Method for producing a metal planographic printing plate and metal planographic printing plate
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202511163687.5
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-19
- Publication Date
- 2026-09-08
- Estimated Expiration
- 2045-08-19
AI Technical Summary
但是,尼龙树脂或橡胶版版纹偏软,在胶印印刷过程中图纹的扩张变形严重,一直未能得以改善
[0028] Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the following description or may be learned by practice of the invention.
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Figure CN120886548B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of laser engraving plate making, and more specifically, to a method for preparing a metal planographic plate and the metal planographic plate itself. Background Technology
[0002] Currently, offset printing employs at least three types of digital printing plates. The first is a dry-type Indonesian nylon flat-relief plate made using a 940nm wavelength laser ablation imaging process. The second is a CTP (Computer To Plate) water-based offset plate made using an 830nm wavelength laser thermographic or 405nm UV (Ultraviolet Laser) imaging process. The third is a CTP waterless offset plate made using an 830nm wavelength laser thermographic imaging process. Additionally, flexographic offset printing uses at least two types of laser-engraved flexographic plates. The first is a resin relief plate made using a carbon dioxide laser engraving process for polymer resin plates. The second is a rubber relief plate made using a fiber laser engraving process for polymer rubber plates. Existing technologies represent high-end or general commercial printing plate-making techniques, widely documented in published materials. Laser imaging nylon flat-relief plate-making technology involves directly outputting the image onto the printing plate surface via a laser imaging plate-making machine after completing the graphic design and electronic file creation, without film output. Laser imaging nylon planographic plate making technology uses digitally washed nylon plates that can be ablated and imaged by lasers. Through laser imaging, exposure, development, baking, and post-exposure, it creates printing plates suitable for dry offset printing of securities. However, nylon resin or rubber plates are relatively soft, resulting in severe image expansion and deformation during offset printing, a problem that has yet to be solved. CTP water-based offset printing plates offer good image reproduction accuracy, but have low printing durability, even after baking, the durability does not exceed 300,000 to 500,000 impressions. Furthermore, the photosensitive emulsion, as the ink transfer component, is prone to loss during printing, affecting product quality consistency. CTP waterless offset printing plates are better at reproducing fine images than CTP water-based offset printing plates, but also suffer from low printing durability. The oleophobic silicone layer is relatively fragile and easily scratched, rendering the printing plate unusable.
[0003] Therefore, how to prepare a metal planographic plate with high printing durability, high definition, and high reproduction accuracy has become an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention
[0004] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art or related art.
[0005] Therefore, a first aspect of the present invention provides a method for preparing a metal planographic plate.
[0006] A second aspect of the present invention provides a metal planographic plate.
[0007] In view of this, a first aspect of the present invention provides a method for preparing a metal plano-relief plate, comprising: grinding a metal plate to make the surface roughness of the metal plate greater than or equal to 0.2 micrometers and less than or equal to 0.6 micrometers; electroplating the ground metal plate to form a first electroplated / chemically plated coating on the ground metal plate; obtaining a preset pattern with a resolution greater than 5040 dpi; determining a laser engraving scheme based on the preset pattern; laser engraving the electroplated metal plate based on the engraving scheme to engrave the surface of the metal plate into the preset pattern; determining a laser cleaning scheme based on the preset pattern; laser cleaning the laser-engraved metal plate based on the cleaning scheme to form a micro / nano structure on the surface of the metal plate; and vacuum coating or electroplating the laser-cleaned metal plate to form a second coating on the surface of the metal plate, thereby preparing a metal plano-relief plate, wherein the slope of the raised surface on the metal plano-relief plate is greater than or equal to 60 degrees.
[0008] The method for preparing a metal plano-relief plate provided by this invention includes: sanding a metal plate to make the surface roughness of the metal plate greater than or equal to 0.2 micrometers and less than or equal to 0.6 micrometers, thereby forming a sand-like structure on the surface of the metal plate. The sand-like structure is beneficial to enhance ink affinity and increase ink transfer during printing. The sanded metal plate is then electroplated to form a first plating layer formed by electroplating / chemical plating. A preset pattern is obtained, the resolution of which is greater than 5040 dpi. Compared with existing metal plano-relief plates, this method can achieve higher imaging precision. This application requires the ability to directly engrave high-precision printed graphics, thus limiting the resolution of the preset pattern, thereby highlighting the difference between the metal plano-relief plate prepared in this application and those in the prior art. A laser engraving scheme is determined based on the preset pattern; the electroplated metal plate is then laser engraved based on the engraving scheme to engrave the surface of the metal plate with the preset pattern. Based on a preset pattern, a laser cleaning scheme is determined. To ensure better ink transfer on the surface of the metal plate, the cleaning scheme is designed according to the preset pattern. Further improvements are made to the preset pattern by adding micro-nano structures to form an actual pattern. A cleaning scheme is then generated based on this actual pattern. Laser cleaning is performed on the laser-engraved metal plate to create micro-nano structures on its surface. Vacuum coating is then applied to the laser-cleaned metal plate to form a second coating layer, creating a metal plano-relief plate with a raised slope of 60 degrees or greater. The metal plano-relief plate formed in this application can clearly print images with a resolution greater than 5040 dpi. Compared to existing metal plano-relief plates, the 60-degree or greater slope results in sharper patterns, reducing ink adhesion and transfer on the plate's slope and improving the print reproduction accuracy. Compared to existing resin plano-relief plates, it can print patterns with higher clarity and fidelity. Furthermore, this application uses metal as the printing plate, which has better printing durability compared to the polymer material printing plates in the prior art.
[0009] The metal planographic plate provided by the present invention may also have the following additional technical features: In some possible designs, the metal plate may optionally include a copper plate or a copper alloy plate.
[0010] In this design, copper or copper alloys have stronger mechanical properties, better stability, and better printing resistance.
[0011] In some possible designs, the first plating layer may optionally include an electroplated / chemically plated copper layer or an electroplated / chemically plated nickel layer.
[0012] In this design, the first plating layer can further protect the metal plate itself, and the nickel plating layer has better oxidation resistance, which improves the printing durability of the metal plate.
[0013] In some possible designs, the thickness of the first coating may optionally be greater than or equal to 2 micrometers and less than or equal to 5 micrometers.
[0014] In some possible designs, the second plating layer may optionally include a vacuum-plated chromium nitride layer or an electroplated chromium layer.
[0015] In this design, the second plating layer can further protect the corresponding surface. Vacuum-plated chromium nitride or electroplated chromium layers have better hardness, wear resistance and durability than electroplated copper or electroplated nickel or copper plates or copper alloy plates.
[0016] In some possible designs, the thickness of the second coating may optionally be greater than or equal to 1 micrometer and less than or equal to 3 micrometers.
[0017] In some possible designs, the second coating may also include other oleophilic and wear-resistant coatings.
[0018] In some possible designs, the laser processing speed is greater than or equal to 1000 mm / s during laser engraving, and the single-path laser power is greater than or equal to 10 watts and less than or equal to 30 watts.
[0019] In this design, during laser engraving, the laser processing speed is greater than or equal to 1000 mm / s, and the single-path laser power is greater than or equal to 10 watts and less than or equal to 30 watts. This allows for rapid engraving of the substrate and ensures that the reproduction of the raised printing pattern on the engraved metal plate is suitable for printing images with a resolution greater than 5040 dpi.
[0020] In some possible designs, optionally, during laser cleaning, the laser processing speed is greater than or equal to 2000 mm / s, and the single-path laser power is greater than or equal to 5 watts and less than or equal to 10 watts.
[0021] In this design, during laser cleaning, the laser processing speed is greater than or equal to 2000 mm / s, and the single-path laser power is greater than or equal to 5 watts and less than or equal to 10 watts. This enables the removal of the recast layer and residues of metal oxides, resulting in a clean plate surface, while simultaneously forming micro-nano structures on the surface of the metal plate.
[0022] In some possible designs, optionally, during laser engraving, the engraving thickness is greater than or equal to 10 micrometers per engraving.
[0023] In this design, the thickness of each laser engraving is greater than or equal to 10 micrometers, ensuring high-speed engraving.
[0024] In some possible designs, the laser engraving depth may optionally be greater than or equal to 100 micrometers and less than or equal to 230 micrometers.
[0025] In this design, the laser engraving depth is greater than or equal to 100 micrometers and less than or equal to 230 micrometers. This ensures that the non-image areas of the printing plate do not absorb ink, while the depth of less than or equal to 230 micrometers ensures that unnecessary engraving is avoided on the one hand, and the strength of the metal planographic plate is guaranteed on the other hand.
[0026] In some possible designs, the laser may optionally include one or more of femtosecond lasers, picosecond lasers, and fiber lasers.
[0027] The second aspect of the present invention provides a metal planographic relief plate, which is made by the preparation method of the metal planographic relief plate provided by any of the technical solutions of the first aspect of this application. Therefore, the metal planographic relief plate provided by the present invention has all the beneficial effects of the preparation method of the metal planographic relief plate provided by any of the technical solutions of the first aspect of the present invention, which will not be repeated here.
[0028] Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the following description or may be learned by practice of the invention. Attached Figure Description
[0029] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and readily understood from the description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the following drawings, in which: Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a method for preparing a metal planographic plate according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a metal planographic plate according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.
[0030] in, Figure 2 The correspondence between the reference numerals and component names in the attached drawings is as follows: 1 Metal flat-relief plate, 12 Base, 14 Intermediate transition layer, 16 Surface layer. Detailed Implementation
[0031] To better understand the above-mentioned objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in these embodiments can be combined with each other.
[0032] Many specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a full understanding of the invention. However, the invention may also be practiced in other ways different from those described herein, and therefore the scope of protection of the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.
[0033] The following reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The invention describes a method for preparing a metal planographic plate and the metal planographic plate itself, according to some embodiments of the present invention.
[0034] According to one embodiment of the present invention, such as Figure 1 As shown, this invention proposes a method for preparing a metal planographic plate, comprising: S101: The metal plate is sandblasted to make the surface roughness of the metal plate greater than or equal to 0.2 micrometers and less than or equal to 0.6 micrometers.
[0035] S103: Electroplating is performed on the frosted metal plate to form the first electroplated / chemical plating layer on the frosted metal plate.
[0036] S105: Obtain a preset pattern with a resolution greater than 5040 dpi.
[0037] S107: Determine the laser engraving scheme based on the preset pattern.
[0038] S109: Laser engraving is performed on the electroplated metal plate based on the engraving scheme to engrave the surface of the metal plate into a preset pattern.
[0039] S111: Determine the laser cleaning scheme based on the preset pattern.
[0040] S113: Based on the cleaning scheme, laser cleaning is performed on the laser-engraved metal plate to form a micro-nano structure on the surface of the metal plate.
[0041] S115: Vacuum coating or electroplating is performed on the metal plate after laser cleaning to form a second coating layer on the surface of the metal plate, thus preparing a metal plano-convex plate with a raised slope of 60 degrees or more.
[0042] The method for preparing a metal plano-relief plate provided by this invention includes: sanding a metal plate to make the surface roughness of the metal plate greater than or equal to 0.2 micrometers and less than or equal to 0.6 micrometers, thereby forming a sand-like structure on the surface of the metal plate. The sand-like structure is beneficial to enhance ink affinity and increase ink transfer during printing. The sanded metal plate is then electroplated to form a first plating layer formed by electroplating / chemical plating. A preset pattern is obtained, the resolution of which is greater than 5040 dpi. Compared with existing metal plano-relief plates, this method can achieve higher imaging precision. This application requires the ability to directly engrave high-precision printed graphics, thus limiting the resolution of the preset pattern, thereby highlighting the difference between the metal plano-relief plate prepared in this application and those in the prior art. A laser engraving scheme is determined based on the preset pattern; the electroplated metal plate is then laser engraved based on the engraving scheme to engrave the surface of the metal plate with the preset pattern. Based on a preset pattern, a laser cleaning scheme is determined. To ensure better ink transfer on the surface of the metal plate, the cleaning scheme is designed according to the preset pattern. Further improvements are made to the preset pattern by adding micro-nano structures to form an actual pattern. A cleaning scheme is then generated based on this actual pattern. Laser cleaning is performed on the laser-engraved metal plate to create micro-nano structures on its surface. Vacuum coating is then applied to the laser-cleaned metal plate to form a second coating layer, creating a metal plano-relief plate with a raised slope of 60 degrees or greater. The metal plano-relief plate formed in this application can clearly print images with a resolution greater than 5040 dpi. Compared to existing metal plano-relief plates, the 60-degree or greater slope results in sharper patterns, reducing ink adhesion and transfer on the plate's slope and improving the print reproduction accuracy. Compared to existing resin plano-relief plates, it can print patterns with higher clarity and fidelity. Furthermore, this application uses metal as the printing plate, which has better printing durability compared to the polymer material printing plates in the prior art.
[0043] In some embodiments, the metal plate may optionally include a copper plate or a copper alloy plate.
[0044] In this embodiment, copper or copper alloys have stronger mechanical properties and better stability, resulting in better printability.
[0045] In some embodiments, the first plating layer may optionally include an electroplated / chemically plated copper layer or an electroplated / chemically plated nickel layer.
[0046] In this embodiment, the first plating layer can further protect the metal plate itself, and the electroplated nickel layer has better oxidation resistance, which improves the printing durability of the metal plate.
[0047] In some embodiments, the thickness of the first coating may be greater than or equal to 2 micrometers and less than or equal to 5 micrometers.
[0048] In some embodiments, the second plating layer may optionally include a vacuum-plated chromium nitride layer or an electroplated chromium layer.
[0049] In this embodiment, the second plating layer can further protect the corresponding surface. The chromium nitride layer or chromium layer has better hardness, wear resistance and durability than the electroplated copper layer or electroplated nickel layer or copper plate or copper alloy plate.
[0050] In some possible designs, the thickness of the second coating may optionally be greater than or equal to 1 micrometer and less than or equal to 3 micrometers.
[0051] In some embodiments, the second coating further includes: other oleophilic and wear-resistant coatings.
[0052] In some embodiments, optionally, during laser engraving, the laser processing speed is greater than or equal to 1000 mm / s, and the single-path laser power is greater than or equal to 10 watts and less than or equal to 30 watts.
[0053] In this embodiment, during laser engraving, the laser processing speed is greater than or equal to 1000 mm / s, and the single-path laser power is greater than or equal to 10 watts and less than or equal to 30 watts. This enables rapid engraving of the substrate to be engraved and ensures that the reproduction of the relief pattern of the engraved metal plate is suitable for printing images with a resolution greater than 5040 dpi.
[0054] In some embodiments, optionally, during laser cleaning, the laser processing speed is greater than or equal to 2000 mm / s, and the single-path laser power is greater than or equal to 5 watts and less than or equal to 10 watts.
[0055] In this embodiment, during laser cleaning, the laser processing speed is greater than or equal to 2000 mm / s, and the single-path laser power is greater than or equal to 5 watts and less than or equal to 10 watts, which can remove the recast layer and residues of metal oxides to obtain a clean plate surface, while forming micro-nano structures on the surface of the metal plate.
[0056] In some embodiments, optionally, during laser engraving, the engraving thickness is greater than or equal to 10 micrometers per engraving.
[0057] In this embodiment, during laser engraving, the engraving thickness is greater than or equal to 10 micrometers each time, ensuring high-speed engraving.
[0058] In some embodiments, the laser engraving depth may optionally be greater than or equal to 100 micrometers and less than or equal to 230 micrometers.
[0059] In this embodiment, the laser engraving depth is greater than or equal to 100 micrometers and less than or equal to 230 micrometers. This ensures that the non-image areas of the printing plate do not absorb ink, while the depth of less than or equal to 230 micrometers can save unnecessary engraving on the one hand, and ensure the strength of the metal planographic plate on the other hand.
[0060] In some embodiments, the laser may optionally include one or more of femtosecond lasers, picosecond lasers, and fiber lasers.
[0061] The shortcomings of existing technologies: Nylon resin or rubber plates are relatively soft, resulting in severe expansion and deformation of the image during offset printing, a problem that has not been improved. Especially during the exposure and development process of nylon resin plates, some isolated images are easily lost, failing to meet the requirements of the embodiments. Nylon plates are increasingly unable to achieve the high reproduction requirements of fine image details and printed images, failing to meet the high demands of product development in offset printing refinement, and also failing to meet the major trend of printing fine offset images. CTP water-based offset lithography has good image reproduction accuracy, but low printing durability; even after baking, the printing durability will not exceed 300,000 to 500,000 impressions. Moreover, the photosensitive emulsion, as the ink transfer component, is easily lost during printing, affecting product quality consistency. CTP waterless offset lithography performs better than CTP water-based offset lithography in reproducing fine images, but it also suffers from low printing durability. The oleophobic silicone layer is relatively fragile and easily scratched, rendering the printing plate unusable.
[0062] The printed graphic content is set as a negative pattern with a resolution greater than 5040dpi, and converted into a multi-layer 3D processing file using 3D implementation software. In addition, the solid pattern of the embodiment is set according to the range of the processing area and is also converted into a multi-layer 3D processing file using 3D implementation software. The metal plate material used to manufacture high-durability printing plates is made of copper or copper alloy. A surface roughness Ra of 0.2 to 0.6 micrometers is achieved through mechanical sanding, which facilitates ink adhesion and transfer during printing. To better protect the plate surface and maintain good adhesion with the vacuum plating layer, a 2 to 5 micrometer copper or nickel layer is electroplated onto the plate surface after mechanical sanding.
[0063] Utilizing ultrafast lasers, including femtosecond, picosecond, or fiber lasers, and employing platform or drum processing methods, multi-mirror or multi-beam parallel processing, with processing speeds exceeding 1000 mm / s and single-path laser power of 10W~30W, the process involves calling upon 3D processing files of negative patterns to perform high-speed removal of non-patterned areas exceeding 10 micrometers per layer on copper-plated or nickel-plated frosted metal plates, achieving engraving depths of 100 micrometers~230 micrometers.
[0064] The result of high-efficiency laser processing is that a large amount of recast layer of metal or metal oxide and residues are generated on the pattern area of the plate. Using a processing speed of more than 2000mm / s and a single-path laser power of 5W~10W, the 3D processing file of the solid pattern is used to perform laser cleaning of the patterned and non-patterned areas to remove the recast layer of metal or metal oxide and residues, resulting in a clean plate. At the same time, a micro-nano structure that further enhances ink adhesion and transfer is obtained on the basis of the plate's sand-like structure.
[0065] After laser engraving, the printing plate surface is cleaned and then vacuum-plated to obtain a 1-3 micrometer chromium nitride or chromium plating or other wear-resistant plating. This protects the printing plate surface and gives the raised patterns on the printing plate better wear resistance and durability.
[0066] Ultrafast lasers are used to remove the negative pattern, i.e., the non-image area, while retaining the image area and leaving a raised structure to create a metal planographic printing plate.
[0067] Low-power lasers are used to clean both patterned and non-patterned areas of the processing area, removing the recast layer and residues of metal or metal oxides from the surface, resulting in a clean surface.
[0068] To protect the metal plate texture of the printing plate from oxidation and corrosion, minor mechanical damage, and to improve its wear resistance and durability, a chromium nitride or chromium layer or other coating is formed on the surface of the printing plate through vacuum deposition.
[0069] The second aspect of the present invention provides a metal planographic relief plate 1, which is made by the metal planographic relief plate preparation method provided in any embodiment of the first aspect of this application. Therefore, the metal planographic relief plate 1 provided by the present invention has all the beneficial effects of the metal planographic relief plate preparation method provided in any embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, which will not be repeated here.
[0070] like Figure 2 As shown, the total thickness of the laser-engraved metal planographic printing plate 1 is 0.3 mm to 0.8 mm, and it consists of three layers: a base 12 made of copper or copper alloy, an intermediate transition layer 14 electroplated with copper or nickel, and a surface layer 16 made of chromium nitride or chromium or other wear-resistant plating. The raised pattern height of the planographic plate is 100 micrometers to 230 micrometers, the slope is greater than 60 degrees, and the surface of the raised pattern has a sand-like structure to enhance ink transfer, with a roughness Ra of 0.2 micrometers to 0.6 micrometers.
[0071] In this invention, the term "multiple" refers to two or more unless otherwise explicitly defined. The terms "installed," "connected," "linked," and "fixed," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, "connected" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; "linked" can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.
[0072] In the description of this specification, the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "specific embodiment," etc., refer to a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example, which is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.
[0073] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention. Various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.
Claims
1. A method for preparing a metal planographic relief plate, characterized in that, include: The metal plate is sandblasted to make the surface roughness of the metal plate greater than or equal to 0.2 micrometers and less than or equal to 0.6 micrometers; The frosted metal plate is subjected to electroplating treatment to form a first electroplated coating on the frosted metal plate; Obtain a preset pattern, wherein the resolution of the preset pattern is greater than 5040 dpi; The laser engraving scheme is determined based on the preset pattern; Based on the engraving scheme, the electroplated metal plate is laser engraved to engrave the surface of the metal plate into the preset pattern; The laser cleaning scheme is determined based on the preset pattern; Based on the cleaning scheme, the laser-engraved metal plate is laser-cleaned to form a micro-nano structure on the surface of the metal plate. The metal plate after laser cleaning is subjected to vacuum coating or electroplating to form a second coating layer on the surface of the metal plate, thereby preparing the metal plano-convex plate, wherein the slope of the raised surface on the metal plano-convex plate is greater than or equal to 60 degrees. Specifically, during laser engraving, the laser processing speed is greater than or equal to 1000 millimeters per second, the single-path laser power is greater than or equal to 10 watts and less than or equal to 30 watts; and / or During the laser cleaning process, the laser processing speed is greater than or equal to 2000 mm / s, and the single-path laser power is greater than or equal to 5 watts and less than or equal to 10 watts. During laser engraving, the engraving thickness for each stroke is greater than or equal to 10 micrometers; and / or The depth of laser engraving is greater than or equal to 100 micrometers and less than or equal to 230 micrometers.
2. The method for preparing a metal planographic plate according to claim 1, characterized in that, The metal plate includes a copper plate or a copper alloy plate.
3. The method for preparing a metal planographic plate according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first plating layer includes an electroplated copper layer or an electroplated nickel layer.
4. The method for preparing a metal planographic plate according to claim 3, characterized in that, The thickness of the first coating is greater than or equal to 2 micrometers and less than or equal to 5 micrometers.
5. The method for preparing a metal planographic plate according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second coating includes a vacuum-plated chromium nitride layer or an electroplated chromium layer.
6. The method for preparing a metal planographic plate according to claim 5, characterized in that, The thickness of the second coating is greater than or equal to 1 micrometer and less than or equal to 3 micrometers.
7. The method for preparing a metal planographic plate according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The lasers include femtosecond lasers and / or picosecond lasers.
8. A metal planographic relief plate, characterized in that, The metal planographic plate is prepared using the metal planographic plate preparation method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.
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