The prepress equipment is composed of original text and text input, layout editing, imposition and plate making, etc. It is a very important process in printing. Prepress equipment refers to a general term for equipment required to support the process flow before printing on the machine, including computer graphic design, desktop publishing, etc.
Vertical / horizontal / ceiling camera This is an optical machine that captures originals into negatives for plate making. It consists of the base frame (or hanger), mirror box, original frame and light source. The main use of this equipment has been replaced by electronic color separation machines.
Electronic color separation machine It is a device designed based on the principle of electronic color separation, using photoelectric scanning and electronic computing technology to replace the camera for image platemaking. This machine has been completely replaced by two new technologies: the first is laser phototypesetting technology; the second is CTP direct platemaking technology.
Flat scanner It is mainly composed of optical system, photoelectric conversion system (charge coupled device CCD), electronic system and mechanical system. Advantages: fast scanning speed and easy to use; strong adaptability to originals and low price. Disadvantages are: low dynamic range of density; poor performance of dark-toned parts of the image; the effect of scanning transmitted originals is not ideal; resolution and sharpness are not as good as those of a roller scanner.
Drum Scanner It is developed by the electronic color separation machine, and its core technology is the photomultiplier tube PMT and analog / digital (A / D) converter, including the scanning roller, scanning light source, and scanning head system. Its advantages are: using a photomultiplier tube (PMT) as the optical signal receiver, it has high sensitivity to light, so the density response range is large, the dark tone of the image is good, and the resolution is high. The disadvantages are: it is not as convenient to use as a flat scanner, the scanning speed is slow, and the price is high.
Laser imagesetter It is a device that outputs high-resolution, high-resolution images and text on film or photo paper. It scans the text, images, and graphic content produced by the prepress system on the photosensitive film accurately, and then develops the film, and then prints it on the printing machine in large quantities after making the plate. Imagesetters are generally divided into three types: winch, outer drum and inner drum (also the most expensive). Although they are widely used, they will soon be replaced by CTP direct platemaking technology.
Monochrome flattened offset offset proofing machine It is mainly used to verify the quality of offset printing plates, truthfully reflect the actual situation of the manuscript’s pattern, picture, and tone level. It can be used for small batch printing besides offset proofing. It is widely used in instrument signs, glass, wood, rubber and plastic Accurate printing. Some applications have been replaced by digital proofers.
Film processing machine Also known as film processor refers to the equipment for processing printing film (also known as film), which is often sold and used in conjunction with laser imagesetters; it is often used in medical treatment for X-ray, CT, and MPI medical film processing; both principles Again, the structure is slightly different. With the popularization of CTP technology, its application in the printing field will be greatly reduced.
Duplicator It is mainly used for the reproduction of printing film (film), which is divided into bright room and dark room. With the popularization and application of CTP, such devices are in their twilight years.
Laminator It is actually a simple copy machine, and it has rarely been seen on the market.
Resin Plate Making Machine It is mainly used for the production of solid or liquid resin plates. Commonly used for self-adhesive printing mechanism plate and seal plate printing on coding printer. Plate making process: exposure → washing → drying.
Flexible Plate Making Machine It is mainly used to make flexible plates (also called aniline plates). Its plate-making principle is similar to the resin plate-making machine. The plate-making process: back exposure → main exposure → water washing → drying → debonding. It is matched with a medicinal solution recovery machine. This machine is often used by carton factories, plastic packaging factories, stickers, label printing factories, etc.
Plate baking machine Baking machines can be used for letterpress plates. The letterpress plate-making process is as follows: plate preparation → plate printing → corrosion → whole plate → proofing. For the plate preparation, select a suitable copper plate or zinc plate, cut to the required size, and remove oil stains, oxide films, scars, water stains, trachoma, etc. Removal method can be light, soft, no knots or cracks of charcoal for grinding. The polished plate surface also produces extremely fine streaks, which can increase the adsorption of the photosensitive liquid. The polished metal plate is placed in a baking machine to distribute a chrome photosensitizer, which can be used for drying after the photosensitizer is dried. Before the PS version was not popularized, the dryer could also coat the PS version for users’ own use in small batches, and had basically withdrawn from the market.
Exposure machine A contact exposure imaging device mainly used to make printing plates (PS plates, screen plates, etc.), which uses pressure to closely attach the original plate to the photosensitive plate, so that the photo on the original plate can be accurately baked on the photosensitive plate through a photochemical reaction. Version. Exposure machine can be divided into two types: single-sided exposure machine and flip type double-sided exposure machine (also known as double-back). The current JB / T 9108－1999 exposure system industry standard was mainly drafted by the original Jiangsu Taixing Instrument Factory . Part of its market has been replaced by CTP, but for some time to come, it will still be one of the necessary platemaking equipment for small and medium printing companies.
CTP system Not only does it mean installing a CTP platesetter, it also includes many additional devices and equipment to enable digital workflows to run, it is one of the fastest growing and most influential high-tech in the prepress field. CTP technology includes plates, corresponding output devices, and corresponding workflows. With the development of computer technology, laser technology, electronic technology, machining technology and new materials, and the further reduction of the cost of CTP plates, CTP technology has entered a mature application period, and it will definitely replace the traditional prepress platemaking technology in the future. .
Continuous dryer Equipment capable of continuous repeated contact exposure on printing plates. It is mainly used for the printing of small-sized and high-precision printed materials such as stamps and trademarks, and the domestic sales are very small.
Developing machine It is a machine capable of automatically developing, washing, gluing (optional) and drying the plate material (PS plate or CTP plate). The developing machine is divided into a spray type (which has been basically eliminated) and a dip tank type, and is mainly used in combination with a plate exposure machine and a CTP plate making machine.
Baking machine The baking machine is an auxiliary device for pre-coated photosensitive lithographic platemaking. It can improve the abrasion resistance, solvent resistance, and corrosion resistance of the graphic parts of the pre-coated photosensitive lithography, and greatly improve the printing power of the printing plate (Note: 2-5 times), greatly reducing the printing plate usage and plate changing time. It is especially suitable for ultra-long pieces of printed matter. It is also one of the mandatory plate-making equipment in printing can manufacturing plants.
Retention machine The used plates (PS or CTP plates) are automatically corrected, washed with ink, washed with water, glued, and stored after drying, which is convenient for reprinting and saves the cost and time of plate making again.
hole puncher There are two types: manual and automatic. They are generally used for punch positioning of PS version or CTP version of multi-color printing presses. The photoelectric positioning PS plate pneumatic punching machine can greatly reduce the time of passing paper and printing (also called registration), improve production efficiency, and reduce the labor intensity of operators. It is an essential auxiliary equipment for commercial printing of multicolor machines.