Flexographic Printing Plate with Improved Cure Efficiency

摘要

A method of making a relief image printing element comprising a plurality of relief printing dots. The method includes the steps of: (a) providing at least one photocurable layer disposed on the backing layer, the at least one photocurable layer being capable of being selectively crosslinked and cured upon exposure to actinic radiation, (b) imagewise exposing the at least one photocurable layer to actinic radiation to selectively crosslink and cure portions of the at least one photocurable layer; and (c) developing the relief image printing element to separate and remove uncrosslinked and uncured portions of the at least one photocurable layer to reveal the relief image therein. The at least one photocurable layer comprises (i) an ethylenically unsaturated monomer; (ii) a binder; and (iii) a photoinitiator exhibiting a quantum yield of initiation (Qi) of more than 0.05 at a 365 nm wavelength.

主权项

1. A method of making a relief image printing element comprising a plurality of relief printing dots, the method comprising the step of:
a) providing at least one photocurable layer disposed on a backing layer, the at least one photocurable layer being capable of being selectively crosslinked and cured upon exposure to actinic radiation, the at least one photocurable layer comprising:
i) an ethylenically unsaturated monomer;ii) a binder; andiii) a photoinitiator, the photoinitiator exhibiting a quantum yield of initiation (Qi) of more than 0.05 at a 365 nm wavelength; b) imagewise exposing the at least one photocurable layer to actinic radiation to selectively crosslink and cure portions of the at least one photocurable layer; and c) developing the relief image printing element to separate and remove uncrosslinked and uncured portions of the at least one photocurable layer to reveal a relief image therein, wherein the relief image comprises the plurality of relief printing dots, and wherein the plurality of relief printing dots exhibit an edge sharpness of the dots such that the ratio of the radius of curvature at the intersection of the shoulder and the top surface of the dot, re, to the width of the top of the dot, p, is less than 5%.