Appeal No. 1999-2505 Page 2
Application No. 08/886,635
THE INVENTION
According to Appellant, the invention relates to a process for making a flexographic
printing plate from a photosensitive printing element, particularly a flexographic element having
an infrared radiation ablatable layer capable of being selectively removed by a laser beam
(specification at 1, ll. 10-14). Claim 11, the only independent claim, is illustrative:
11. A process for making a flexographic photopolymer printing plate comprising, in
order:
(1) providing a photosensitive element comprising:
(a) a support;
(b) at least one layer of a photopolymerizable material on the support, the
photopolymerizable material comprising at least one elastomeric binder, at least one monomer, at
least one initiator having sensitivity to non-infrared actinic radiation, and optionally at least one
plasticizer, wherein at least one of the monomer and the optional plasticizer is a low molecular
weight material having a weight average molecular weight of 30,000 or less; and
(c) at least one infrared ablation layer which is ablatable by infrared
radiation and opaque to non-infrared actinic radiation, said infrared ablation layer being in direct
contact with the at least one layer of photopolymerizable material (b) and having a surface
opposite the photopolymerizable layer (b) capable of being exposed to laser ablation, the infrared
ablation layer comprising:
(i) at least one infrared absorbing material;
(ii) a radiation opaque material, wherein (i) and (ii) can be the same or
different; and
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