Methods of preparing and composing relief printing member

Claim 1

A latently composable printing member according to claim 1, wherein said finely divided resin is selected from the group consisting of: vinyl chloride, copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinylidene chloride, acrylic resins, polyolefins, polyvinyl fluorides, polyvinyl chloro fluorides, vinyl chloride maleic ester copolymers, vinyl chloride acetate copolymers, and mixtures thereof.

Claim 4

A method of preparing a plate for use in composing a relief printing member comprising, providing a dimensionally stable support base, coating said base with a heat-sensitive nonnear-infrared-absorbing polymer dispersion composition comprising a finely divided resin substantially uniformly dispersed in a mixture of a plasticizer for said resin and a polymerizable liquid monomer, said mixture of plasticizer and liquid monomer being present in an amount sufficient to dissolve said resin and form a substantially insoluble solid solution on complete solvation of the dispersion resin and polymerization of the monomer at elevated temperatures, and heating said dispersion resin coating to form a dry, gelled film having a thickness in the range of 0.002-0.010 inch.

Claim 5

A method of preparing a relief printing plate comprising, coating a base with a heat-sensitive, nonnear-infrared-absorbing dispersion resin composition, gelling the dispersion resin composition to form a dry stable coating having a thickness in the range of 0.002-0.010 inch, providing a master from which a relief printing plate is to be prepared having indicia thereon capable of absorbing near-infrared radiation, positioning the master on the coated base with the indicia in thermal contact with the resin dispersion, exposing the base and master sheet to a source of near-infrared radiation to form a substantially insoluble solid solution of the dispersed resin in areas in thermal contact with said indicia, separating the base and master sheets, and removing the heat sensitive resin dispersion from the base sheet in areas not previously in contact with the indicia on the master, to form a relief printing plate.

Claim 6

A method of preparing a relief printing plate comprising, coating a base sheet with a heat-sensitive, nonnear-infrared-absorbing dispersion resin composition, gelling the dispersion resin composition to form a dry stable coating having a thickness in the range of 0.002-0.010 inch, encoding indicia to be reproduced on the coated base sheet in an infrared absorbing material, exposing the encoded sheet to a source of near-infrared radiation to form a substantially insoluble solid solution of the dispersed resin in areas in thermal contact with said indicia, and removing the heat sensitive resin dispersion from the base sheet in areas not encoded with infrared absorbing material to form a relief printing plate.

Claim 7

A method of composing a relief printing plate comprising, providing a latently composable printing member comprising a substrate having thereon a nonnear-infrared-absorbing polymer dispersion coating consisting of a dry, gelled film having a thickness in the range of 0.002-0.010 inch, comprising a finely divided resin substantially uniformly dispersed in a plasticizer for said resin, said plasticizer being present in an amount sufficient to dissolve said resin and form a substantially insoluble solid solution on compLete solvation of the dispersion resin at elevated temperature, placing a master sheet having infrared absorbing indicia thereon in thermal contact with said composable printing member, exposing said master sheet and printing member while in thermal contact to a source of infrared radiation to form a substantially insoluble solid solution of said polymer dispersion in areas in thermal contact with said indicia, separating said master sheet from said composable printing member, and removing the coating from said composable printing member in areas not in thermal contact with the indicia on said master sheet to leave a relief printing pattern corresponding to the indicia on said master sheet.

Claim 9

A method of composing a relief printing plate comprising, providing a latently composable printing member comprising a substrate having thereon a nonnear-infrared-absorbing polymer dispersion coating consisting of a dry, gelled film having a thickness in the range of 0.002-0.010 inch, comprising a finely divided resin substantially uniformly dispersed in a plasticizer for said resin, said plasticizer being present in an amount sufficient to dissolve said resin and form a substantially insoluble solid solution on complete solvation of the dispersion resin at elevated temperatures, applying indicia to the composable printing member in infrared-absorbing material, exposing said composable printing member and indicia to a source of infrared radiation to form a substantially insoluble solid solution of said polymer dispersion in areas in thermal contact with said indicia, and removing the coating from said composable printing member in areas not in thermal contact with the indicia to leave a relief printing image corresponding to the applied indicia.

Claim 10

A method of preparing a relief printing plate comprising, coating a first substrate with a heat-sensitive, nonnear-infrared-absorbing dispersion resin composition, gelling the dispersion resin composition to form a dry stable coating having a thickness in the range of 0.002-0.010 inch, depositing infrared absorbing indicia on a second substrate, assembling said first substrate and second substrate with said indicia in physical and thermal contact with said heat-sensitive dispersion resin composition, exposing the assembled substrates to a source of near-infrared radiation to form a substantially insoluble solid solution of the dispersed resin in areas in thermal contact with said indicia, separating the first and second substrates, and removing the portions of the resin dispersion not in contact with the indicia, to form a relief printing plate.