A type of printing plate used in offset lithography comprising a metal (or other material) base coated with a layer of thermally-sensitive polymers, which allow the plate to be imaged utilizing heat rather than light. Infrared lasers expose the image areas of the plate, which then need to be processed chemically. The primary advantage of these types of plates is the lack of need for special lighting conditions which are required for the handling of other light-sensitive plate coatings. Thermal curing after processing also imparts a high degree of durability to the image areas, allowing them to be used for print runs of over 1,000,000. (See Plate: Offset Lithography.)
|