; the method further comprises removing the job instruction from a list of job instructions stored on any other production unit in the production unit group that has not received a relief plate precursor.

[0033] Removing job instructions from other production units in the group ensures that the relief precursor will not be processed again by another production unit in the same group and avoids unnecessary storage of jobs in production units. This is particularly advantageous when the production units in the group perform substantially the same functions. The production units in the same group are at the same level in the production process and when one production unit processes a relief precursor, the relief precursor will not be processed again in a similar manner by another production unit in the same group.

[0034] The method comprises sending, by one production unit directly or by means of a central control device, a message M1 to any other production unit of the group indicating that the one production unit has processed a relief precursor or has started processing a relief precursor or has received a relief precursor.

[0035] The message M1 informs the other production units in the group that the relief precursor is the responsibility of this production unit. The message M1 informs the other production units in the group that this relief precursor will not be processed by them. The message M1 may contain an instruction to the other production units in the group to delete their job instructions.

[0036] The method further comprises sending a message M2 by one production unit to another production unit directly or by means of a central control device, indicating that the relief precursor processed by one production unit is ready for processing by the other production unit, and optionally displaying work instructions for the relief precursor on a display of the other production unit.

[0037] Using these features, one production unit can communicate with other production units. The other production units are informed that processing by the one production unit has ended or will end in the near future. The other production units can then take any appropriate action (such as displaying the job on a display of another production unit) so that the operator can easily select the job, schedule the job, etc.

[0038] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of controlling a relief printing plate production system, the relief printing plate production system comprising a plurality of production units, the production units comprising at least a first production unit and a second production unit group directly downstream of the first production unit, wherein preferably, the second production units in the group perform substantially the same function in plate production. The method comprises the following steps: - receiving a job instruction at the first production unit and storing the job instruction in a job instruction list, the job instruction comprising at least an identifier of a relief to be produced from a relief precursor; - receiving at a first production unit an indication of a relief precursor and an identifier and processing said relief precursor according to the received instructions; - removing the work order from the first production unit; - sending a second operation instruction to the second group of production units through the first production unit, wherein the second operation instruction at least includes an identifier; - receiving the processed relief precursor at a second production unit in the second group of production units and further processing the relief precursor according to the received second job instructions; - Removing the second work instruction from all second production units of the group.

[0039] Due to these features, job instructions are sent from the first production unit to the second production unit. It is therefore possible for the first production unit to feed information about the status of plate production to the second production unit. Under the second aspect, the job instructions to the second production unit are more closely tailored to the current plate production schedule than if the second production unit simply followed instructions it received before the first production unit had finished processing the relief precursor. The identifier is attributed to the relief precursor at the beginning of the process and is used as an identifier throughout the process and as an identifier for the resulting relief.

[0040] The second aspect of the present disclosure may include any one or any technically possible combination of the following features:

[0041] The sending includes: sending the job instruction to all production units downstream of the first production unit through the first production unit, or only sending it to the second production unit group directly downstream of the first production unit.

[0042] When the first production unit sends job instructions to all production units downstream of it, it plays a central role in the control board production system. When the first production unit sends job instructions only to the second production unit downstream of it, the total number of job instructions that may be sent by the first production unit is reduced, reducing the resource requirements of the first production unit. In addition, this also leaves open the possibility that a second production unit in the second production unit group can send its own job instructions to some production units further downstream of the second production unit.

[0043] The method also includes: when a second production unit has processed a relief precursor or has started processing a relief precursor or has received a relief precursor, a message M1 is sent by a second production unit to any other second production unit in the group to remove the second job instruction, and then the other second production units remove the second job instruction from the job instruction list.

[0044] Under these features, one second production unit that has received a job instruction may inform other second production units in the group that the former is responsible for processing in the group, while the latter does not need to process this particular relief precursor. This brings certainty to the other second production units. This also frees up computing resources in the other second production units.

[0045] The method further includes: after receiving the relief precursor at the one second production unit, reading the indication of the identifier by the one second production unit, and retrieving the second job instructions from a memory of the one second production unit based on the read indication. The memory of the second production unit can be located in the second production unit, or can be located in a different device or in the cloud.

[0046] With these features, the second job instructions are stored locally in the memory of the second production unit. The second job instructions do not come entirely from an external entity (either entirely from the first production unit or entirely from the central control device). Therefore, the amount of information sent to the second production unit is reduced. Furthermore, by reading the indication of the identifier, the second production unit can determine the parameters for processing the relief precursor by itself, without being completely dependent on information received externally.

[0047] The first production unit is part of a first group of production units, wherein preferably the first production units in the group perform substantially the same function in plate production. The method comprises: - receiving a work instruction at all first production units in the group; - When a first production unit has processed a relief precursor or has started processing a relief precursor or has received a relief precursor, a message is sent by the first production unit to any other first production units in the group to remove the job instruction, and then the other first production units remove the job instruction from the job instruction list.

[0048] Under these features, the first production unit issuing the instruction may also inform other first production units that the former is responsible for processing relief precursors, while the latter do not need to process these specific relief precursors. This frees up computing resources in the other first production units.

[0049] According to some embodiments, the first production unit is an exposure unit, and the second production unit group is a development unit group.

[0050] A job instruction is received at the first production unit from the imaging unit or the central control device.

[0051] In this feature, the first production unit is controlled either by another unit in the plate production process upstream of the first production unit or by a central control device which is not a production unit in the plate production process.

[0052] The imaging unit is part of an imaging unit group, and the method includes receiving a job instruction from a central control device at the imaging unit group. Then, the imaging unit can sequentially send the job instruction to the first production unit.

[0053] According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a relief printing plate production system, the relief printing plate production system comprising: - a plurality of production units, the plurality of production units comprising at least one connected production unit and at least one unconnected production unit. The at least one connected production unit is configured to communicate with a central control device and / or another connected production unit. The at least one unconnected production unit is unable to communicate with the central control device and / or the at least one connected production unit; and - a mobile device configured to communicate with the central control device and / or the at least one connected production unit. The method comprises the following steps: - the mobile device receives a job instruction, the job instruction comprising at least an identifier of a relief to be produced from a relief precursor; - one of the at least one unconnected production units receives an indication of a relief precursor and an identifier of the relief precursor and processes the relief precursor according to the received job instructions, - sending a message via the mobile device to the central control device and / or to a connected production unit of at least one connected production unit, the message indicating that the relief precursor has been or is to be processed by a non-connected production unit.

[0054] Thanks to these features, other production units and / or the central control device can send work instructions to the mobile device. When a non-connected production unit needs to be incorporated into an existing production system, a complex integration of the non-connected production unit is no longer necessary. Instead, it is sufficient to use the mobile device, which emulates the non-connected production device in the production system. This simplifies the integration of any production unit that was not previously recognized by the existing production system.

[0055] The third aspect of the present disclosure may include any one or any technically possible combination of the following features:

[0056] The relief production system comprises at least two connected production units which are able to communicate with each other directly or by means of a central control device.

[0057] The method also includes entering, by an operator, input into the unconnected production unit derived from the job instructions received on the mobile device.

[0058] Under this feature, the operator acts as a bridge between the unconnected production unit and the mobile device. These reduce the need to modify the connected production units in the system to accommodate the unconnected production units. It also reduces the need to modify the unconnected production units to integrate into the existing system.

[0059] The method also includes entering input into the mobile device by an operator to indicate that the relief precursor has been or is to be processed by the unconnected production unit.

[0060] The mobile device can then pass the input to other connected production units and / or a central control device (if present). In this way, other connected production units can learn the status of unconnected production units.

[0061] The relief printing plate production system includes a central control device, which sends a job instruction to a mobile device and directly sends the job instruction to at least one connected production unit without the intermediary of the mobile device.

[0062] The method also includes sending, via the mobile device, a job instruction to at least one connected production unit of at least one connected production unit downstream of the unconnected production unit.

[0063] Under these features, the mobile device does not only receive job instructions. It also gives job instructions to at least one connected production unit. Specifically, by sending job instructions to a connected production unit downstream of an unconnected production unit, the mobile device can enable the status of the unconnected production unit to affect its downstream processing, even if the unconnected production unit itself cannot communicate with the connected production unit.

[0064] Each of the first, second and third aspects of the present disclosure may include any one or any technically possible combination of the following features:

[0065] The job instruction includes one or more search parameters for searching one or more configuration parameters stored in the production unit. The one or more search parameters may include at least one of the following: type of precursor, thickness of precursor, large information of precursor, client identifier.

[0066] Such one or more lookup parameters allow the production unit to find appropriate configuration settings for performing a job.

[0067] The job instruction includes a reference to a preview image or the preview image.

[0068] The method further comprises, preferably before receiving the job instructions at the respective production units, receiving a preview image at the respective production units, and displaying the preview image together with the job instructions at the respective production units.

[0069] In this way, a preview image may be displayed on a display of the production unit so that an operator may more easily identify and / or select a job.

[0070] The job instructions include references to one or more image files to be used by a production unit, such as an imaging unit, and / or imaging settings to be used by the imaging unit.

[0071] The plurality of production units include an imaging unit.The method further comprises, preferably prior to receiving the job instruction at the imaging unit, receiving one or more image files at the imaging unit.

[0072] Image files are sometimes relatively large. By sending image files only to the imaging unit instead of all production units, fewer connection and / or storage resources can be used.

[0073] A job order includes, for example, a timestamp (eg, including the date and time) in its file name, and optionally a name selected by the creator of the file.

[0074] The method further includes displaying, by the production units, the work instruction groups in an ordered manner based on time stamps of the work instruction groups received at the respective production units.

[0075] The plurality of production units comprises an imaging unit. An indication of the identifier is generated in the relief precursor by the imaging unit.

[0076] With these features, the imaging unit creates indications, optionally based on information input by an operator or from a central control device. The image indications have the advantage of being robust so as to retain good readability even after multiple processing by various production units.

[0077] The plurality of production units comprises at least a first group of production units upstream of a second group of production units, wherein production units of the same group preferably have substantially the same functions.

[0078] The plurality of production units include any of the following: a transport unit, a pre-processing unit, an imaging unit, an exposure unit, a developing unit such as a washer or a thermal developing unit, a post-processing unit such as a dryer, a post-exposure unit such as a cutting unit configured to cut a plate, a mounting unit configured to mount the relief precursor onto a sleeve or another substrate, and a storage unit.

[0079] The method further comprises an operator reading the indication of the identifier and selecting a corresponding job from a list of jobs stored in a production unit of the plurality of production units that has received the relief precursor.

[0080] The method further comprises: the production unit reading the indication of the identifier and selecting a corresponding job from a job list stored in a production unit among the plurality of production units that has received the relief precursor.

[0081] By letting the operator and / or production unit select the job based on the indication of the identifier, the production unit can use the most appropriate parameters to process the relief precursor passing through it. In addition, the order of the jobs may be affected, for example in order to process a certain job with a higher priority.

[0082] The identifier is attached to or integrated into the relief precursor or a carrier (such as a cart) carrying the relief precursor.

[0083] A production unit among multiple production units has a display, and the method also includes: displaying a subset of job instructions received at the production unit, which corresponds to jobs that have been processed or are being processed by a production unit directly downstream of the production unit and can be performed by the production unit.

[0084] Due to these features, only the operations that can be performed or are being performed by the production unit are displayed. The display does not show the operations that cannot be performed by the production unit in question, thereby preventing the selection of operations that cannot be performed by this production unit.

[0085] The subset comprises jobs for which a message (M2) has been received from a downstream production unit directly downstream of the respective production unit, indicating that a relief precursor has been or is to be processed by the downstream production unit.

[0086] With these features, whether a received job instruction will be displayed depends not only on the production unit that has received the job instruction but also on the production units downstream of the production unit.

[0087] The plurality of production units at least include a group of production units having substantially the same main functions but having different optional functions, and the received work instructions are displayed only on production units having appropriate optional functions.

[0088] These features ensure that when a received work instruction requires some optional functionality that is only present on some production units, only those production units that have the optional functionality will be commanded to implement the work instruction.

[0089] Any features of any aspect of the disclosure may be combined with any features of any other aspect(s) of the disclosure.

[0090] The present disclosure also relates to a central control device configured to control a relief printing plate production system comprising a plurality of production units, preferably for use in a method as described above. The central control device is configured to transmit a job instruction to each of the plurality of production units, the job instruction comprising at least an identifier of a relief printing plate to be produced from a relief printing plate precursor.

[0091] The central control device may include any one or any technically possible combination of the following features:

[0092] The transmission includes broadcasting job instructions.

[0093] The transmitting includes transmitting the work instruction upon receiving a request from a production unit among the plurality of production units and / or upon detecting that a production unit among the plurality of production units is turned on or reactivated.

[0094] The central control device is further configured to receive a message when a respective production unit of the plurality of production units is about to start, has started, or has completed a job corresponding to the job instruction, and in response, perform at least one of the following: - notifying at least one other production unit that no longer performs the operation to remove the operation instruction; - notifying at least one other production unit downstream of the respective production unit that the respective production unit is about to start, has started or has completed the work corresponding to the work instruction.

[0095] The job instruction includes one or more search parameters for searching for one or more configuration parameters stored in the production unit, wherein preferably, the one or more search parameters include at least one of the following: type of precursor, thickness of precursor, size information of precursor, client identifier.

[0096] The job instruction includes a reference to the preview image, and the central control device is configured to transmit the preview image, preferably before transmitting the job instruction.

[0097] The job instructions include references to one or more image files to be used by a production unit such as an imaging unit, and / or imaging settings to be used by the imaging unit, and the central control device is configured to transmit the one or more image files to the imaging unit, preferably before transmitting the job instructions.

[0098] The central control device is configured to generate the job instruction such that it includes, for example, a time stamp (eg including date and time) in its file name, and optionally a name selected by the creator of the file.

[0099] The central control device is configured to track operations corresponding to operation instructions transmitted to multiple production units and maintain a database that stores each operation instruction that has been performed and / or is scheduled to be performed by one or more production units, optionally together with time data related to when the operation has been performed or when the operation is scheduled to be performed.

[0100] The present disclosure also relates to a production unit of a relief printing plate production system, preferably for use in a method according to any of the preceding claims. The production unit is configured to receive a job instruction, the job instruction comprising at least an identifier of a relief printing plate to be produced from a relief printing plate precursor; store the job instruction in a job instruction list; receive an indication of a relief printing plate precursor and an identifier of the relief printing plate precursor; and process the relief printing plate precursor according to the received job instruction. The identifier is attributed to the relief printing plate precursor at the beginning of the process and is used as an identifier throughout the process and as an identifier for the resulting relief printing plate.

[0101] The production unit may include any one or any technically possible combination of the following features:

[0102] The production unit is also configured to send a request to the central control device to receive work instructions that may be intended for the production unit, and in response, receive the work instructions from the central control device and store them, and / or, the production unit is configured to send a signal to the central control device to indicate that it is turned on or reactivated, and in response receive the work instructions and store them.

[0103] The production unit is further configured to transmit at least one of the following when the production unit is about to start, has started, or has completed a job corresponding to the job instruction: - a message for notifying at least one other production unit that no longer performs the operation to remove the operation instruction; - A message used to notify at least one other production unit downstream of the production unit that the production unit is about to start, has started or has completed the operation corresponding to the operation instruction.

[0104] The job instruction includes one or more search parameters for searching for one or more configuration parameters stored in the production unit, wherein preferably, the one or more search parameters include at least one of the following: plate type, plate thickness, plate size information, client identifier, and the production unit is configured to set one or more configuration parameters based on the one or more search parameters.

[0105] The job instruction comprises a reference to the preview image or the preview image. The production unit is configured to receive the preview image, preferably before receiving the job instruction, and to display the preview image together with the job instruction.

[0106] The production unit is an imaging unit, and the job instruction includes a reference to one or more image files to be used by the imaging unit, and / or imaging settings to be used by the imaging unit, and the imaging unit is configured to receive the one or more image files, preferably prior to receiving the job instruction.

[0107] The imaging unit is configured to generate an indication (preferably an image) of the identifier in the relief precursor based on the received job instructions.

[0108] The job instructions include, for example, a timestamp in their file name, for example including date and time, and optionally a name chosen by the creator of the file, and the production unit is configured to display a list of received job instructions in an ordered manner based on their timestamps.

[0109] The production unit is further configured to transmit the received work instruction to one or more other production units downstream of the production unit.

[0110] The production unit is or includes any of the following: a transfer unit, a pre-processing unit, an imaging unit, an exposure unit, a developing unit such as a washer or a thermal developing unit, a post-processing unit such as a dryer, a post-exposure unit such as a cutting unit configured to cut a plate, a mounting unit configured to mount the relief precursor onto a sleeve or another substrate, a storage unit.

[0111] The production unit is further configured to read the received indication of the identifier of the relief precursor and to select a corresponding job from a list of jobs stored in the production unit.

[0112] The production unit also includes a display and is further configured to display a subset of job instructions received at the production unit, the subset corresponding to jobs that have been processed or are being processed by another production unit directly downstream of the production unit and can be performed by the production unit.

[0113] The subset comprises jobs for which a message (M2) has been received from another production unit directly downstream of the production unit, indicating that a relief precursor has been or is to be processed by the downstream production unit.

[0114] The present disclosure also relates to a relief printing plate production system, comprising the central control device as described above and a plurality of production units as described above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0115] The above and further aspects of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below based on a number of embodiments that will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

[0116] Figure 1 A basic embodiment according to the first aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

[0117] Figure 2 A more complete embodiment according to the first aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

[0118] Figure 3 Another embodiment according to the first aspect of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 3 The embodiment in Figure 2 The embodiment in which fewer production units are used.

[0119] Figure 4 Another embodiment according to the first aspect of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 4 The embodiment in Figure 3 The embodiment in which fewer production units are used.

[0120] Figure 5 An embodiment according to the first aspect of the present disclosure is shown, showing removal of some job instructions from some production units. Figure 5 Also shown are communications between certain production units and production units downstream thereof.

[0121] Figure 6 Shown with Figure 5 An embodiment similar to the embodiment in which some job instructions are removed via a central control device.

[0122] Figure 7 An embodiment according to the second aspect of the present disclosure is shown, in which the most upstream production unit sends a work instruction to all downstream production units.

[0123] Figure 8 Shown with Figure 7 An embodiment similar to the embodiment in has two upstream production units receiving operation instructions from a central control device, and then one of the upstream production units sends the operation instructions to its downstream production unit.

[0124] Fig. 9 An embodiment according to the second aspect of the present disclosure is shown, in which an upstream production unit sends a work instruction to a production unit directly downstream thereof.

[0125] Fig.10 An embodiment according to the third aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

[0126] Fig.11 Shows Fig.10 In a variation of the embodiment, the mobile device sends a job instruction to a production unit downstream of an unconnected production unit.

[0127] Fig.12 Some examples of the content of job instructions are shown.

[0128] Fig.13 A flow chart is shown when a production unit displays only a subset of received job instructions corresponding to jobs that the production unit is able or ready to perform. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0129] Flexographic printing or letterpress printing is a technique commonly used for mass printing. A flexographic or letterpress printing plate is a relief plate having printing elements (commonly called bumps or dots) protruding above non-printing elements in order to produce an image on a recording medium such as paper, paperboard, film, foil, laminate, etc. Also, cylindrical printing plates or sleeves may be used.

[0130] There are various methods for making flexographic printing plate precursors. According to the traditional methods, flexographic printing plate precursors are made of a multilayer substrate comprising a backing layer and one or more photocurable layers (also called photosensitive layers). These photocurable layers are imaged by exposure to electromagnetic radiation through a mask layer containing the image information, or by direct and selective exposure to light, such as by scanning the image information to transfer the image information, so as to obtain a relief.

[0131] The relief precursor comprises, for example, a mask layer, a base layer, and a photosensitive layer between the mask layer and the base layer. The relief precursor is an imaged relief precursor before being exposed to electromagnetic radiation to cure a portion of the photosensitive layer. The relief precursor is, for example, a digital relief precursor or an analog relief precursor. In the case of a digital relief precursor, the mask layer is an integral layer of the precursor, and the imaging of the mask layer produces an ablation layer, while in the case of an analog relief precursor, the mask layer is typically a separate layer such as a film, which includes areas that are transparent to radiation and areas that are opaque to radiation, and which is mounted to the relief precursor before exposure to electromagnetic radiation. For example, an opaque ablatable layer on a base layer can be used, and a structure can be generated by ablation, or the transmittance of the film layer can be changed by exposure to a laser.

[0132] Figures 1 to 4Some embodiments according to the first aspect of the present disclosure are shown.

[0133] Figure 1 A most basic embodiment under the first aspect of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 1 A relief printing plate production system 10 is shown. The relief printing plate production system 10 includes a plurality of production units 100, 100', 200. The printing plate production system 10 also includes at least one central control device 50 configured to control the plurality of production units 100, 100', 200. According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, first, each of the plurality of production units 100, 100', 200 receives a job instruction from the central control device 50. The job instruction includes at least an identifier of a relief printing plate 14 to be produced from a relief printing plate precursor 12. The content of the job instruction will be referred to in detail. Fig.12 Describe in detail.

[0134] After the plurality of production units 100, 100', 200 receive the job instructions, one production unit 100 of the plurality of production units 100, 100', 200 receives an indication of the relief precursor 12 and an identifier of the relief precursor 12. The one production unit 100 then processes the relief precursor 12 according to the received job instructions. After being processed by the one production unit 100, the relief precursor 12 may have become the relief 14, or may require additional processing before it becomes the relief 14.

[0135] although Figure 1 It is shown that the production unit 100 receives the relief precursor 12 and processes it according to the received job instructions, but it is also possible that the production unit 100' or the production unit 200 receives the relief precursor 12 instead of or in addition to the production unit 100. For example, after or before one production unit 100 has processed the relief precursor 12, another production unit 100', 200 of the plurality of production units 100, 100', 200 receives an indication of the relief precursor 12 and an identifier of the relief precursor 12. Then, the other production unit 100', 200 processes the relief precursor 12 according to the received job instructions. The job instructions received by the other production unit 100', 200 may be the same as or different from the job instructions received by the one production unit 100.

[0136] According to some embodiments, indications of the identifier may be received by different production units at different times, but all before any processing may have started by any production unit.

[0137] Generally, in the figures of the present application, the production unit receiving the relief precursor 12 is shaded.

[0138] The plurality of production units 100, 100', 200 may perform substantially the same process on the relief precursor 12. Alternatively, at least one of the production units 100, 100', 200 may perform a process that is different from that performed by the other production units.

[0139] According to such Figures 1 to 4 and Fig.10 In some embodiments shown, the method includes broadcasting the operation instruction to multiple production units 100, 100', 200 through the central control device 50. Broadcasting here means sending the operation instruction to all production units, preferably sending the same operation instruction to all production units.

[0140] According to some embodiments, broadcast job instructions are not displayed on the production unit.

[0141] According to some embodiments, the method further comprises: sending a work instruction by the central control device 50 at the request of a production unit 100 of the plurality of production units 100, 100', 200 and / or when a production unit 100 of the plurality of production units 100, 100', 200 is turned on or reactivated. For the latter case, when the production unit in question is turned on, it may send a message to the central control device 50 to inform the latter. Alternatively, the central control device 50 detects when the production unit 100 in question is available without any message from the production unit 100. According to some embodiments, when at least one production unit requests a work instruction from the central control device 50, the work instruction sent to the at least one production unit is the same. According to some embodiments, when at least two production units request a work instruction from the central control device 50, the work instruction is sent simultaneously.

[0142] Figures 2 to 4 The embodiment shows that the plurality of production units comprises at least one group of production units 200, 200'; 300, 300'; 400, 400', 400". One production unit 200; 300'; 400 is one of a group of production units 200, 200'; 300, 300'; 400, 400', 400". Preferably, the production units in the same group perform substantially the same functions in plate production. According to Figure 4 In the embodiment of the present invention, the group of production units includes a group of developing units 300, 300' and a group of post-processing units 400, 400', 400' downstream of the group of developing units 300, 300'. Figure 3 In the embodiment, the group of production units except Figure 4 In addition to the group in the embodiment, a group of exposure units 200, 200' is also included upstream of the group of developing units 300, 300'. Figure 2 In the embodiments, except Figure 3In addition to the group of exposure units 200, 200', the production system 10 further comprises a group of imaging units 100, 100' upstream of the group of exposure units 200, 200'.

[0143] The imaging unit 100, 100' is configured to image the mask layer; for example, an imager including means for generating and controlling at least one beam of electromagnetic radiation. The imager can be a flat-panel device, or an internal or external drum device, the latter of which can be equipped with a rotating drum. The imaging unit 100, 100' is configured to image the mask layer on the precursor 12 using the converted image file and / or the imaging instructions generated by the control module (e.g., by the central control device 50).

[0144] According to various aspects of the present disclosure, an indication of the identifier is generated in the relief precursor 12 by the imaging unit 100, 100'. Fig.12 Explaining the content of the identifier According to some embodiments, the identifier may already be visible to the human eye even before the relief precursor 12 is exposed by the exposure unit 200, 200'.

[0145] The identifier is, for example, attached to or integrated on the relief precursor 12. Alternatively, the identifier is attached to or integrated on a carrier (such as a cart) carrying the relief precursor. The carrier is, for example, wirelessly linked to the production unit. Alternatively, the cart can have a plurality of screws, each of which can occupy at least two positions. By the combination of the positions of the screws, information about the type of precursor on the cart can be obtained. For example, there are three screws on the cart, each of which has two positions. In this arrangement, there can be a total of eight possible combinations of screws, which can represent eight types of plates. According to some embodiments, the cart can be identified, for example, by an RFID tag.

[0146] The exposure unit 200, 200' is configured to expose the precursor 12 to electromagnetic radiation so that a portion of the photosensitive layer is cured. The electromagnetic radiation may have a wavelength in the range of 200nm to 2000nm, preferably ultraviolet (UV) radiation having a wavelength in the range of 200nm to 450nm. The electromagnetic radiation changes the properties of the exposed portion of the photosensitive layer so that in the following developing unit 300, 300', the unexposed portion of the photosensitive layer is removed by the developing unit. A flat or cylindrical relief printing plate may be formed.

[0147] The developing unit 300, 300' is configured to develop the exposed relief precursor by removing a portion of the photosensitive layer that was not exposed to the electromagnetic radiation and thus was not cured. The skilled person is familiar with various methods of exposing the relief precursor 12 to electromagnetic radiation and developing the exposed relief precursor, including wet processes using water, aqueous solutions or solvents or dry processes using heat treatment and removal of liquefied materials by suction, blowing, particle beams, adsorption or absorbance of the developing material.

[0148] The post-processing unit 400, 400', 400" is configured to perform a treatment after the relief is developed by the developing unit 300, 300'. Such post-treatment may be exposure to electromagnetic radiation (eg, ultraviolet light), liquid or gas, or a combination thereof.

[0149] More generally, the plurality of production units include any of the following: a transport unit, a pre-processing unit, an imaging unit, an exposure unit, a developing unit such as a washer or a thermal developing unit, a post-processing unit such as a dryer, a post-exposure unit such as a cutting unit configured to cut a plate, a mounting unit configured to mount the relief precursor onto a sleeve or another substrate, a storage unit. The pre-processing unit may include any production unit that performs processing prior to imaging and / or exposure. The post-processing unit may include any production unit that performs processing after relief development.

[0150] According to some embodiments, the production unit 100, 100'; 200, 200'; 300, 300'; 400, 400', 400" may locally store the job instructions it receives in its memory. Additionally or alternatively, the production unit 100, 100'; 200, 200'; 300, 300'; 400, 400', 400" may store a list of jobs that can be performed by the production unit. Each job on the list corresponds, for example, to at least one processing parameter that the production unit can provide to the relief precursor 12. The processing parameters can be one or more of the following and can be combined in any possible combination: imaging resolution, size of the imaging area, imaging beam size, imaging beam form, imaging beam intensity, number of beams, imaging speed (rotation speed), presence and / or position and / or type of surface screening, vacuum energy level, focus information (such as focus or defocus), partial exposure (for example, only imaging a portion of the image file), conveying device (for example, carrier, cart, endless belt, robotic arm), conveying direction, conveying start and / or end, conveying speed, conveying orientation, exposure time, exposure intensity, exposure speed, size of the exposure area, exposure cycle, exposure profile, wavelength of electromagnetic radiation used for exposure, exposure dose, distance of the light source from the precursor, development type (for example, solvent moisture or heat), development conditions, protrusion depth, bottom height, development time, development speed, development temperature, developer, development material, development cycle, drying method, drying time, drying temperature, drying position, post-exposure wavelength, post-exposure time, post-exposure intensity, post-exposure position, storage position, storage time, storage temperature, cutting information, cutting mark, cutting line, registration mark.

[0151] like Figures 2 to 4As shown, the central control device 50 can send job instructions to all developing units 300, 300'. The central control device 50 can send job instructions to all post-processing units 400, 400', 400". The central control device 50 can send job instructions to all exposure units 200, 200'. The central control device 50 can send job instructions to all imaging units 100, 100'.

[0152] According to some embodiments, the central control device 50 unicasts / multicasts different job instructions to different production unit groups. For example, the central control device 50 multicasts the first job instruction to one or all imaging units 100, 100'. For example, the central control device 50 multicasts the second job instruction to one or all exposure units 200, 200'. For example, the central control device 50 multicasts the third job instruction to one or all developing units 300, 300'.

[0153] According to some embodiments, the image file may be unicast / multicast only to the imaging unit(s) 100, 100', instead of all production units.

[0154] Preferably, the relief precursor 12 can be moved from any production unit in one production unit group to any production unit in another production unit group. For example, the relief precursor 12 can be moved from any imaging unit in the imaging unit group 100, 100' to any exposure unit in the exposure unit group 200, 200'. For example, the relief precursor 12 can be moved from any exposure unit in the exposure unit group 200, 200' to any development unit in the development unit group 300, 300'. For example, the relief precursor 12 can be moved from any development unit in the development unit group 300, 300' to any post-processing unit in the post-processing unit group 400, 400', 400". In the figure, the solid hollow arrow represents the route that the relief precursor 12 actually travels, and the dotted hollow arrow represents the route that the relief precursor 12 can travel but does not actually travel.

[0155] According to some embodiments, this is Figure 5 and Figure 6 The method further comprises removing the job instruction from any other production unit in the group of production units that has not received the relief precursor 12. Figure 5As shown, the upper exposure unit 200 in the exposure unit group 200, 200' has received the relief precursor 12. The job instructions sent to the lower exposure unit 200' of the exposure unit group 200, 200' that has not yet received the relief precursor 12 are removed. In a similar manner, the lower developing unit 300' in the developing unit group 300, 300' has received the relief precursor 12. The job instructions sent to the upper developing unit 300 of the developing unit group 300, 300' that has not yet received the relief precursor 12 are removed. The upper post-processing unit 400 has received the relief precursor 12. The job instructions sent to the other post-processing units 400', 400" of the post-processing unit group 400, 400', 400" that have not yet received the relief precursor 12 are removed.

[0156] According to some embodiments, the method comprises directly (e.g. Figure 5 in the case of) or by means of the central control device 50 (such as Figure 6 ) sends a message M1 (indicated by a dotted arrow) to any other production unit in the group. The message M1 indicates that one production unit of the group has processed a relief precursor 12, has started processing a relief precursor 12, or has received a relief precursor 12. Directly here means that the message M1 is sent between a group of production units without passing through a central control device. The message M1 is preferably sent from a production unit that has received a relief precursor 12. The message M1 contains, for example, instructions to other production units in the group to remove the job they have received.

[0157] According to some embodiments, such as Figure 5 In the illustrated embodiment, the method further comprises sending a message M2 (indicated by a dotted arrow) by one production unit to the other production units directly or by means of the central control device 50. The message M2 indicates that the relief precursor processed by one production unit is ready to be processed by the other production units. Here, one production unit may not belong to the same group as the other production units. The message M2 is preferably sent from a production unit that has received the relief precursor 12. For example, the message M2 is sent from one production unit to another production unit downstream thereof. According to some embodiments, the message M2 is sent from one production unit to several or all production units downstream thereof. According to some embodiments, the message M2 is sent to its destination via the central control device 50. In Figure 5In an embodiment of the invention, the message M2 is sent from the exposure unit 200 to the developing units 300, 300'. Alternatively or additionally, the message M2 may be sent from the exposure unit to one or some or all of the post-processing units 400, 400', 400". Optionally, the method further comprises displaying job instructions for the relief precursor on displays of the other production units. The message M2 for example comprises a command to display job instructions on displays of the other production units.

[0158] Figures 7 to 9 Several embodiments under the second aspect of the present disclosure are shown. A printing plate production system 10 comprises a plurality of production units. The plurality of production units comprises at least one first production unit 100, 100' and a second production unit group 200, 200'; 300, 300'; 400, 400', 400" directly downstream of the first production unit 100, 100'. Figures 7 to 9 In the embodiment of the invention, the plurality of production units comprises a first production unit group 200, 200'. Preferably, the first production unit and / or the second production unit in the group perform substantially the same function in the plate production process.

[0159] According to some embodiments, the first production unit 200, 200' is an exposure unit. According to some embodiments, the second production unit 300, 300' is a development unit.

[0160] according to Figures 7 to 9 In the embodiment of the present invention, the plate production system 10 further comprises at least one imaging unit 100 upstream of the first production unit 200, 200'. The plate production system 10 may comprise an imaging unit 100 ( Figure 7 and Fig. 9 ) or imaging unit group 100, 100'( Figure 8 ). Preferably, the imaging units in the group perform substantially the same function in the plate production process.

[0161] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, the method comprises first receiving a job instruction at a first production unit 200 , 200 ′ The job instruction comprises at least an identifier of a relief 14 to be produced from a relief precursor 12 .

[0162] Next, an indication of the relief precursor 12 and the identifier of the relief is received at the first production unit 200, 200'. The first production unit 200, 200' then processes the relief precursor 12 according to the received instructions.

[0163] The work order is then removed from the first production unit 200 , 200 ′.

[0164] According to such Figure 7 and Figure 8In some of the embodiments shown, the first production unit is part of a group of first production units 100, 100'; 200, 200'. Preferably, the first production units in the group perform substantially the same functions in the plate production process. The method comprises, for example, receiving a job instruction at all first production units of the group. Then, the method comprises sending a message M1 by the first production unit 100'; 200' to any other first production unit 100; 200 in the group to remove the job instruction when the first production unit 100'; 200' has processed a relief precursor 12 or has started processing a relief precursor 12 or has received a relief precursor 12. Upon receiving the message M1, the other first production units 100, 200 remove the job instruction from the job instruction list. In these embodiments, the first production unit may be an imaging unit 100, 100' and / or an exposure unit 200, 200' and / or a developing unit 300, 300'.

[0165] According to some embodiments, the message M1 may be sent to the central control device 50, and the removal of the work instructions from any other production unit in the group may be centrally implemented by the central control device 50. In these embodiments, even if no message M1 passes through a production unit to any other production unit in the group, the work instructions of any other production unit in the group may still be removed.

[0166] The first production unit 200, 200' receives a job instruction from the imaging unit 100, 100' or from the central control device 50. Figure 8 In some embodiments shown, the imaging unit 100 ′ is part of an imaging unit group. The method includes receiving a job instruction from the central control device 50 at the imaging unit group 100 , 100 ′.

[0167] Then, the first production unit 200 ′ sends a second operation instruction to the second production unit group 300 , 300 ′, wherein the second operation instruction at least includes an identifier.

[0168] According to such Figure 7 and Figure 8 In some embodiments, sending includes sending the job instruction to all production units 200, 200'; 300, 300' downstream of the first production unit 100, 100' through the first production unit 100, 100'. Alternatively, for example, Fig. 9As shown, the first production unit 100 sends the operation instruction only to the second production unit group 200, 200' directly downstream of the first production unit 100. In this embodiment, preferably, the method also includes sending the third operation instruction to the third production unit 300 directly downstream of the second production unit 200 or the third production unit group 300, 300' directly downstream of the second production unit 200 through the second production unit 200. More generally, according to some embodiments under the second aspect of the present disclosure, each production unit sends the operation instruction only to the (one or more) production units directly downstream thereof. Then, the (one or more) production units downstream sequentially send further operation instructions to the production units further directly downstream thereof. Fig. 9 One example of these embodiments is shown.

[0169] If the second production unit 300, 300' normally receives the operation instruction from the first production unit 200, then according to some embodiments, if there is no instruction from the first production unit 200, at least one of the second production units 300, 300' may seek instructions from the central control device 50. More generally, if there is no operation instruction from the production unit upstream or directly upstream thereof, the production unit may seek instructions from the central control device 50.

[0170] According to some embodiments, the first production unit 200, 200' is an exposure unit, and the second production unit group 300, 300' is a developing unit group. Alternatively, the first production unit is an imaging unit 100, 100', and the second production unit is an exposure unit 200, 200' or a developing unit 300, 300'. Alternatively, the first production unit is an imaging unit 100, 100', the second production unit is an exposure unit 200, 200', and the third production unit is a developing unit 300, 300'.

[0171] Subsequently, the processed relief precursor is received by one of the second production units in the second production unit group 300, 300'. Then, the relief precursor is processed by one of the second production units 300, 300' according to the received second job instruction.

[0172] According to some embodiments, after the one second production unit 300, 300' receives the relief precursor, the one second production unit reads the indication of the identifier. Then, the one second production unit retrieves the second job instructions from the memory of the one second production unit based on the read indication.

[0173] According to some embodiments, at least one production unit (in one possibility all production units) receives only the identifier.The job instructions are stored in a memory of at least one production unit (in one possibility all production units).

[0174] Finally, the second job instruction is removed from all the second production units 300, 300' of the group. According to some embodiments, this step comprises sending a message M1 by one second production unit 300 to any other second production unit 300' of the group to remove the second job instruction when one second production unit has processed the relief precursor 12 or has started processing the relief precursor 12 or has received the relief precursor 12. Upon receiving the message M1, the other second production unit 300 removes the second job instruction from the job instruction list.

[0175] According to some embodiments, the status of at least one, preferably all, of the production units in the relief printing production system 10 is updated in real time to the central control device 50, such as whether a job has been started on the production unit or whether a job has been completed on the production unit. In this way, the central control device 50 can keep accurate track of the jobs corresponding to the transmitted job instructions.

[0176] According to some embodiments, after the production unit has received the indication of the relief precursor 12 and the identifier of the relief precursor 12, the production unit asks the central control device 50 whether it is allowed to start processing the relief precursor 12 according to the received job instruction. According to one embodiment, when two operators select the same job on two production units, the central control device 50 commands the production unit that selected the job first to start the job and requests the production unit that selected the job later not to start the job.

[0177] According to some embodiments, at least one parameter of the relief, such as the relief depth and / or the dot characteristics of at least one area of ​​the relief, is measured after the relief production system 10 has finished processing the relief precursor. The measured parameter is then sent to the central control device 50. In this way, the central control device 50 is able to record the characteristics of the relief produced by the relief production system 10. The measurement is for example carried out by a production unit that has processed the relief precursor and / or by a measuring unit different from the at least one production unit.

[0178] Preferably, the measurement data comprises: data on physical properties of the treated relief precursor, such as: plate thickness, and / or base thickness of the treated relief precursor, and / or measurement data based on measured printing results (such as the lowest stable tone value produced in the relief), and / or dot gain. The lowest stable tone value is determined, for example, by visual inspection of a printed test image containing areas of different tone values ​​using a microscope. Dot gain is determined, for example, by using a color densitometer on a printed test image. With these measurement data, the relief report can provide an accurate indication of the results of the treatment performed on the relief precursor, which may help to pinpoint the source of any potential problems on the relief.

[0179] Additional measured data on the properties of the relief precursor or relief are selected from: thickness of the precursor, thickness of the finished plate, thickness of the base, depth of the relief, minimum tone value, tone value curve, dot gain curve, isolated dot size, depth of negative lines, width of positive lines, straightness of lines, depth of negative dots, shape of dots, shoulder angle, roundness of dots (assessed on a range from round top to flat top), median depth of tone value areas, hardness, surface energy of the base and / or printing characteristics (e.g. measured using contact angle), elasticity, elastic modulus, curl tendency, anisotropy, roughness, resilience or a combination thereof.

[0180] Optionally, the measurement data comprises production unit related data and / or data related to the environment around the production units, such as the temperature of the relief precursor before and / or during and / or after processing, and / or the temperature inside at least one production unit. Such production unit and / or environmental data may further help in analyzing and optimizing the relief manufacturing process. For example, when the quality of the printing result is reduced or improved without changing the manufacturing process, these parameters may help in understanding where the manufacturing process should be adjusted or better controlled.

[0181] Optionally, the measurement data includes data based on the results of printing with the processed plate, and optionally also includes printing related data such as ink type, print medium type, etc. For example, a customer who carries out a printing process can provide feedback on the quality of the print results obtained with a certain type of ink and print medium. Thus, one can more directly conclude whether any potential problems come from the manufacture of the relief itself or from the printing step.

[0182] The measurement can be performed when the plate is finished, or between different processing steps of different production units. For example, the method may include the following steps: measuring the plate processed in a production unit among the plurality of production units, and transmitting the measurement results to a central control device via the production unit and / or a computer terminal (preferably a mobile terminal). The measurement can be performed in a production unit and / or in a separate measuring unit. Moreover, the measurement can be performed by an operator and input by the operator into a computer terminal, which transmits the measurement results to a central control device.

[0183] Fig.10 and Fig.11Some embodiments under the third aspect of the present disclosure are shown. The relief production system 10 includes multiple production units. The multiple production units include at least one connected production unit 100, 100', 200', 300, 300', 400, 400', 400", which is configured to communicate with the central control device 50 and / or another connected production unit. The multiple production units also include at least one unconnected production unit 600, which cannot communicate with the central control device 50 and / or at least one connected production unit. The production system also includes a mobile device 500, which is configured to communicate with the central control device 50 and / or at least one connected production unit. The mobile device 500 is, for example, a tablet computer.

[0184] According to some embodiments, at least one unconnected production unit 600 does not understand instructions from the central control device 50. According to some embodiments, at least one unconnected production unit 600 is controlled by manual input of an operator.

[0185] According to some embodiments, such as Fig.10 As shown, the relief printing plate production system 10 includes a central control device 50 .

[0186] According to some embodiments, the central control device 50 sends the operation instruction to the mobile device 500. According to some embodiments, the central control device 50 sends the operation instruction directly to at least one connected production unit, for example, directly to all connected production units (see, for example, Fig.10 ) or all connected production units downstream or upstream of the mobile device 500, without the mediation of the mobile device 500. Alternatively or additionally, as Fig.11 As shown, the central control device 50 sends the operation instruction only to one or several production units ( Fig.11 The imaging unit 100 in the mobile device 500 is not sent to the production unit downstream of the mobile device 500 and / or at the same production level as the mobile device 500. The imaging unit 100 then sends the job instruction to the mobile device 500 and one or several connected production units.

[0187] According to some embodiments, the mobile device 500 sends a job instruction to at least one connected production unit 300, 300'; 400, 400', 400" downstream of the unconnected production unit 600, for example, to all connected production units downstream of the unconnected production unit 600.

[0188] According to some embodiments, an unconnected production unit 600 performs substantially the same function in plate production as another connected production unit. Fig.10 and Fig.11In the embodiment shown, the unconnected production unit 600 performs substantially the same function as the exposure unit 200' in plate production. Preferably, when the unconnected production unit 600 has processed the relief precursor 12 or has started processing the relief precursor 12 or has received the relief precursor 12, the mobile device 500 sends a message M1 to any other connected production unit that performs substantially the same function as the unconnected production unit 600 to remove the job instruction. Upon receiving the message M1, the connected production unit 200' removes the job instruction from the job instruction list.

[0189] According to some embodiments, the relief printing production system 10 comprises at least two connected production units. Preferably, the at least two connected production units are able to communicate with each other directly or by means of a central control device 50. More generally, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is no direct communication between the production units. All communication between the production units is performed by means of the central control device 50. According to some embodiments, some of the at least two connected production units belong to a production unit group, and the production units in the same group have substantially the same functions. Alternatively or additionally, the at least two connected production units have different functions and are configured to perform different functions in relief printing production.

[0190] According to the third aspect of the present disclosure, firstly, the mobile device 500 receives a job instruction, which includes at least an identifier of the relief 14 to be produced from the relief precursor 12 .

[0191] Next, one unconnected production unit 600 of the at least one unconnected production unit receives an indication of the relief precursor 12 and an identifier of the relief precursor 12. Then, the unconnected production unit 600 processes the relief precursor 12 according to the received job instruction.

[0192] According to some embodiments, the operator enters input received on the mobile device 500 from the work instruction into the unconnected production unit 600. The input is a command understandable by the unconnected production unit 600. Alternatively, the mobile device 500 can send the work instruction to the unconnected production unit 600 without the involvement of a human operator. The mobile device 500 sends the work instruction to the unconnected production unit 600 automatically or at the request of the unconnected production unit 600, for example, when the unconnected production unit 600 informs the mobile device 500 that it is ready to accept instructions.

[0193] According to some embodiments, an operator enters input into mobile device 500 to indicate that relief precursor 12 has been or is to be processed by an unconnected production unit 600 .

[0194] According to some embodiments, the mobile device 500 sends a message to the central control device 50 and / or a connected production unit 200' of at least one of the connected production units 100, 200, 300, 400 to indicate that the relief precursor 12 has been or will be processed by an unconnected production unit 600. More generally, via the mobile device, the central control device 50 and / or at least one of the connected production units learns the status of the unconnected production unit 600. For example, the mobile device 500 represents an unconnected production unit 600 in the relief production system 10. The operator enters data into the unconnected production unit 600. Additionally or alternatively, the operator enters data about the unconnected production unit 600 into the mobile device 500, and the mobile device 500 sends the data to the central control device 50 and / or the connected production unit.

[0195] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an operator can enter input on a machine that has access to the central control device 50, which is different from at least one production unit. The input is then sent to the central control device 50. In this way, the operator does not have to enter the input on the production unit. This provides greater flexibility for the operator.

[0196] like Fig.10 and Fig.11 As shown, the production system 10 may include at least a group of connected production units. The production units of the same group preferably have substantially the same functions in the plate production process. Fig.11 In the illustrated embodiment, the production system 10 includes a developer unit group 300, 300'. Fig.10 In the illustrated embodiment, the production system 10 includes an imaging unit group 100, 100', a developing unit group 300, 300', and a post-processing unit group 400, 400', 400".

[0197] According to some embodiments, at least a portion of the job instructions is created external to the central control device 50, such as by layout software configured to lay out at least one raster image file, such as a tiff file on an area corresponding to the relief precursor. According to some embodiments, the remainder of the job instructions is completed by the central control device 50, and optionally further by a production unit that receives the portion of the job instructions.

[0198] Fig.12Some embodiments of the content of a job instruction are shown. According to some embodiments, the job instruction comprises a name. The name comprises, for example, a timestamp. However, the timestamp may also be included in the job instruction message itself. The timestamp may indicate the moment when the job has been created and is no longer in a ready state. As an alternative, the timestamp indicates the moment when the job instruction(s) are sent from the central control device 50. In some embodiments, the timestamp may serve as an identifier of the relief precursor, but typically, a separate identifier of the relief precursor is added, see below.

[0199] In some embodiments, the method further comprises displaying, by the production units, the job instruction groups in an ordered manner based on timestamps of the job instruction groups received at the respective generation units.

[0200] In some embodiments, the job order may include a priority indication, in which case the priority indication may also be taken into account when displaying the job order list. This may be particularly interesting when the production unit is an imaging unit, as this is typically the first production unit that primarily determines the schedule.

[0201] The job instructions may also include one or more of the following in the name or message itself: manufacturer name, production location, production date of the precursor, batch number, expiration date information in terms of printing prints or run length, color information about the color of the relief plate to be printed, ink information about the type or name of the ink used for printing, printing press information such as the type or name or technology of the printing press used, orientation information (for example, indicating printing direction or registration marks), cutting information (cutting marks or indications), software information (for example, type and version of software used to generate image files), raster image processing conditions, operator name, quality information, resolution information, and surface screening information applied.

[0202] The job instruction may also include an identifier of the relief precursor, typically a unique identifier. Each job instruction has its unique identifier, which is different from any other job instruction. According to some embodiments, the unique identifier is a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID). The UUID may be created using specific software such as the Win32 API function UuidCreate provided by Microsoft as part of the Windows API.

[0203] Each job preferably has a unique job identifier.

[0204] The job instruction may further comprise at least one lookup parameter configured to allow the production unit to determine a configuration setting for processing the relief precursor 12. The lookup parameter may comprise information about the type of the relief precursor 12. Alternatively or additionally, the lookup parameter may comprise information about the size of the relief precursor 12. Alternatively or additionally, the lookup parameter may comprise information about the thickness of the relief precursor 12. Alternatively or additionally, the lookup parameter may comprise information about different processing options for the same type of relief precursor 12. For example, for one type of relief precursor 12, it may be desirable to be able to process the plate at different parameters to meet different customer requirements. For example, for a plate type A with a customer requirement C1, the job instruction comprises a first series of lookup parameters that enable the production unit to process the relief precursor 12 with setting 1. For a plate type A with a customer requirement C2, the job instruction comprises a second series of lookup parameters that enable the production unit to process the relief precursor 12 with setting 1'. For plate type B with customer requirement C1 , the job instruction comprises a third series of lookup parameters which enable the production unit to process relief precursor 12 with setup 2 .

[0205] According to some embodiments, the job instructions include a reference to a preview file or a preview file of the relief plate 14 to be produced. The preview file is, for example, a low-resolution picture of an image file. The preview image is, for example, clearly readable and / or understandable to humans. The preview image includes, for example, at least one object in the image file or a lower-resolution version thereof.

[0206] According to some embodiments, the preview file contains an indication of an identifier of relief precursor 12, such as a barcode.

[0207] According to some embodiments, the job instructions may optionally include a reference to an image file (eg, a tiff file) used to image the mask layer of relief precursor 12 .

[0208] Several tiff files may be required to image the relief precursor 12. For example, the relief 14 may include images from at least two image files. This corresponds, for example, to the case where the print medium has two pictures obtained from two different image files. In this case, the job instructions include references to at least two image files.

[0209] In view of the relatively large size of tiff files, they are preferably sent only to the imaging unit 100, 100'. The preview file is sent, for example, to all production units, such as imaging units, exposure units and / or development units and / or post-processing units.

[0210] According to some embodiments, the job instructions may include imaging settings for producing the relief precursor 12. The imaging settings include, for example, ablation settings for the imaging units 100, 100' and / or exposure settings for the exposure units 200, 200'. According to embodiments in which the job instructions include references to at least two image files, the job instructions may include imaging settings for each image file. For example, the job instructions may include a first exposure setting for exposing a first portion of the relief precursor 12 imaged with the first image file at a lower intensity, and a second exposure setting for exposing a second portion of the relief precursor 12 imaged with the second image file at a higher intensity.

[0211] Alternatively, the job instructions may contain commands for making a plurality of different relief plates 14 .

[0212] According to some embodiments, the identifier and / or precursor type is an alphanumeric character inscribed in the relief precursor 12. Alternatively, the identifier and / or precursor type may be included in a barcode or QR code inscribed in the relief precursor 12.

[0213] In addition, each image file includes an indication of an identifier and / or a registration mark and / or a cutting mark. The identifier, cutting mark or registration mark may be located inside or outside the image area. They may be included to form a printable relief or a non-printable relief. The relief may be above or below the bottom of the plate. The identifier may be in the form of a machine-readable code, such as a barcode, a QR code, a microdot, a sparse marking code, a multi-bit code, or in the form of a human-recognizable code (e.g., an image or alphanumeric characters). The barcode is, for example, a hash value of a UUID. The identifier in the present disclosure may be one or more of the identifiers described in WO2022 / 026847A1, which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0214] According to some embodiments, the indication of the identifier and the way of manufacturing it are described in WO2022 / 112342A1, WO2021 / 069489A1, WO2020 / 156692A1 or WO2020 / 043875A1, which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0215] According to some embodiments, for jobs that were created at different times and are no longer prepared and / or for job instructions that were issued at different times, the job instruction has its own timestamp.

[0216] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the operator reads the indication of the identifier. The operator reads, for example, the plate type and / or the customer's requirements. The operator can also view a timestamp. The operator can also view an image of the file, for example, a thumbnail of a mask layer, or a picture of a relief plate to be produced. The operator then selects the corresponding job from a list of jobs stored in the production unit that has received the relief precursor 12. For example, he compares the received relief precursor 12 with a picture of a relief plate on a display and selects a relief plate corresponding to the received relief precursor.

[0217] According to some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of production units, preferably each production unit, has a display. In this case, the operator selects the corresponding job from a list, for example, via the display.

[0218] According to some embodiments, the method further comprises storing all received job instructions in a list.The method may comprise displaying a subset of the received job instructions, the subset comprising jobs to be performed and / or jobs that can be performed by the production unit. Fig.13 is a flow chart illustrating steps implemented by a production unit to display only a subset of received job instructions.

[0219] like Fig.13 As shown, in step 1310, the production unit first receives the job instructions. In step 1310, the production unit also stores the job instructions in a list. Next, in step 1320, the production unit determines whether it has received a message M1 for one of the job instructions. If the production unit has received the message M1, then in step 1330, the production unit removes the job instruction from the job instruction list. On the contrary, if the production unit determines that it has not received a message M1 for one of the job instructions, it goes to step 1340 to determine whether it is suitable for the job. According to some embodiments, the production unit skips steps 1320 and 1330 and proceeds directly from step 1310 to step 1340.

[0220] If the production unit determines in step 1340 that it is suitable for the job, it then proceeds to step 1350 to determine whether it has received a message M2 for one of the job instructions. If the production unit determines that it has received a message M2, it adds the job instruction to the subset of received job instructions in step 1360. The subset corresponds to the job that can or is ready to be performed by the production unit. The production unit then displays the subset of received job instructions in step 1370.

[0221] When the production unit receives the relief precursor 12 and adds an indication of its identifier (step 1380), it reads the indication of the identifier. Then, in step 1390, the corresponding job is selected from the list of jobs corresponding to the subset stored in the production unit. Then, in step 13100, the production unit processes the relief precursor 12 according to the received job instructions.

[0222] According to some embodiments, the subset comprises jobs for which a message M2 has been received from a downstream generation unit directly downstream of the respective production unit, indicating that the relief precursor has been or is to be processed by the downstream production unit. Figure 5 , the exposure unit 200 receiving the relief precursor 12 receives a message M2 from one of the developing units 300 , 300 ′ directly downstream of the exposure unit 200 .

[0223] Alternatively or additionally, when the production unit receives the plate, it reads the indication of the identifier. The production unit reads the indication corresponding to the timestamp, for example. The production unit then selects the corresponding job from the job list stored in the production unit accordingly. The production unit then derives the publication type and / or the customer identification from the selected job.

[0224] Alternatively or additionally, the plurality of production units comprises at least a group of production units having substantially the same main function but having different optional functions. According to this embodiment, the received job instructions may be displayed only on production units having suitable optional functions. The optional functions may be a higher exposure intensity, or whether a specific type of developer required for developing a certain type of exposed relief precursor is available in the developing unit.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a relief printing plate production system (10), the relief printing plate production system (10) comprising: - a plurality of production units, the plurality of production units comprising: at least one connected production unit (100, 100', 200', 300, 300', 400, 400', 400") configured to communicate with a central control device (50) and / or another connected production unit; and at least one unconnected production unit (600) which is unable to communicate with the central control device (50) and / or the at least one connected production unit; and a mobile device (500) configured to communicate with the central control device (50) and / or the at least one connected production unit, The method comprises the following steps: - the mobile device (500) receives a job instruction, the job instruction comprising at least an identifier of a relief to be produced from a relief precursor; - one of the at least one unconnected production units (600) receives a relief precursor and an indication of an identifier of the relief precursor and processes the relief precursor according to the received job instructions; - sending a message via the mobile device (500) to the central control device (50) and / or a connected production unit of the at least one connected production unit, the message indicating that the relief precursor has been or is to be processed by the one unconnected production unit (600).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The relief printing plate production system (10) comprises at least two connected production units which are able to communicate with each other directly or via a central control device (50).

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising entering, by an operator, input into the unconnected production unit (600) derived from a job instruction received on the mobile device (500).

4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising entering input into the mobile device (500) by an operator to indicate that a relief precursor has been or is to be processed by the unconnected production unit (600).

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The flexographic relief printing plate production system (10) comprises a central control device (50), which sends the operation instruction to the mobile device (500) and directly sends the operation instruction to the at least one connected production unit without the mediation of the mobile device (500).

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising sending the job instruction to at least one connected production unit (300, 300'; 400, 400', 400") of the at least one connected production unit downstream of the unconnected production unit (600) via the mobile device (500).

7. A method of controlling a relief printing production system (10), the relief printing production system (10) comprising a plurality of production units using a central control device (50) configured to control the relief printing production system (10), the method comprising the steps of: - each of the plurality of production units (100, 100', 200) receives a job instruction from the central control device (50) and stores the job instruction in a job instruction list, the job instruction comprising at least an identifier of a relief plate (14) to be produced from a relief plate precursor (12); - after the plurality of production units have received the job instruction, one of the plurality of production units receives an indication of a relief precursor (12) and an identifier of the relief precursor (12), and processes the relief precursor (12) according to the received job instruction.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: After or before the one production unit has processed the relief precursor (12), another production unit among the multiple production units receives an indication of the relief precursor (12) and an identifier of the relief precursor (12), and processes the relief precursor (12) according to the received job instructions.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, further comprising broadcasting the operation instruction to the plurality of production units via the central control device (50).

10. The method according to claim 7 or 8, further comprising: The operation instruction is sent by the central control device (50) at the request of a production unit among the plurality of production units and / or when a production unit among the plurality of production units is turned on or reactivated.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein: Each job has a unique job identifier, and the method further includes at least one production unit requesting a list of job identifiers of all available jobs from the central control device (50), comparing the list of job identifiers of the production unit issuing the request with the list of job identifiers of all available jobs received from the central control device (50), and requesting the job instructions of at least one job whose job identifier is in the list of job identifiers of all available jobs but is missing from the list of job identifiers of the production unit issuing the request.

12. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein: The plurality of production units comprises a production unit group (200, 200'; 300, 300'; 400, 400', 400"), and the one production unit is one production unit in the production unit group (200, 200'; 300, 300'; 400, 400', 400"), wherein preferably, the production units in the group perform substantially the same function in plate production; the method further comprises: - removing the job instruction from a list of job instructions stored on any other production unit in the group of production units which has not received the relief precursor.

13. A method according to the preceding claim, comprising sending a message (M1) by said one production unit directly or by means of said central control device (50) to any other production unit of said group, indicating that said one production unit has processed said relief precursor or has started processing said relief precursor or has received said relief precursor.

14. The method according to claim 8 and 12 or 13 also includes sending a message (M2) by said one production unit directly or by means of the central control device (50) to the other production unit, indicating that the relief precursor processed by the one production unit is ready to be processed by the other production unit, and optionally displaying work instructions for the relief precursor on the display of the other production unit.

15. A method of controlling a relief printing plate production system (10), the relief printing plate production system (10) comprising a plurality of production units, the production units comprising at least a first production unit and a group of second production units directly downstream of the first production unit, wherein preferably the second production units in the group perform substantially the same function in plate production; the method comprising the following steps: - receiving a job instruction at the first production unit and storing the job instruction in a job instruction list, the job instruction comprising at least an identifier of a relief plate to be produced from a relief plate precursor; - receiving at said first production unit an indication of a relief precursor and said identifier and processing said relief precursor according to the received instructions; - removing the work order from the first production unit; - sending a second operation instruction to the second production unit group through the first production unit, wherein the second operation instruction at least includes the identifier; - receiving the processed relief precursor at a second production unit in the second group of production units and further processing the relief precursor according to the received second job instructions; - removing the second work instruction from all second production units of the group.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein: The sending includes: sending the job instruction to all production units downstream of the first production unit through the first production unit, or sending the job instruction only to a second production unit group directly downstream of the first production unit.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, further comprising: When the one second production unit has processed the relief precursor or has started processing the relief precursor or has received the relief precursor, a message (M1) is sent by the one second production unit to any other second production unit in the group to remove the second job instruction, and then the other second production unit removes the second job instruction from the job instruction list.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, further comprising, after receiving the relief precursor at the one second production unit, reading an indication of the identifier by the one second production unit, and retrieving the second job instruction from a memory of the one second production unit based on the read indication.

19. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, wherein: The first production unit is part of a first group of production units, wherein preferably the first production units in the group perform substantially the same function in plate production; the method comprising: - receiving the job instruction at all first generation units in the group; -When the first production unit has processed the relief precursor or has started processing the relief precursor or has received the relief precursor, a message (M1) is sent by the first production unit to any other first production unit in the group to remove the job instruction, and then the other first production unit removes the job instruction from the job instruction list.

20. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein: The first production unit is an exposure unit, and wherein the second production unit group is a development unit group.

21. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein: The operation instruction is received at the first production unit from an imaging unit (100, 100') or from a central control device (50).

22. A method according to the preceding claim, wherein: The imaging unit is part of an imaging unit group (100, 100'), and the method comprises receiving the operation instruction from the central control device (50) at the imaging unit group (100, 100').

23. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The job instruction includes one or more search parameters for searching one or more configuration parameters stored in the production unit.

24. A method according to the preceding claim, wherein: The one or more search parameters include at least one of the following: a type of precursor, a thickness of the precursor, size information of the precursor, and a client identifier.

25. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The job instruction includes a reference to a preview image or the preview image.

26. The method according to the preceding claim, further comprising: Preferably, the preview image is received at the respective production unit before the job instruction is received at the respective production unit, and the preview image is displayed together with the job instruction at the respective production unit.

27. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The job instructions include references to one or more image files to be used by a production unit, such as an imaging unit, and / or imaging settings to be used by the imaging unit.

28. A method according to the preceding claim, wherein: The plurality of production units includes an imaging unit (100), the method further comprising: preferably, before receiving a job instruction at the imaging unit, receiving the one or more image files at the imaging unit.

29. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The job instruction includes, for example, in its file name a timestamp, for example including the date and time, and optionally a name chosen by the creator of the file.

30. The method according to the preceding claim, further comprising: The production units display the job instruction groups in an ordered manner based on time stamps of the job instruction groups received at the respective production units.

31. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The plurality of production units comprises an imaging unit (100), and wherein an indication of the identifier is generated in the relief precursor by the imaging unit (100).

32. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The plurality of production units comprises at least a first group of production units upstream of a second group of production units, wherein production units of the same group preferably have substantially the same functions.

33. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The multiple production units include any of the following: a transfer unit, a pre-processing unit, an imaging unit, an exposure unit, a developing unit such as a cleaning machine or a thermal developing unit, a post-processing unit such as a dryer, a post-exposure unit such as a cutting unit configured to cut the plate, a mounting unit configured to mount the relief precursor onto a substrate such as a sleeve, and a storage unit.

34. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: The operator reads the indication of the identifier and selects a corresponding job from the job list stored in the production unit among the plurality of production units that has received the relief precursor.

35. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: The production unit reads the indication of the identifier and selects a corresponding job from the job list stored in a production unit among the plurality of production units that has received the relief precursor.

36. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The identifier is attached to or integrated into the relief precursor or a carrier such as a cart carrying the relief precursor.

37. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: A production unit among the multiple production units has a display, and the method also includes: displaying a subset of the job instructions received at the production unit, the subset corresponding to jobs that have been processed or are being processed by a production unit directly downstream of the production unit and can be performed by the production unit.

38. A method according to the preceding claim, wherein: The subset comprises jobs for which a message (M2) has been received from a downstream production unit directly downstream of the respective production unit, indicating that the relief precursor has been or is to be processed by the downstream production unit.

39. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The plurality of production units at least include a group of production units having substantially the same main functions but having different optional functions, and wherein the received work instructions are displayed only on production units having appropriate optional functions.

40. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the steps of: The plates processed in a production unit of the plurality of production units are measured and the results of the measurements are transmitted to the central control device via the production unit, the measuring unit, and / or via a computer terminal, preferably a mobile terminal.

41. A central control device, configured to control a relief printing plate production system (10), preferably for use in the method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising a plurality of production units, the central control device being configured to transmit job instructions to each of the plurality of production units (100, 100', 200), the job instructions comprising at least an identifier of a relief printing plate (14) to be produced from a relief printing plate precursor (12).

42. A central control device according to the preceding claim, wherein: The transmitting includes broadcasting the job instruction.

43. The central control device according to claim 41 or 42, wherein: The transmitting includes transmitting the work instruction upon receiving a request from a production unit among the plurality of production units and / or upon detecting that a production unit among the plurality of production units is turned on or reactivated.

44. The central control device according to any one of claims 41 to 43, further configured to receive a message when a respective one of the plurality of production units is about to start, has started, or has completed a job corresponding to the job instruction, and in response, perform at least one of the following: - notifying at least one other production unit that no longer has to perform the work to remove the work instruction; - notifying at least one other production unit downstream of the respective production unit that the respective production unit is about to start, has started or has completed the operation corresponding to the operation instruction.

45. The central control device according to any one of claims 41 to 44, wherein: The job instruction includes one or more search parameters for searching for one or more configuration parameters stored in the production unit, wherein preferably, the one or more search parameters include at least one of the following: the type of the precursor, the thickness of the precursor, the size information of the precursor, and a client identifier.

46. ​​The central control device according to any one of claims 41 to 45, wherein: The job instructions include a reference to a preview image, and wherein the central control device is configured to transmit the preview image, preferably before transmitting the job instructions.

47. The central control device according to any one of claims 41 to 46, wherein: The job instructions comprise references to one or more image files to be used by a production unit, such as an imaging unit, and / or imaging settings to be used by the imaging unit, and wherein the central control device is configured to transmit the one or more image files to the imaging unit, preferably prior to transmitting the job instructions.

48. A central control device according to any one of claims 41 to 47, wherein: The central control device is configured to generate the job instruction such that it comprises, for example, in its file name a timestamp, for example comprising the date and time, and optionally a name chosen by the creator of the file.

49. The central control device according to any one of claims 41 to 48, wherein: The central control device is configured to track jobs corresponding to job instructions transmitted to the multiple production units and maintain a database, which stores each job instruction that one or more production units have performed and / or plan to perform the job, optionally storing time data related to when the job has been performed or when the job is planned to be performed.

50. A production unit of a relief printing plate production system (10), preferably for use in the method described in any one of claims 1 to 40, the production unit being configured to receive a job instruction, the job instruction comprising at least an identifier of a relief printing plate (14) to be produced from a relief printing plate precursor (12), to store the job instruction in a job instruction list, to receive an indication of a relief printing plate precursor (12) and an identifier of the relief printing plate precursor (12), and to process the relief printing plate precursor (12) according to the received job instruction.

51. A production unit according to claim 50, further configured to send a request to a central control device to receive job instructions that may be intended for the production unit, and in response, receive the job instructions from the central control device and store them, and / or, wherein, The production unit is configured to signal the central control device that it is turned on or reactivated and in response receive the operating instructions and store them.

52. The production unit according to claim 50 or 51, further configured to transmit at least one of the following when the production unit is about to start, has started, or has completed a job corresponding to the job instruction: - a message for notifying at least one other production unit that no longer performs the operation to remove the operation instruction; - a message for notifying at least one other production unit downstream of the production unit that the production unit is about to start, has started or has completed the operation corresponding to the operation instruction.

53. A production unit according to any one of claims 50 to 52, wherein: The job instruction includes one or more search parameters for searching for one or more configuration parameters stored in the production unit, wherein preferably, the one or more search parameters include at least one of the following: the type of the plate, the thickness of the plate, the size information of the plate, a client identifier, and wherein the production unit is configured to set one or more configuration parameters based on the one or more search parameters.

54. A production unit according to any one of claims 50 to 53, wherein: The job instruction comprises a reference to a preview image or the preview image, and wherein the production unit is configured to receive the preview image, preferably before receiving the job instruction, and to display the preview image together with the job instruction.

55. A production unit according to any one of claims 50 to 54, wherein: The production unit is an imaging unit, and wherein the job instruction comprises a reference to one or more image files to be used by the imaging unit, and / or imaging settings to be used by the imaging unit, and wherein the imaging unit is configured to receive the one or more image files, preferably prior to receiving the job instruction.

56. A production unit according to the preceding claim, wherein: The imaging unit is configured to preferably generate an image based on the received job instructions, generating an indication of the identifier in the relief precursor.

57. A production unit according to any one of claims 50 to 56, wherein: The job instructions include, for example, a timestamp in their file name, such as a date and time, and optionally a name chosen by the creator of the file, and wherein the production unit is configured to display a list of received job instructions in an ordered manner based on their timestamps.

58. The production unit according to any one of claims 50 to 57 is further configured to transmit the received work instructions to one or more other production units downstream of the production unit.

59. A production unit according to any one of claims 50 to 59, wherein: The production unit is or includes any of the following: a transfer unit, a pre-processing unit, an imaging unit, an exposure unit, a developing unit such as a cleaning machine or a thermal developing unit, a post-processing unit such as a dryer, a post-exposure unit such as a cutting unit configured to cut the plate, a mounting unit configured to mount the relief precursor onto a substrate such as a sleeve, and a storage unit.

60. A production unit according to any one of claims 50 to 59, further configured to read the received indication of the identifier of the relief precursor and to select the corresponding job from a list of jobs stored in the production unit.

61. The production unit according to any one of claims 50 to 60 further includes a display and is further configured to display a subset of the job instructions received at the production unit, the subset corresponding to jobs that have been processed or are being processed by another production unit directly downstream of the production unit and can be performed by the production unit.

62. A production unit according to the preceding claim, wherein: The subset comprises jobs for which a message (M2) has been received from another production unit directly downstream of the production unit, indicating that the relief precursor has been or is to be processed by the downstream production unit.

63. A relief printing plate production system comprising a central control device according to any one of claims 41 to 49 and a plurality of production units according to any one of claims 50 to 62.

Images