Multifunctional crosshairs

Usually when two or more colors are printed, the calibration is based on whether the crosshairs are aligned or not. In addition, whether or not the front and back images of the printed sheet are aligned or not, and the cutting position of the sheet are judged based on the crosshairs. So far, the function of the reticle is simple, but it is very important for a multicolor printing plate that requires registration.

Multi-functional crosshairs, as the name suggests, are more than just a function of school registration. Indeed, such crosshairs can also be used for color management. According to the crosshair information, not only the deviation of the printing plate position can be measured, but also the density of the ink, the strength of the roller pressure and the balance state of the roller can be known after the CMYK line width is measured, and the line width and the line width can be observed. The degree of deviation can be understood in the case of ink, dampening water, and blankets.

The emergence of multi-functional crosshairs is not the result of special research and development after the establishment of a certain project, as people imagined. Instead, it was developed in a rather accidental but inevitable manner.

Platemaking and printing are two different departments. Therefore, when there is a problem with registration, and the problem does not know where it is, one party will complain that the version is not done well, and the other will complain about the problem with printing. This is a contradiction between the platemaking department and the printing department, and between the platemaking company and the printing company.

Tokyo Shinkawa Japan Flat Plate Equipment Co., Ltd. is a professional plate making company. When it comes to photolithography, it is often not possible to understand the crosshairs precisely printed in the platemaking process. Why is it that the crosshairs on the machine are not in place? The company also began to introduce printing equipment from photoengraving to CTP plate making. Until this time, the plate-maker knows that the factors such as the stretching of the paper in the printing and the roller lining and other factors can cause misprints and other printing problems. To solve these problems, the company started to develop the Tri-PMC (PrintMarginCheker).

The Tri-PMC reads a crosshair as an image from a CCD micro camera, and software displays an image measurement chart and a small printer output measurement result.

The device is used to measure the cross-line width, the CMY version of the K-plate as a benchmark, and the brightness of each color ink.

The magnified view of the crosshair with a line width of 50μm can be seen to be more complex than the ordinary crosshair. In fact, the most difficult thing to develop is the crosshair shape. Because it is necessary to reflect the information necessary for color management, but also look good.

From the change of the multi-functional crosshairs, the state of the ink, the wetting water, and the blanket can be understood. So it can also be said that crosshairs are the diagnosticians of machine health.

Will be introduced in the future, after analyzing the accumulated offset and brightness measurement data, it can automatically judge and display the countermeasures, or based on the results of the measurement, the machine will automatically adjust the amount of ink and water, in the register of At the same time, the system that allows colors to be properly restored.