A LITHOGRAPHIC PRINTING PLATE PRECURSOR
A lithographic printing plate precursor is disclosed including a support and a coating comprising (i) a photopolymerisable layer including a polymerisable compound and a photoinitiator, and a toplayer provided above the photopolymerisable layer; characterized in that the toplayer includes a hydrophobic binder.
1 - 10 . (canceled)
11 . A negative-working lithographic printing plate precursor comprising:
a support and
a coating comprising
a photopolymerisable layer comprising a polymerisable compound and a photoinitiator, and
a toplayer above the photopolymerisable layer comprising a hydrophobic binder which comprises a monomeric unit derived from a vinylidene monomer.
12 . The printing plate precursor of claim 11 , wherein the hydrophobic binder is a random copolymer, a gradient copolymer, or a segmented copolymer.
13 . The printing plate precursor of claim 12 , wherein the hydrophobic binder is a segmented copolymer and the segmented copolymer is a block copolymer or a graft copolymer.
14 . The printing plate precursor of claim 11 , wherein the hydrophobic binder is present in the toplayer in an amount between about 40 wt % and about 96 wt %.
15 . The printing plate precursor of claim 11 , wherein the vinylidene monomer comprises a halogen.
16 . The printing plate precursor of claim 15 , wherein the halogen is chloride or fluoride.
17 . The printing plate precursor of claim 11 , wherein the hydrophobic binder further comprises a monomeric unit derived from an acrylate, a methacrylate, styrene, an acrylamide, a methacrylamide, or a maleimide.
18 . The printing plate precursor of claim 11 , wherein the hydrophobic binder further comprises a monomeric unit derived from butyl (meth)acrylate or methyl (meth)acrylate.
19 . The printing plate precursor of claim 11 , wherein the hydrophobic binder comprises between about 60 wt % and about 95 wt % of the monomeric units derived from the vinylidene monomers.
20 . The printing plate precursor of claim 15 , wherein the hydrophobic binder comprises between about 5 wt % and about 40 wt % of monomeric units derived from an acrylate, a methacrylate, styrene, an acrylamide, a methacrylamide, or a maleimide.
21 . A method for making a printing plate precursor comprising:
coating a support with:
a photopolymerisable layer comprising a polymerisable compound and a photoinitiator, and
a toplayer above the photopolymerisable layer comprising a hydrophobic binder which comprises a monomeric unit derived from a vinylidene monomer, and
drying the coated support.
22 . A method for making a printing plate comprising:
image-wise exposing the printing plate precursor of claim 21 to heat and/or light to form a lithographic image consisting of image areas and non-image areas, and
developing the exposed precursor.
23 . The method of claim 22 , wherein the exposed precursor is developed by mounting the exposed precursor on a plate cylinder of a lithographic printing press and rotating the plate cylinder while feeding dampening liquid and/or ink to the precursor.