UVA and UVC modification of photo polymeric surface and application for flexographic deposition of thin coatings

Abstract

The object of this research was to perform, characterize, and apply the functional modification of flexographic photo polymeric printing plate surface by UVA and UVC post‐treatments. Photo polymeric printing plates have an important application in functional printing, where new printing inks/coatings and substrate formulations are used and the specific qualitative requirements must be met. The limitations of materials and processes often require expensive reformulations of the functional inks to achieve printability. Results of this research showed that the modification of the photo polymeric printing plate surface at the end of its production process can be used to precisely adjust the printing ink transfer to the printing substrate and thus eliminate the need for changing the ink/coating composition. By applying specific UV post‐treatment, one can create a flexographic coating deposition system of tailored properties adjustable to variable reproduction systems with high quality requirements. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43526.

Effect of the Common Solvents on UV-Modified Photopolymer and EPDM Flexographic Printing Plates and Printed Ink Films

“…Printing plate samples were treated with 10×, 20×, and 30× passes under the UV radiation source of 100% intensity and with 4 m/s speed. As was shown in previous research, the additional UV treatment of the printing plates leads to the continued crosslinking process in the core of analyzed polymeric materials, affecting the mechanical and surface properties of the material as well [32,33,43].…”

“…A standard sample of the EPDM printing plate not treated with additional UV treatment or exposed to any solvent presented measured SFE of ~20 mN/m. It is important to note that flexographic printing plates come in a wide range of SFE, from ~20 mN/m to ~40 mN/m, each suitable for use with specific ink and for the deposition of the films/coatings of different properties and in respect to the substrate used to print on [32]. Furthermore, in the preliminary research, EPDM printing plates did not present a significant increase of SFE after the UV radiation.…”

“…If one of those parameters is changed due to the interaction of the printing plates with solvents, the adsorption of the inks will be changed, resulting in obtaining printed films of altered qualitative properties. On the other hand, previous research in the area of printing plates has proven that by additional surface treatment of the printing plate's surface, it is possible to adjust these properties of the plates, causing the optimal interfacial interaction between the plate and printing ink [31][32][33]. It was shown that additional UV treatment of the printing plate surface could be used as a method for obtaining a maximal possible quality in the reproduction process, and it can be used for adjustment of the printing plates' surface properties for deposition of different coatings.…”

Polycaprolactone primers with zinc oxide and silicon dioxide nanoparticles for paper substrates: Influence on the properties of cyan and magenta offset prints

“…Calculations of SFE for the primed papers were performed and the results are displayed in Figure 2A‐C. Although the surface properties of primed papers were determined primarily to calculate the adhesion parameters in the paper‐primer‐ink system, the presented SFE of primed papers could be significant for the potential application of these substrates in printing techniques with inks of a lower viscosity (such as ink‐jet, gravure or flexography) 18,34 …”

Accessible and Cost‐Effective Method of PDMS Microdevices Fabrication Using a Reusable Photopolymer Mold

“…The photopolymer thickness was around 1.14 mm . The flexographic plate usually composed of an elastomeric, styrene–diene–styrene‐based photo polymeric sheet on a polyethylene terephthalate base was solvent washable or water washable. The organic compounds were crosslinked by the exposure to UVA wavelengths as crosslinker initiators and UVC wavelengths were used to end the reaction, giving large and stable molecular structures insoluble in the defined developing solution.…”