Importance

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Abstract

The invention is directed to the development of lithographic printing plates and comprises the application of a thin, quiescent film of developer solution to each plate in a controlled manner using, for example, a wire-wound coating device or an ink-jet type head. A feature of this quiescence is that the developer fluid is applied uniformly with self-leveling over the plate at the required thickness. In the preferred embodiment the fluid is gently fed onto the wire-wound device by simple volumetric displacement and overflow from the inside of a hollow tube onto the wire, and the flow is controlled by sensing the beginning and end of each plate. The developer dwells on the plate as it is conveyed across a stable horizontal support structure for a sufficient time to allow for undisturbed vertical percolation into and/or dissolution of the soluble regions of the coating, without being subjected to lateral forces that would promote seepage of developer into the base of adjacent areas where dissolution is not desired.

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First Claim