A type of printing plate used in offset lithography in which the images are burned onto the plate by laser diodes directed by computer data. The plate comprises either a metal or a polyester base, with a thin coating that can be selectively burned by the laser. Its primary advantage is the elimination of a post-exposure chemical treatment. This means that ablation plates can be imaged directly on the press, and that all plates for a job can be produced at the same time and in alignment with each other. (See Plate: Offset Lithography.)
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