Method and apparatus for laser dye ablation printing with high intensity laser diode

摘要

A method and apparatus for performing laser dye ablation printing utilizing a laser diode with improved contrast and uniformity produces exposed film having a minimum optical density (Dmin) of less than 0.11 and exhibiting significant reductions in visible raster lines. Specifically, a laser printing apparatus is provided that includes a mechanism for retaining a film to be exposed, a laser diode source for generating a write beam, and a mechanism for scanning the write beam across the film to generate an image. The intensity of write beam generated by the laser diode source at the film is preferably at least 1.0 mW/square micron. During operation, a film to be exposed is placed in the retaining mechanism and the write beam is scanned across the film to generate an image.