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.
