Patent ID: 7828547

Claim:
A method for heating a planar printing plate, the method comprising: pressurizing and heating a flow of air, moving the planar printing plate along a substantially curved path, wherein the substantially curved path is adjacent to a first curved surface, the first curved surface comprising: a plurality of openings, the plurality of openings being operable to convey at least a part of the flow of air, bending the planar printing plate as it is moved along the substantially curved path, and conveying the at least a part of the flow of air through the first curved surface wherein at least a portion of the planar printing plate along the substantially curved path comprises a photopolymer or thermal photosensitive coating, and wherein the coating is heated by the at least a part of the flow of air, and is prevented from contacting the first curved surface by the at least a part of the flow of air, wherein the conveying the at least a part of the flow of air commences less than 5 minutes before the planar printing plate is moved along the substantially curved path.