Output details
15 - General Engineering
Liverpool John Moores University
Modification of Anodised Aluminium Surfaces Using a Picosecond Fibre Laser for Printing Applications
This paper reports on the novel concept of using ultra-fast laser material modification to create a rewriteable lithographic plate. This research, carried out in collaboration with JP Imaging, delivered the world’s first truly rewriteable lithographic plate; the “Miracle Plate”. Aspects of this have been subsequently patented and the outcome is currently being commercialised. The environmental and cost benefits that arise from a rewriteable lithographic plate are globally significant. A normal lithographic plate has to be manufactured from non-recycled aluminium and is a one-use product. The plate described in this paper had printed 2000 copies of four different images.