The invention relates to the application of a uniform film of a fluid to the
surface of a flat workpiece as it is being conveyed through a workstation. The
invention is specifically directed to the development of lithographic printing
plates and comprises the application of the thin film of developer solution to
each plate in a controlled manner using a wire-wound coating device and a unique
manner of metering and feeding fresh fluid to the wire-wound device. Specifically,
the fluid is gently fed onto the wire-wound device by simple volumetric displacement
and overflow from the inside of a hollow tube onto the wire and the flow is controlled
by sensing the beginning and end of each workpiece or plate. The hollow tube may
be the wire-wound component or it may be a tube mounted above the wire-wound component.
The spent developer is rinsed and sent to waste. According to the invention, only
fresh developer solution is applied at a uniform film thickness, thereby achieving
uniform image development.
