Modification of the aluminum for making offset printing plates

Abstract

Aluminum as the base of offset printing plates should make good contact with wetting agents and the light sensitive layer and should be resistant to wear and cracking. In order to achieve this, the aluminum is roughened and eventually anodized. A thin, electrochemically deposited chromium layer is used as the non-printing element in bimetallic offset printing forms. Chromium shows excellent wettability and wear resistance. The possibility of chemical deposition of chromium on aluminum from an alkaline solution is examined in this paper. The presence of chromium was confirmed and measured by EDAX. A difference in the spectral reflection characteristic between chromium-treated and non-treated specimens was also detected. An influence of a chromium layer on an aluminum surface was examined by water drop spreading. Chromium-treated samples showed better wettability than non-treated samples, but they are less wettable than anodized samples.