WATER-LESS LITHOGRAPHIC PLATES

Abstract: There is described a method of preparing a water-less lithographic plate which comprises a support having an oleophilic surface, there being coacted on the support a mixture which comprises as one component an ink-repellant and water-repellant polymer or a mixture of such polymers or a polymer precursor, and as the other essential component of the mixture a photosensitive or heat sensitive composition selected from a) an organic solvent soluble diazo composition which is either light or heat sensitive, b) a photopolymer together with a sensitiser which is either light or heat sensitive or c) a mixture of a free-radically polymerisable ethylenically unsaturated compound or compounds and a photoinitiator which is either heat or light sensitive, the ratio of ink-repellant polymer to photosensitive or heat sensitive composition a), b), or c) in the mixture being from 20-80 ink-repellant polymer to 80-20 photosensitive or heat sensitive composition by weight, imagewise acting on exposing the coated mixture, developping the acted on mixture with the appropriate developing solution depending on the composition a), b), c) used to remove the composition and the water-repellant polymer in the unacted-on areas to reveal the oleophilic surface of the support in the unacted-on areas of the plate and leaving the acted on areas of the plate.

Description: Water-less Lithographic Plates This invention relates to the production of so-called water-less lithographic plates. Lithographic plates may be divided into two classes. Those which require dampening water which is fed to the non-image areas of the plate, forms a water film and acts as an ink-repellant layer; this is the so-called fount solution and those which require no fount solution are called driographs or water-less lithographic plates. Most lithographic plates at present in use are of the first type and require a fount-solution during printing. However, lithographic plates of this type suffer from a number of disadvantages. Some of these are:- a) Adjustment of the proper ink-water balance during press operation is difficult and requires great experience. If the correct ink-water balance is not achieved scumming is occasioned when the printed ink image extends into the non-image areas ruining the printed image. b) Adjustment of the ink-water balance at start-up or re-start up is particularly difficult and can not be stabilised until a large number of sheets have been printed, thus incurring waste. c) The ink tends to become emulsified which leads to poor adherence of the ink on to the plate which causes problems in colour reproduction and in dot reproduction. d) The printing press has to be provided with a dampening system, thus increasing its size and complexity. These dampening solutions contain volatile organic compounds. e) The plate care chemistry and fount solutions require careful control and selection. Further plate cleaners contain significant levels of solvent which is not desirable. However, with water-less plates in which the ink-releasing layer is, for example, a cured silicone layer there is no scumming and clearer images can be produced. Very often water-less plates comprise a base material, for example aluminium plate, on which a photosensitive layer is coated, on this photosensitive layer there is coated a silicone layer. After imagewise exposure and development in which selected areas of the photosensitive composition are altered, the overlying silicone layer is removed and the plate is inked up. The ink adheres only to those areas of the plate not covered by the silicone remaining after development. Thus the plate can be printed without the need to use a fount solution. However, in practice it has proved difficult to get the silicone layer composition to adhere to the photosensitive layer. In spite of the idea of water-less plates having been described in patent specifications for at least fifteen years very little has been done to commercialise the idea and water-less plates which have been and are being sold are more expensive than the conventional plates which require a fount solution. According to the present invention there is provided a method of preparing a water-less lithographic plate which comprises a support having an oleophilic surface, there being coated on the support a mixture which comprises as one component an ink-repellant and water-repellant polymer or a mixture of such polymers or a polymer precursor, and as the other essential component of the mixture a photosensitive or a heat sensitive composition selected from a) an organic solvent soluble diazo composition which is either light or heat sensitive, b) a photopolymer together with a sensitiser, which is either heat or light sensitive or c) a mixture of a free-radically polymerisable ethylenically unsaturated compound or compounds together with a photoinitiator which is either heat or light sensitive, the ratio of ink-repellant polymer to photosensitive composition a), b) or c) in the mixture being from 20 - 80 ink repellant polymer to 80 - 20 photosensitive or heat sensitive composition by weight, imagewise acting on the coated mixture, developing the acted on mixture with the appropriate developing solution depending on the composition a), b) or c) used, to remove the composition and the water-repellant polymer in the unacted-on areas to reveal the oleophilic surface of the support in the unacted on areas of the plate and leaving the coated mixture in the acted on areas of the plate. It is to be understood that any one of compositions a), b) or c) are usually photosensitive but may be rendered heat-sensitive either by incorporating a dye which absorbs light above 600nm or by incorporating a heat absorbing compound such as carbon black. Preferably the imagewise light exposure is carried out by U.V. light by a contact exposure of a positive transparency located in close contact with the plate. Preferably when the composition a), b) or c) is heat sensitive it may be imagewise heat exposed to a laser which is controlled by an image storage means which carries in digital form the required image. Thus in this case a laser-radiation absorbing material is present in composition a), b) or c) and the laser used emits radiation above 600nm. The laser radiation absorbing material may be carbon such as carbon black or graphite. It may be a commercially available pigment such as Heliogen Green as supplied by BASF or Nigrosine Base NGl as supplied by MH Laboratories Inc. Usefully it may be a dye or pigment of the squarylium, mercocyanine, indolizine, pyrylium or metal dithiolien classes. In one method of the present invention the imagewise light exposure is carried out by UV light by contact exposure using a positive transparency located in close contact with the coated plate. However, in another method of the present invention the composition a), b) and c) comprise a sensitiser or I.R. light absorber so enabling the composition to be photoexposed using a laser. For example an argon ion laser emits at 488nm and a Nd YAG laser emits 1064nm. When the composition a), b) or c) has been sensitised to the emission wavelength of a particular laser using an I.R. sensitiser then the plate is exposed to this laser which is controlled by an image storage means which carries in digital form the required image. In the case of composition b) and c) if the plate is to be exposed to UV light then a sensitiser may be present in the composition to increase its response to UV light. Usefully such sensitisers comprise an acridine, phenazine or quinoxaline moiety. Examples are acridine substituted in the 9 position, such as 9-phenyl-, 9-p-methoxyphenyl-or 9-acetylaminoacridine, or acridine derivatives having fused-on aromatic rings, for example benz[a]acridine. A suitable phenazine derivative is, for example, 9, 10-dimethylbenz[a]phenazine. Suitable quinoxaline derivatives are in particular 2, 3 -diphenyl derivatives which are preferably further substituted in the two phenyl radicals by methoxy groups. In general, the acridine derivatives are preferred. The amount of this component in the composition is in the range from about 0 to 10% by weight, preferably between about 0.05 and 5% by weight. For compositions b) and c) for sensitisation to the visible region of the spectrum compounds of the dibenzalacetone or coumarin type are particularly useful. Suitable representatives of these compounds are 4,4'-disubstituted dibenzalacetones, for example diethylamino-4'-disubstituted dibenzalacetones, for example diethylamino-4'- methoxydibenzalacetone, or coumarin derivatives, such as 3-acetyl-7-diethylamino-, 3-benzimidazolyl-7-diethylamino- or carbonyl-bis(7-diethylaminocoumarin). The amount of these compounds in the mixture are in the range from 0 to about 10, preferably about 0.05 to 4% by weight. Alternatively, many dye types are particularly useful for spectral sensitisation. Suitable dyes are in particular xanthene, benzoxanthene, benzothioxanthene, thiazine, pyronine, porphyrin or acridine dyes. Suitable xanthene and thiazine dyes are described, for example, in EP-A 287,817. Suitable benzoxanthene and benzothioxanthene dyes are described in DE-A 2,025,291, and in EP-A 321,828. Examples of suitable IR dyes are dyes of the formulae:- Preferably the ratio of ink-repellant and water-repellant polymer to composition a), b) or c) is about 30 to 70 by weight. The preferred water-repellant polymer is a fluorinated polymer. Preferably the fluorinated polymer is a polymerisation product of an acrylic or methacrylic monomer having a perfluoroalkyl group in a side chain. At least one other copolymerisable monomer may also be present. Commercially available fluorine polymers or resins are available on the market as "ASAHI GUARD AG-710" (manufactured by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd), "ASAHI GUARD AG-550" (manufactured by Asahi Glass Co. Ltd), "DICGURARD F-60" (manufactured by Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc.), "DICGURARD F-70" (manufactured by Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc.) "SCOTCH GUARD FC-282" (manufactured by Sumitomo 3M), "ZEPEL B" (manufactured by E.I. DuPont). Examples of the perfluoroalkyl-bearing monomer are (perfluorononyl)ethyl acrylate, (perfluorononyl)ethyl methacrylate, (perfluoroisononyl)ethyl acrylate, (perfluoroisononyl)ethyl methacrylate, (perflurooctyl)ethyl acrylate, (perfluorooctyl)ethyl methacrylate, (perfluoroheptyl)ethyl acrylate, (perfluoroheptyl(ethyl methacrylate, etc. Examples of the other copolymerisable monomer which may be present include styrene, acrylonitrile, acrylic acid and methacrylic acid, and their esters such as alkyl esters (e.g. methyl ester, ethyl ester, propyl ester, butyl ester, isobutyl ester, 2-ethylhexyl ester, hexyl ester, decyl ester, lauryl ester, stearyl ester), hydroxyalkyl esters (e.g. β -hydroxyethyl ester) and glycidyl ester. The proportion of these monomers may be optionally selected, but the amount of the perfluoroalkyl-bearing monomer should be not less than 50% by weight on the basis of the amount ofthe entire monomers. These fluorine resins are described in US 4508814 to Nippon Paint which describes a process wherein a water-soluble photosensitive compound is used to prepare either a negative working plate or a positive working plate. Other suitable fluorine resins are described in US 4087584 and in US 4724195. Suitable silicones for use in the present invention are described in for example US 4510277, US 3865588, US 5266443 and US 4874686. Examples of useful silicone polymers are organo functional siloxanes. One such siloxane is available from Dow Corning as a 40% solids emulsion under the designation SYL OFF 7920. By ink-repellant and water-repellant polymer precursor is meant a silicone or fluorine containing oligomer or monomer which is converted to an ink-repellant and water-repellant polymer in-situ in the plate by the presence of an initiating species for example an Irgacure 369 or 907 which are marketed by Ciba-Geigy A.G. Usefully a curing catalyst may be used in conjunction with the silicone polymer. For example, a platinum based catalyst marketed by Dow Corning under the designation SYL OFF 7922 may be used to cure SYL OFF 7920. A mixture of fluorine resin and silicone may be used as the ink-repellant polymer. Preferably more fluorine resin than silicone is used. A suitable weight ratio is from 60% fluorine resin to 40% silicone resin. By organic solvent soluble diazo resin is meant a resin which is soluble in organic solvents such as dimethyl formamide but is not appreciably soluble in water. With regard to the composition a) of use in the present invention examples of organic solvent soluble diazo resins are given in US 4845009 which lists diazo monomers, suitable condensing agents and anions. Examples of diazo monomers include 4-diazodiphenylamine, l-diazo-4-morpholinobenzene and l-diazo-4-N,N-benzene. Examples of condensing agents are aldehydes such as formaldehyde and benzaldehyde. Another suitable condensing agent is 4-4'bis(methoxymethyl) diphenyl ether. Examples of suitable anions are l-naphthol-5 -sulphonic acid and p-toluenesulphonic acid. A particularly suitable solvent soluble diazo resin is marketed by PCAS of France as DSO 19. This is 4-diazo diphenylamine-formaldehyde condensate p-toluene-sulphonic acid salt. A particularly useful developing solution for use with photosensitive composition a) comprises in water:- 4.8% sodium diisopropyl naphthalene sulphonate 3.6%) benzyl alcohol 2.15% sodium sulphite 1.7% trisodium citrate This is referred to hereinafter as developing solution A. With regard to composition b) of use in the present invention examples of water or aqueous dispersible photopolymers are dimethylmaleimide photopolymers as described in US 4626497 and GB 1544299. Other suitable photopolymers are cinnamates as described for example in GB 838547, US 3257664 and US 2690966. Examples of suitable sensitisers for cinnamates or dimethylmaleimide photopolymers are ketocourmarins and thioxanthones. Water or a water-based developer is a suitable developer for photosensitive composition b). With regard to the composition c) examples are free-radically polymerisable ethylenically unsaturated compounds which contain at least one ethylenically unsaturated double bond per molecule. When free-radicals are generated by a photoinitiator these compounds polymerise to give higher molecular weight compounds which are insoluble in selected developers. Usually a mixture of oligomers and monomers which comprise an ethylenically unsaturated moiety is employed. Preferably such compounds comprise acrylate or methacrylate functionality. An example of a class of oligomers with acrylate functionality is a polyester with four acrylate groups. Commercially available compound of this class are Ebercryls which are marketed by UCB, S.A. SPECIALITIES DIVISION, DROGENBOS, BELGIUM An example of a class of monomers with acrylate functionality is dipentaerythritol penta-acrylate. Certain Ebercryl compounds also fall within this class. Examples of suitable photoinitiators are metallocenes and in particular titanocenes are described in USP 4590287, US 4548891 and EP 31884 assigned to Ciba-Geigy A.G. An example of such a composition comprises Ebercryl 140 30 Ebercryl 1290 30 Titanocene and sensitising dye 9 Made up to 16% solids with 50:50 DMFJmethoxy propanol-2-ol The figures quoted being part by weight This composition is hereinafter referred to as composition B. A suitable developing solution for composition C is an aqueous solution of 15% β-naphthol ethoxylate, 5% benzyl alcohol and 2% of an organic chelating agent such as nitrilotriacetic acid trisodium salt. This is referred hereinafter as developing solution B. Other substances which may be present in any of the compositions a), b) or c) include colorant dyes and surfactants. The method of the present invention yields a positive working water-less lithographic plate in which the ink releasing composition remaining on the plate constitutes the oleophobic or ink releasing areas of the plate, whilst the areas of the plate from which the composition a), b) or c) was removed by development constitutes the oleophilic areas of the plate. After the development step and drying, the plate can be inked up. The ink is held in the areas between the portions of ink releasing composition which remain on the plate. No fount solution is required to differentiate between the oleophilic and the ink releasing areas of the plate when printing using an oleophilic printing ink. The oleophilic base used in the method of the present invention is preferably an aluminium plate which will carry on its surface a thin aluminium oxide layer due to action with atmospheric oxygen. This layer may be of increased thickness due to anodising treatment of the base. Post anodic treatment of the base to increase its oleophilicity may be undertaken. Optionally electrochemical etching may precede these processes to improve adhesion between the substrate and coating. Alternatively or in addition the aluminium base may have been coated with a layer which gives the coated base improved oleophilicity over the uncoated base. Examples of such coatings are an oleophilic polymer for example ethyl cellulose, a resol type resin, a polychloroprene or a polyacrylonitrile-butadiene polymer. The coating over the aluminium base plate whether treated or not may be a so-called primer layer as described for example in E.P. 44220, US 5061598 and E.P. 560347. Such primer layers may comprise a large variety of polymers such as polyester, polyurethanes and polyamides and help to provide a better printing surface than is afforded by uncoated aluminium. Another base material which may be used in the method of the present invention is a plastics material base or a treated paper base as used as a base in the photographic industry. A particularly useful plastics material base is polyethylene terephthalate which has been subbed to render its surface oleophilic. A so-called resin coated paper which has been corona discharge treated may also be used. It is to be noted that all the light sensitive compositions of use in the present invention that is to say the organic solvent soluble diazo resins, the photosensitive acrylic composition and the aqueous dispersible photopolymers when used alone as the sensitive coating for a lithographic plate yield a negative image because on light or heat exposure they all harden to yield an ink-accepting image in the exposed areas. However, in the method of the present invention in all cases which ever composition a), b) or c) is used a direct positive image is obtained. Thus when the coated plate is light exposed in the unexposed areas of the developer removes all the coating on the support to reveal the oleophilic support and thus these areas become the image areas. In the exposed areas the hardened coating remains. This is ink-repelling because of the presence of the ink-repelling polymer therein. These hardened areas do not accept ink even though they comprise a high proportion of the hardened light sensitive compound which is usually ink-accepting. The accompanying Examples will serve to illustrate the invention. Example 1 On to a grained oleophilic aluminium plate there is applied a coating composition which comprised 0.4g of Asahi Guard A.G. 550 a fluorinated resin manufactured by Asahi Glass Co Ltd, 0.13g of the negative working photosensitive composition DSO 19 in 0.5g 2-methoxyethanol which is a solvent soluble diazo salt marketed by PCAS, France. After the coating composition had been dried it was exposed to UV light through a positive film. Thereafter the plate was developed for 2 minutes in developing solution A at 20°C. In the unexposed areas of the plate the developing solution was found to have removed both the unexposed portions of the composition and the water-repellent polymer to reveal the oleophilic surface of the support. The thus formed printing plate was inked-up and used on a printing press as a water-less plate requiring no fount solution. Several hundred good prints were obtained with good resolution using this plate. Example 2 On to a grained oleophilic aluminium plate there is applied a coating composition which comprised 0.3g of Zonyl 8070 a fluorinated resin manufactured by DuPont, 0.3g of the negative working photosensitive composition B as hereinbefore set forth. After the coating composition had been dried it was exposed to UV light through a positive film. Thereafter the plate was developed for 2 minutes in a 10% developing solution B at 20°C. In the unexposed areas of the plate the developing solution was found to have removed both the unexposed portions of the composition and the water-repellent polymer to reveal the oleophilic surface of the support. The thus formed printing plate was inked-up and used on a printing press as a water-less plate requiring no fount solution. Several hundred good prints were obtained with good resolution using this plate. Example 3 On to an ungrained oleophilic aluminium plate there was coated a photosensitive composition as follows :- 0.74g Zonyl 8070 0.24g SYLOFF 7920 0.06g SYLOFF 7922 0.2g RO C0C15 supplied by Rohner at 40% in 1 methoxy propan-2-ol (this is a dimethylmaleimide photopolymer) 0.025g R0301 (a thiozanthone sensitiser) supplied by Rohner 0.2g 1 methoxy-propan-2-ol After this composition had been coated it was dried and exposed to U. V. light through a positive film. Thereafter the plate was developed for 2 minutes in water at 20°C. In the unexposed areas of the plate the developing water solution was found to have removed both the photosensitive composition and the water-repellent polymer to reveal the oleophilic surface ofthe support. The thus formed printing plates were inked-up and used on a printing press as a water-less plate requiring no fount solution. Several hundred good prints were obtained with good resolution using this plate. Example 4 Onto a grained oleophilic aluminium plate was coated a photosensitive composition as follows: 0.48g R0300 a dimethyl malemide photopolymer supplied by Rohner in solid form 0.08g R0301 a thioxanthone sensitiser supplied by Rohner 0.106g Polydimethyl siloxane vinyl dimethyl terminated 0.054g (30-35%) Methylhydro (65-70%) dimethyl siloxane co-polymer 1 drop Platinum divinyltetramethyldisiloxane catalyst, 3% in xylene 2.88g MEK (dosing solvent) After this composition had been coated it was dried at 130°C for 3 minutes and exposed to UV light through a positive film. It then received a post exposure bake at 130°C for 3 minutes. The plate was then developed in developing solution A at 20°C. In the exposed areas of the plate the developer was found to have removed both the photosensitive composition and the ink and water repellent polymer to reveal the oleophilic surface of the support. The thus formed positive printing plates were inked-up and used on a printing press as a water-less plate requiring no fount solution. Several hundred good prints were obtained with good resolution using this plate. Example 5 IR Sensitised Diazonium Salt Based System Onto a grained and anodised, oleophilic aluminium plate a solution of the below composition was coated and then dried using hot air. 3g of 25% Epikote 1004 (supplied by Astor-Stag Ltd) in a 9:1 methyl lactate: benzyl alcohol solvent mixture. 1.5g of 100% DS019 diazonium salt (supplied by PCAS). 20g of 9:1 methyl lactate: benzyl alcohol mixture. 0.2g of 100% IR sensitiser II as hereinbefore set forth. This was mixed until solids were dissolved and then 24.7g of Zonyl 8070 (supplied by Du Pont Chemicals) was added and the coating mixed. The coating was imaged by exposure to radiation from a 830nm laser and developed using developer solution A. On inking a positive working system was obtained. The thus formed positive printing plates were inked-up and used on a printing press as a water-less plate requiring no fount solution. Several hundred good prints were obtained with good resolution using this plate. Owing to the broad spectral sensitivity of the composition b) and c) according to the invention which can be achieved, it is possible to use any light source familiar to those skilled in the art, for example fluorescent tubes, pulsed xenon lamps, metal-halide-doped high-pressure mercury vapor lamps and carbon arc lamps. In addition, it is possible to expose the lithographic plates of the invention in conventional projection and magnification equipment with the light from metal filament lamps and by contact exposure with customary incandescent lamps. Exposure can also be effected with the light of a laser. Suitable for the purposes of the present invention are lasers of appropriate power, for example the argon ion laser, which emits at 488nm. The laser beam can be controlled by means of a pre-programmed linewise scanning movement.

Claims: Claims A method of preparing a water-less lithographic plate which comprises a support having an oleophilic surface, there being coated on the support a mixture which comprises as one component an ink-repellant and water-repellent polymer or a mixture of such polymers or a polymer precursor, and as the other essential component of the mixture a photosensitive or heat sensitive composition selected from a) an organic solvent soluble diazo composition which is either light or heat sensitive b) a photopolymer together with a sensitiser which is either light or heat sensitive or c) a mixture of a free-radically polymerisable ethylenically unsaturated compound or compounds and a photoinitiator which is either heat or light sensitive, the ratio of ink-repellant polymer to photosensitive or heat sensitive composition a), b) or c) in the mixture being from 20 - 80 ink repellent polymer to 80 - 20 photosensitive or heat sensitive composition by weight, imagewise acting on exposing the coated mixture, developing the acted on mixture with the appropriate developing solution depending on the composition a), b) c) used, to remove the composition and the water-repellent polymer in the unacted-on areas to reveal the oleophilic surface of the support in the unacted on areas of the plate and leaving the coated mixture in the acted on areas ofthe plate. 2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the ratio of water and ink-repellent polymer to composition a), b) or c) is 30 to 70 by weight. 3. A method according to claim 1 wherein the water and ink-repellent polymer is a fluorinated resin. 4. A method according to claim 3 wherein the fluorinated resin is a polymerisation product of an acrylic or methacrylic monomer having a perfluoroalkyl group in a side chain. 5. A method according to claim 3 wherein the fluorinated resin has been formed in situ by using a fluorinated monomer. 6. A method according to claim 1 wherein the water and ink-repellent polymer is a silicone polymer. 7. A method according to claim 6 wherein the silicone polymer is an organo functional siloxane. 8. A method according to claim 7 wherein a curing catalyst is present. 9. A method according to claim 1 wherein the water and ink-repellent polymer is a mixture of a fluorinated resin and a silicone. 10. A method according to claim 1 wherein composition a) comprises a 4-diazo-diphenylamine-formaldehyde condensate p-toluene sulphonic acid salt which is solvent soluble. 11. A method according to claim 1 wherein the free-radically polymerisable ethylenically unsaturated compounds of composition c) are a mixture of an oligomer with acrylate functionality together and a monomer with acrylate or methacrylate functionality. 12. A method according to claim 11 wherein the oligomer with acrylate functionality is a polyester with four acrylate groups. 13. A method according to claim 11 wherein the monomer with acrylate functionality is dipentaerythritol penta-acrylate. 14. A method according to claim 1 wherein the photoinitiator in composition c) which is present with the free radically polymerisable ethylenically unsaturated compound is a titanocene. 15. A method according to claim 1 wherein the composition b) is a water soluble dimethylmaleimide photopolymer or a water soluble cinnamate photopolymer. 16. A method according to claim 15 wherein the dimethylmaleimide photopolymer is an acrylate backbone polymer with pendant dimethylmaleimide groups. 17. A method according to claim 15 wherein the composition b) comprises a thiozanthone or ketocourmarins as a sensitiser. 18. A method according to claim 1 wherein composition a), b) and c) comprise an infra-red sensitising dye.

Inventors: BENNETT PETER ANDREW REATH, SMITH CAROLE-ANNE, BENNETT, PETER, ANDREW, REATH, SMITH, CAROLE-ANNE
Applicants: BENNETT PETER ANDREW REATH, HORSELL GRAPHIC IMAGES LIMITED, SMITH CAROLE ANNE, BENNETT, PETER, ANDREW, REATH, SMITH, CAROLE-ANNE
Application year: 1996
Main classification: G03F7
IPC codes: G03F7