Processing Chemicals for the Eco 1630

Please note that processing chemicals for the Eco1630 are sold in a straight solution. Meaning that they are NOT to be mixed with water like some other chemicals. This is denoted in the chemistry name by the addition of an "E" for Eco. For example SLM-EAC is premixed chemistry for an Eco whereas SLM-AC would be concentrated chemistry that needs to be mixed with water. The reason that Eco chemistry is not sent as concentrate is that the volume of chemistry shipped to a customer is much lower so shipping costs are not really a factor. With computer to plate systems or processers that have large tanks of chemistry there is such a large volume of chemistry in the machine at one time that overall chemistry usage increases and when shipping costs are evaluated it's often found that the added cost of shipping water is far greater than the cost of the time of the operator to mix the chemistry to an adequate level. If desired, to save on chemistry costs, concentrated chemistry can be used in an Eco. This would require the user to mix their concentrate with water to achieve the proper strength.

The Eco is a polyester computer to plate system. It loads and cuts-to-size a segment of photographic polyester material, or plate, and exposes it with a laser. From there the Eco feeds the material into a processing section where it sprays the plate with two chemicals. This process of chemically treating the light sensitive plate to develop an image is called processing. Processing the plate requires the use of two chemicals; activator and stabilizer.

Activator (Developer)

The first chemical is called Activator; sometimes referred to as developer. Activator is the chemical that causes light sensitive silver to rise to the surface of the plate, thereby turning the patter that was imaged onto the plate by the laser into a visible pattern on the plate. A plate that is not getting activated will process and come out the original color, which is almost blue. Activated plates should be black where exposed to light and silver where unexposed. The process of properly activating a light sensitive material requires that it be activated at a specific temperature. For Eco Systems using digiplate material and Mitsubishi chemistry that temperature is between 84 and 88 degrees Fahrenheit.

Stabilizer (Fixer)

At this point, though the image is visible, the plate is still light sensitive. That's where the second chemical comes in. The second processing chemical is Stabilizer; sometimes referred to as fixer. What stabilizer does is it sets the image on the plate. It removes the light sensitive properties of the plate so the plate can be handled around normal daylight. From then on the machine blows hot air onto the plate to dry it. After all of that, you have an exposed and processed plate which is now ready for use.