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

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. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.