Eastman-kodak Company

Creo Il. Ltd.

Kodak Il. Ltd.

Scitex Inc.

Aprion Digital Ltd.

Creoscitex Corporation Ltd.

Creo, LLC

A.i.t. Israel Advanced Technology Ltd

Afrion Digital Ltd.

Scitex Corporatrion Ltd.

Murray Figov

Yariv Y Pinto

Moshe Marom

Daniel John Blondal

Ilan Levi

Harry Booyens

Narda Ben-Horin

Paul R West

Hannoch Ron

Serge Steinblatt

Lior Lifshitz

Anna Sigalov

Boaz Glass

Daniel Gelbart

Ilan Ben Oren

Moshe Frenkel

Eynat Matzner

Ruizheng Wang

Igal Igor Koifman

Alex Weiss

Elena Eisurovich

Yosef Kamir

Jankiel Kimelblat

Zohar Stern

Shraga Dvoretzki

Albert Benezra

A method of manufacturing a flexographic plate having a uniform thickness comprises providing a thermoset layer having at least one uneven side; providing a thermoplastic layer having a first and a second side; attaching the first side of the thermoplastic layer to the uneven side of the thermoset layer thereby forming a flexographic plate; and calendering the flexographic plate via a series of heated pairs of rollers thereby creating a flexographic plate with a uniform thickness.

Fabricating thermoset plates exhibiting uniform thickness

Negative-Working Lithographic Printing Plate Precursors can be provided with desired contrast coloration after imaging using a coloring fluid that includes a water-insoluble colorant that is soluble in a water-insoluble fatty alcohol. The coloring fluid provides an optical density change in the exposed regions of at least ODthat is greater than the original optical density of those regions, OD. The coloring fluid can be applied immediately after imaging and before processing, or it can be applied as part of the developer or processing solution, or it can be applied after processing. The coloring fluid can also be applied to imaged precursors that are designed for either off-press or on-press development.

Preparation of lithographic printing plates

Lithographic printing plates can be obtained by contacting infrared radiation-imaged negative-working lithographic printing plate precursors with a processing solution having a pH less than 9 and comprising a UV photoinitiator. After this processing, the lithographic printing plate is floodwise exposed with UV radiation. Providing a UV-photoinitiator in the processing solution followed by UV exposure can increase imaging sensitivity and printing plate run-length, and reduce print background.

Method of providing lithographic printing plates

A color contrast image in imaged lithographic printing precursors can be obtained by contacting the imaged precursor with a coloration solution containing a colorless form of a photochromic compound. Residual amounts of this compound attached to the oleophilic surface of the imaged precursor can be changed to its colored form when exposed to UV light. The coloration solution can be an alkaline or acidic developer or an alkaline or acidic solution used separately after development. The coloration solution can also be a gum solution.

Developers and method of coloring lithographic printing members

A micro-lens enhanced element comprises a substrate bearing sequences of printed image elements, each sequence containing image elements from more than one image. A transparent spacer layer is coated over the interlaced image strips. Lenticular lenses are fashioned over each sequence of image elements by deposition of a transparent layer of low surface energy polydimethyl siloxane based material and ablation of the same to create strips of material abhesive to a polymeric lens forming material between consecutive sequences of printed image elements. During deposition of a liquid lens forming material, the liquid withdraws from the liquid abhesive low surface energy strips to form a meniscus, thereby providing lenticular lenses. The transparent low surface energy material comprises a near infrared dye with low absorption in the visible range of the spectrum to render the material both transparent and ablateable by infrared laser.

Micro-lens enhanced element

Laser-engraveable flexographic printing plate precursors have a laser-engraveable elastomeric layer that comprises a non-free radical crosslinked polymeric binder, an infrared radiation absorbing compound, and a compound that remains stable in the precursor but upon imaging thermally degrades to produce gaseous products. The thermally degradable compounds can generate or liberate one or more gases such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide.

Laser-engraveable flexographic printing plate precursors

A non-photosensitive flexographic liquid or paste precursor comprising a mixture of acrylate oligomers and acrylic or methacrylate monomers, infrared absorbing material, fillers and heat decomposable peroxide, which when heated forms a non-thermoplastic elastomeric solid material in the form of a flexographic printing blank engravable by infrared laser ablation.

Material for infrared laser ablated engraved flexographic printing plates

A micro-lens enhanced element comprises a substrate bearing sequences of printed image elements, each sequence containing image elements from more than one image. A transparent spacer layer is coated over the interlaced image strips. Lenticular lenses are fashioned over each sequence of image elements by deposition of a transparent layer of low surface energy polydimethyl siloxane based material and ablation of the same to create strips of material adhesive to a polymeric lens forming material between consecutive sequences of printed image elements. During deposition of a liquid lens forming material, the liquid withdraws from the liquid adhesive low surface energy strips to form a meniscus, thereby providing lenticular lenses. The transparent low surface energy material comprises a near infrared dye with low absorption in the visible range of the spectrum to render the material both transparent and ablateable by infrared laser.

Micro-lens enhanced elements methods and apparatii for forming the same are provided. The micro-lens enhanced elements include a substrate having a first surface and a plurality of image elements printed on the first surface such that image elements having image information from one image are interlaced with image elements having image information from at least one other image. A transparent layer has a proximate surface confronting the printed image elements and a distal surface separated from the proximate surface by a thickness d, and; a second plurality of lenticular lenses formed onto the distal surface, over sequences of at least two image elements, said lenticular lenses being adapted to direct light that has been modulated by the printed image elements and that has passed through transparent layer into different portions of a viewing area.

A laser imageable flexographic printing plate precursor comprises a thermoset elastomeric upper layer that is at least partially ablatable and comprises a radiation sensitive compound, and a non-ablatable elastomeric underlayer. This flexographic printing plate precursor can be imaged to provide a printing plate that is primarily useful for 'high quality' printing because the resulting relief image is generally not greater than 600 &#x3bc;m and has an extremely even 'floor'. The imaged flexographic printing plate also can have a high visual contrast between the imaged areas and the non-imaged background areas.

Flexographic printing plate precursor and imaging method

Single coatings onto non-absorbent substrates on which aqueous inkjet inks are jetted with subsequent application of heat or other forms of energy to further cross-link the coating onto the substrate and to fuse the inkjet ink image to give good quality water resistance colored reproductions. Optionally a protective layer is applied on the ink-jet printed image.

Process and materials for marking plastic surfaces

Single coatings onto non-absorbent substrates on which aqueous ink jet inks are jetted with subsequent application of heat, without the use of reactive species in the ink and in the media used as a substrate coating. The heating rapidly drives the water of the ink into the coating, with the rest of the water from the ink being lost by evaporation. The material is then subject to immediate application of a sealing lacquer, which is preferably water-based and which may be dried and possibly cross-linked by heat to give a very resistant surface.

Method and media for printing aqueous ink jet inks on plastic surfaces

A single manufacturing pass for manufacturing a multilayered self-organized coating onto a substrate to provide all of the functions usually provided in multiple-pass coatings for manufacturing an infrared imageable offset lithographic printing plate; and a process whereby two or more polymeric materials that cannot usually co-exist in solution may be dissolved in suitably dilute solvent mixtures which, when coated onto a substrate and the solvents evaporated, deposit a continuous graduation of polymeric mixtures vertical to the substrate, caused by the self-assembly process.

Single-coat self-organizing multi-layered printing plate

A method of producing ink-jet printed images with high resistance to physical and chemical damage on plastic surfaces, by coating the plastic object with an inkjet receptive layer comprising a mixture of hydrophilic polymers and UV curable pre-polymers deposited from an emulsion, ink-jetting an image onto the coating using ink-jet ink comprising a colorant and aqueous carrier, warming the printed surface to drive part of the water in the ink into the surface coating and to evaporate the other part of the water, UV curing the dried surface and over-coating the UV cured surface with lacquer or with lamination material.

Growing community of inventors

Raanana, Israel

Murray Figov