The Influence of Laser Spot Shape on the Stability of the Printing Process

The color obtained by the lithographic printing process is highly sensitive to the size of the dots on the plate. This size must be control as precisely as possible. It must also be as independent as possible against the unavoidable variation in all the processes involved. Variation in the plate characteristic, exposure, processing and changes occurring on the press all may adversely affect the dot size and make the color harder to control. The key for good color stability is a hard dot. We will examine how the laser spot shape and the gamma of the media used influence the dot hardness and therefore the stability of the color on the final printed product.