METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING A FILM OF FLUID ONTO A FLAT SURFACE AND SPECIFICALLY ONTO A LITHOGRAPHIC PRINTING PLATE IN A DEVELOPING STATION

摘要

The invention relates to the application of a uniform film of a fluid to the surface of flat workpiece as it is being conveyed through a workstation. The invention is specifically related to the uniform application of developer in the development of lithographic printing plates (14). A thin film of developer solution is applied to each plate (14) in a controlled, metered, manner using a wire-wound coating device. The fluid is fed on the wire-wound device by simple volumetric displacement and overflows from the inside of a hollow tube (44) onto the wire (46); and the flow is controlled by sensing (42) the beginning and the end of each plate (14). The developer is allowed to dwell on the plate (14) as it is conveyed across a support structure for a sufficient time to allow for percolation into and / or dissolution of the soluble areas of the coating.