Talking about the characteristics of purple laser CTP
Violet laser is not argon laser (Violet ≠Blue):
The first thing to clarify is that the violet laser is not an argon laser. Many people have been misled into saying that the violet laser is the same as the argon laser more than a decade ago. But in fact, these are two completely different laser technologies. The argon laser is an early gas laser. It is bulky and requires huge energy to excite argon to produce a blue laser. The laser tube has a short life and high price. Early roller scanners used argon lasers. Violet laser uses the latest laser diode, solid-state type purple laser, consumes very low energy, long life and stable. So purple laser is not only outdated technology, but the latest technology.
1. The origin and development of purple laser:
The purple laser generator was first developed by Nichia (Japan). The first application of this laser is not printing but home appliances. In the home appliance industry, the purple laser is also called the blue laser. Now the DVD players in the market use this laser. It increases the capacity of the traditional DVD from 4.7GB to 27GBe.
As of September 2005, there is only one supplier in the world supplying purple laser diodes. This is a Japanese company "Nichia". Nichia was founded in 1998. The original R & D concept was to develop infrared and red light that were quite common on the market at that time. The purpose of the laser diode with a shorter laser diode wavelength is to further increase the storage capacity of the disc. Nichia is the first purple laser with a wavelength of 391-420nm. Since the laser with a shorter wavelength has a smaller laser spot, it can be written under the same density of storage media with a better optical focusing lens. More information.
The following table explains the relationship between the wavelength of the laser head used in different disc formats and the storage capacity:
CD media
Laser type and wavelength
Storage capacity (single side)
CD, CD-R, CD-RW
780nm infrared diode laser
650 MB
Home DVD
640nm red diode laser
4.7 GB
Professional DVR (in development)
400nm violet laser diode
30 GB
Since the production and application of Nichia ’s violet laser diodes have not yet been fully popularized, their diode prices are still high, and they cannot be popularized for general household appliances. Instead, the most applied field of laser diodes is the CTP industry.
Nichia said it expects the price of purple laser diodes to be reduced to an acceptable level for home appliances in the next five years.
Because the wavelength of the violet laser is close to the exposure wavelength of the traditional PS version, some CTP equipment manufacturers also hope to transplant this technology to the printing industry. The earliest CTP equipment using violet laser is at 200. It was introduced by Agfa and Fuji at the Deba Expo in 2004. The laser head power at that time was only SmW. There were more than 10 companies that launched purple laser CTP equipment at the 2004 Drupa Exhibition. There are also some plate material manufacturers that have launched plate materials that match the equipment. In addition to Nichia, Japanese companies such as Sony, Panasonic Sanyo, Toshiba and others have also begun to get involved in the development of purple laser generators.
The purple laser generator has also greatly increased in the past few years. The power of the purple laser generator has been developed from the SmW when it was first launched to the current 60mW. Claus of Germany announced that it has launched the latest 100mW laser-based equipment This development is far from over. When the power of the laser head reaches more than 150mW, it can achieve flushing-free like thermal technology.
2. Advantages of purple laser
High resolution
Due to the smaller laser spot produced by the short wavelength, it can provide higher resolution and also represent higher printing quality. The output resolution can reach 250l / inch
Small size and fast speed
Due to the smaller laser spot produced by the short wavelength, the volume of the reflective lens of the laser head can be reduced. 55,000 revolutions, if converted to the circumference of the inner drum, the laser sweep speed is 5,078km / hr, which is equivalent to 4.26 times the speed of sound.
Such a fast speed, even a single laser beam can produce 22 full-page printing plates per hour (1030x800mm / 2400dpi), which is the highest output model on the market.
Can use bright yellow safety lights
Due to the use of a purple light source and the corresponding photosensitive material, it can be operated under a bright yellow safety light, working close to the bright room, increasing the convenience of use.
Stable quality, further improve the performance of the inner drum model
The laser diode light source is stable and the laser dots are strong, which can produce high-quality dots and improve the printing quality. Although the current cost of purple lasers is still relatively high, because the inner drum model only uses a single laser, it accounts for the total cost of CTP. However, the outer drum model is often used because of the limited speed of the plate cylinder. The laser beam compensates for the speed defect, so the cost of replacing the new purple laser becomes relatively significant. Therefore, only the inner drum type of CTP on the market is the first to use purple laser.
Easy maintenance and quick replacement
Violet laser diodes, because of their small size and high degree of modularization, are relatively easy to maintain and replace, which can shorten the maintenance hours and increase the effective production hours. [next]
3. The life of the purple laser
It is also often misunderstood that the short life of the violet laser is actually misguided by the argon laser, because the working principle of the argon laser is that the laser tube is constantly bright when it is working, because it requires a large starting energy to excite the argon gas. The laser can't be turned on and off in a circuit-controlled mode. Instead, it uses a constant light tube to control the laser point using the deflection of the lens. Therefore, the average life is only about 2.5 years, and the effective production time is also very short.
But the purple laser is completely different. Because it is based on the principle of diodes, it consumes very little energy. Therefore, the laser is not bright when it is not working (starting but not exposed). The laser is only bright when exposed, so it can effectively extend the laser life. At present, the lifespan of the purple laser diode is about 3,000 hours. Taking the 1030x770 version as an example, producing 100 versions per day and working 250 days a year, 3,000 hours is equivalent to 3.5 years, which is very cost-effective in terms of return on investment. Not inferior to infrared diode laser.
4. Application status of purple laser in CTP
At present, manufacturers using purple lasers for CTP plate-making machines include Agfa, BarcoGraphics, KrauseBiagosch, and Purup-Eskofot. The matching plates are silver salt plates. Currently, silver salt plates are provided by Agfa and Mitsubishi Paper. The silver salt version is a mature and stable technology, and is currently the most used digital version in the world. Its high resolution characteristics can take advantage of the short wavelength of the purple laser, so the output resolution can reach 250l / inch, plus the silver salt The high-sensitivity feature of the version only needs 2.5μJoule of energy to receive light, and 2.5μJoule of energy is only equivalent to 5% of the output power of the 5mW (Howard) laser head produced by TuiOptics. The salt version is a short-term choice, and it is not an overkill.
5. Future development of purple laser
Due to the many advantages of purple lasers, many well-known home appliance and semiconductor manufacturers have successively invested in research and development, such as Sony, Sharp, Sanyo, etc. More investment means that the future products must be more diversified, and more advantages will be developed And the price will be reduced due to competition and popularization. From the current development, it seems that the purple laser is taking off and will never be eliminated in a short period of time. At present, in CTP applications, Nichia is also working hard to increase the energy of the laser. The goal is to produce 30mW (Hawwa) products (now 5mW) for the use of plate materials other than the silver salt version, such as the Photopolymer version. Six times the output energy, so there are still some technical difficulties.
6. Violet laser CTP is better or thermal CTP is better
When investing in CTP, the operator actually considers many factors, and the thermal CTP system is also constantly improving. Due to its own irreplaceable advantages, it also exists in the market to meet customers with different needs. , So basically there is no absolute best CTP system, but only the most suitable system for your business environment. However, due to the many advantages of the purple laser, this product did receive market acceptance as soon as it was launched after Drupa2000, and created a remarkable sales volume. I also hope that the development of science and technology can continue to bring more benefits and business space to the printing industry.
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