Recording Media Technologies for Plateless Digital Offset Printing

Exciting evolutions are taking place in offset printing. Digital printing form preparation is moving into the pressroom, and onto the press. Direct imaging, computer-to-press, is adopted by major press manufacturers to differentiate them from their competition and to answer the changing needs of their customers. But already new concepts are being developed, in which re-usable substrates are being used, and for which new recording media technologies are required. This presentation reviews the different recording media technologies that presently are being developed. Three generations of technologies are described: a first generation uses a lithographic substrate on which an active layer is image-wise applied or image-wise removed; a second generation uses a non-lithographic substrate on which a switchable (but non-reversible) active layer is coated; a third generation uses a reusable reversible active layer. It is explained that all three technology generations have their merits but also impose technical and scientific challenges to Research and Development Groups. Finally a new type of coating sensitive to infrared laser recording and suitable for plateless digital offset applications, called LiteSpeedTM, is introduced and subsequently its performance is discussed.