Patent · US Active

Method for smoother tonal response in flexographic printing

US11142013B2 · kind B2 · utility

1Cited by
17References
28Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 26, 2017
Grant dateOct 12, 2021
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 4, 2038

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N1/405
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A process for creating a flexographic plate or a mask for producing a flexographic plate, including providing a screen having a resolution defined by a base pattern of equally sized screen spots, each screen spot comprising a smallest exposed discrete element represented on the screen. In at least a non-solid tonal portion of the plate or mask, the size of physical spots are selectively modulated such that each set of four neighboring physical spots in the base pattern has an unexposed area centered therebetween. Each screen spot in the base pattern may be an exposed pixel surrounded by 8 unexposed pixels, each physical spot corresponding to the resolution of a laser beam for exposing the spots on the mask, in which the imaging step includes boosting power of the laser beam for isolated pixels relative to non isolated pixels. Mask and plates, and imaging systems for creating them, are also disclosed.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.