Any aluminum plate material can be used and any stock that can be printed on can be used. The two sheets are sandwiched so tightly together that there is virtually no air between them. A minute portion of the DRL is heated by the laser and explodes outward toward the receiver sheet. The outward movement of the DRL pushes the coating material on the outermost layer out and onto the receiver sheet. Immediately afterwards, the DRL material retracts and contracts slightly, leaving the spot of coating on the receiver sheet.
Ablation is the technical term used to describe the removal of material from the donor sheet.
Because the coating materials used are not toner based and because the donor and receiver sheets are so close together, the coating does not splatter on the receiver sheet. Thus, the material transfer is crisp and precise and the same size and shape of the laser spot. In fact, using this technology, PGI has created spot sizes as small as 5 microns, as well as screen rulings of more than 200 lpi, at resolutions above 4,000 dpi. The donor sheet can be casually disposed of or recycled. There are no loose particles to be removed or cleaned up.