Patent ID: 6905266

Claim:
Apparatus for developing a lithographic printing plate having an imaged coating on a surface thereof comprising areas of coating insoluble in a selected developer solution and areas of coating soluble in said selected developer solution, said apparatus adapted to remove said soluble coating from said plate and comprising means for conveying said plate across a substantially horizontal support structure, means for applying fresh developer solution to said imaged coating on said surface for a period of time necessary for said soluble coating to dissolve in said developer solution and produce a spent developer solution and a developed plate, and means for removing said spent developer solution from said developed plate and discharging said spent developer solution to waste wherein said means for applying fresh developer solution comprises: a. a wire-wound rod for applying developer solution to said plate as the plate is being conveyed b. a support member for maintaining the wire rod in a horizontal position above the means for conveying the plate; c. a horizontal hollow tube having a plurality of apertures along the length on one side thereof, said tube being mounted above said wire wound rod; and d. means for feeding fresh developer solution into said tube whereby said developer solution overflows from said tube through said plurality of apertures and flows down said tube onto said wire wound rod, to produce a uniform thickness of fresh developer film over the entire plate.