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It's a machine that develops printing plates.

How they work is pretty simple. The emulsion on a printing plate is water-soluble before it's exposed. When it's exposed, whether to ultraviolet light, purple light or heat (depending on the kind of plate you're using), the exposed areas become insoluble. You put the exposed plate in the entry. There is first a spray bar--a tube with lots of holes in it--that applies a soap & water solution to the plate. Next, a rotating brush with soft bristles removes the unexposed parts of the emulsion. Following that are a series of spray bars that wash the plate with water. Next comes a squeegee and warm air to dry the plate. A final spray bar applies gum Arabic to the plate to preserve it, and a final blast of warm air dries the gum. When the plate emerges from the machine, it's processed, gummed, dried and ready to print with.

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12y ago
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Q: What is a plate processor?
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