Patent ID: 8413581

Claim:
A method for handling printing plates, which comprises the steps of: providing a multiplicity of printing plates as a printing plate stack on at least one storage plane being a tray substantially without continuous lateral vertical boundaries on three sides; providing the storage plane in a first section of a device for handling the printing plates, the first section being a storage device; preventing vertical movements of the storage plane in the first section; moving the storage plane in a first direction horizontally from the first section into a second section with a transfer element for a complete transfer of a storage plane from the first section to the second section and vice versa, the second section being a lifting device having a lifting gear for moving the storage planes vertically at least into a first and a second position, and at least one of the lifting device and the storage device having a drawer for moving the storage plane horizontally out of one of the lifting device and the storage device; moving the storage plane vertically in the second section into one of the first position and the second position; moving the storage plane horizontally in a second direction out of a region of the first and second sections, the second direction lying substantially perpendicular with respect to the first direction, with the result that the storage plane can be accessed by an operator from three sides outside the second section.