Printing plate exposure method and apparatus with reduced thermal polymerization

A system for curing a photopolymer printing plate curable by exposure to actinic radiation, the system comprising:

• a substrate for receiving the photopolymer printing plate disposed thereon;
• a source of actinic radiation spaced from the substrate a distance sufficient to define a gap between the source of actinic radiation and the printing plate disposed on the substrate, the source of actinic radiation operable to direct actinic radiation toward the substrate;
• means for providing relative motion between the source of actinic radiation and the substrate in a movement direction that defines a leading edge of the source of actinic radiation and a trailing edge of the source of actinic radiation relative to the movement direction;
• and
• a cooling air handling system having an outlet attached to the source of actinic radiation and configured to direct a volume of cooling air into the gap with the cooling air moving in a direction from the trailing edge to the leading edge.