Green consumables are also called recycled consumables. This is a concept that has been proposed a few years ago. It refers to consumables that can be recycled and reused, and can be refilled, including ink cartridges used by inkjet printers and laser printers. Toner cartridges also include printing paper for office use. As the saying goes, small details determine the general direction. In recent years, the application of green consumables has played a role in assisting printing companies on the green road to a certain extent. The following editors will introduce to you the "big role" of this "small object" in the development of green printing.
In the entire printing system, the plate-making process is one of the more important links and an important way to implement green printing. At present, the more advanced plate-making process is CTP technology, which fundamentally solves the problem of the silver salt pollution of the developer waste liquid generated during the use of the PS plate. However, ordinary CTP plates must undergo development treatment, and waste developer will be generated during the development process. The various chemical components it contains, especially strong alkaline substances, will cause environmental pollution and waste of resources. Therefore, the development of environmentally friendly plate materials that reduce or even completely eliminate developer contamination has become the development direction of CTP technology. At this time, treatment-free CTP plate powder and ink are introduced.
Strictly speaking, processing-free CTP technology means that after the plate is imaged on the direct plate-making equipment, it can be printed on the machine without any subsequent processing, and no liquid or solid waste in any form will be generated during the process. Broadly speaking, the processing-free CTP technology can be expanded to include that after the plate is exposed and imaged, it needs to undergo some low-chemical or non-chemical processing steps before it can be printed on the machine.
Low chemical consumption CTP
Low chemical consumption The development process of the CTP version still uses chemicals, but the consumption of chemicals is extremely low. The waterless offset CTP version can be classified as a low chemical consumption CTP version. The development process includes four processes: pretreatment, development, coloring, and drying. Among them, only special chemicals are used in the pretreatment step. During the development process, it is basically not consumed by volatilization. Subsequently, the unneeded silicone coating on the surface of the plate will be mechanically removed by water and developing brushes in the development step, and then the falling coating material will be filtered directly with the filter element. In addition, the environmental protection of the waterless offset CTP version is more reflected in the printing process. Since there is no need to use traditional fountain solution for dampening, it greatly reduces the use of printed drugs and reduces VOC emissions.
Low chemical treatment CTP
Low chemical treatment CTP version is usually divided into two development methods. One is that after the exposure is completed or before formal printing, the CTP plate is developed through a water or water glue solution that does not substantially contain chemicals, and then used for printing. Since water or hydrogel solution is required for development, some manufacturers simply separate the development step as a separate plate cleaning unit. The representative is Agfa's Azura plate, which uses the principle of hot-melt. The plastic particles and hydrophilic materials are evenly coated on the substrate. Before exposure, these independent plastic particles are closely arranged. After exposure, the particles are hot-melted. The cross-linking reaction forms a picture and text, and the unexposed part of the coating material is exposed to the plate base after being washed with water glue.
In addition, it can also be developed on the machine, that is, after the CTP plate is exposed, it does not need to be developed in the usual sense but is directly loaded onto the printing machine. Before starting printing, through the combined action of water and ink, dissolve and remove the non-graphic parts of the surface of the plate, and then start printing. Part of the dissolved non-graphic material is taken away through the paper, and the other part is dissolved and dispersed in the fountain solution. On-machine development technology is represented by Kodak's ThemalDirect and Fujifilm's BrilliaHDPRO-T.
No development processing CTP
The development-free CTP technology means that the plate material is directly used for printing without development after the exposure is completed, and the coating material on the surface of the plate material will not dissolve or fall off during the entire printing process. This technology was first realized by the principle of thermal ablation. Plates are generally coated with two layers-the bottom layer is ink-friendly, the surface layer is hydrophilic, and then the surface layer is ablated by laser to expose the ink-friendly layer to form printed graphic areas , Can be directly used for printing after exposure. However, because it generates dust during the imaging process, which affects the accuracy of the optical part of the plate-making machine and causes certain harm to the environment and human health, it has not been used in large-scale commercial applications.
Inkjet CTP technology can also be considered as a type of CTP technology without development processing. It is to use the printer to spray ink onto the specially processed plate base, using the principle of water and ink balance-the blank part is hydrophilic, and the graphics and text part are ink-friendly, so that the ink is finally transferred from the printing plate to the substrate on the printer process. Inkjet CTP technology began to appear in the 1970s, but because of the low resolution of the printers at that time, it has not been truly commercialized. Later, with the advancement of technology, the improvement of printer and plate production technology, inkjet CTP technology has also begun to get some development. At present, the plate making accuracy of this technology can already reach 180Lpi. Due to the limitations of plate-making precision, plate-making speed, and plate-making format, inkjet printing has not been widely promoted in the printing industry at present, but for some small rapid printing companies, this technology is an environmentally-friendly treatment-free solution. At present, Chengdu Xintu is cooperating with foreign companies to research and develop the FIT-Nano inkjet CTP plate, with plate making accuracy up to 175Lpi, which has the advantages of convenience, high efficiency, economy and environmental protection.
The FIT-eCO, which is being developed by Chengdu Xintu, implements the development-free processing of plates through the principle of phase transition imaging. The plate coating material contains a polymer that can undergo phase transition. Due to the lipophilicity of the plate surface, the lipophilicity of the graphic portion of the plate surface is greatly improved after exposure, while the unexposed part of the coating material Under the action of printing water bucket liquid, it can be automatically converted into hydrophilicity. Throughout the printing process, the special chemical structure of the non-graphic part of the surface of the plate material will not dissolve or fall off, and can continue to accumulate moisture, so as to better maintain the hydrophilic performance of the surface.
The advantages of processing-free CTP are: â‘ green and environmental protection, with little or no use of chemicals, which minimizes the harmful effects of the plate on the environment, and has great environmental advantages; â‘¡ streamlines the work process and eliminates the tradition of processing-free CTP The steps of developing and rinsing are efficient and convenient, and the process is easier to control, which saves human capital and reduces labor intensity; â‘¢ reduces production costs, because the use of chemical drugs is completely abandoned, thus eliminating the purchase and storage of chemical drugs. Greatly reduce the cost of the three waste disposal; â‘£ reduce the investment of developing equipment and its site cost. At present, low-chemical consumption CTP and low-chemical treatment CTP have been commercialized, but the development-free CTP still has some technical problems that need to be solved, so it has not been officially commercialized.
The “Environmental Label Product Technical Requirements Part I Lithography†issued on March 2, 2011 stipulates that lithography should pass the environmental label certification, and recommends the use of processing-free CTP version, which marks that green printing has entered a specific implementation stage. It is believed that treatment-free CTP will become the mainstream of the future development of CTP technology due to its efficient and convenient production methods, low emissions and low consumption, and inject new vitality into green printing.
It is still difficult for green consumables to open up China's market. The face of this embarrassing situation requires the state and relevant departments, enterprises, and media to actively guide the use of it and drive the change of our entire society and the awareness of the people. Not only purchasing high-quality and cheap recycled consumables, but also supporting environmental protection.
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