CTP plates are made by typeset text images through computers or typesetting software, and then scanned and printed directly on the printing plate, and then developed or processed by a plate processor to make a printing plate. CTP plates realize direct connection from computer to printing, reduce the number of image transfers, and greatly improve the image restoration rate.
With the continuous advancement of production technology, the types of CTP plates are gradually increasing. According to different raw materials, they can be roughly divided into UV-CTP plates, hydrocarbon CTP plates, thermal CTP plates, processing-free CTP plates, photosensitive CTP plates, etc. Among them, thermal CTP plates are the largest segmented products in the CTP plate market, accounting for 64.02%; followed by photosensitive CTP plates, with a market share of 26.48%; UV-CTP plates rank third, with a market share of 7.09%.
At present, my country's CTP plate industry chain has been formed. The upstream of the industrial chain is mainly the raw material industry, which provides raw materials such as photosensitive adhesives, aluminum coils, substrates, coating materials, and protective films; the midstream is mainly the CTP plate production industry, which is responsible for the production and manufacturing of different types of CTP plates; the downstream is mainly the application field, and CTP plates are mostly used in the printing field.
As a key component of digital printing, the market development of CTP plates is affected by the digital printing market. Compared with traditional printing technology, digital printing technology has the characteristics of high precision, clear graphics and text, and a wide range of colors and tones. In recent years, my country's digital printing technology has continued to advance, gradually replacing traditional printing methods and becoming the mainstream printing technology in the industry. Against this background, the output value of my country's digital printing industry has gradually expanded. In 2022, the output value of my country's digital printing industry was 136.575 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.32%. With the rapid development of my country's digital printing market, the market demand for CTP plates has gradually increased.

According to the "2023-2028 China CTP Plate Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report" released by the Industry Research Center, driven by downstream market demand, the production scale of my country's CTP plate companies has gradually expanded and the output has increased. In 2022, my country's CTP plate output was 463.2487 million square meters.

From the perspective of capacity distribution, my country's CTP plate capacity is mainly distributed in East China, Central and South China, North China, and Western China. Among them, East China has the largest share of CTP plate capacity, accounting for 43.04%; followed by Central and South China, with a capacity share of 34.38%.