Patent ID: 8227769
Filing Date: 2012-07-24
Classification: G03F,G21K

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for curing a printing plate made of or having photo-curable material thereon, the apparatus comprising: a light exposure unit for exposing the whole printing plate after imaging in which an ablatable layer on the printing plate is selectively ablated with a laser beam, the light exposure unit including a light source to produce light energy at a wavelength or wavelengths suitable for curing the photo-curable material, the light exposure unit configured to generate to the plate after imaging at least a first illumination intensity sufficient to cure the photo-curable material and a second illumination intensity sufficient to cure the photo-curable material; and a control system coupled to and operative to control the light exposure unit exposing the whole plate after imaging to the first illumination intensity, or to the second illumination intensity, or to both the first illumination intensity and the second illumination intensity, and such that curing can produce printing features that have flat tops or round tops on the plate by the control system controlling whether the illumination intensity applied by the light exposure unit to the whole plate after imaging is the first illumination intensity, the second illumination intensity, or both the first and second illumination intensities.