Method and system for characterizing a printing plate on a press

A system for characterizing a printing plate, the system comprising:

• at least one non-contact plate sensor positioned to measure a distance between the at least one non-contact plate sensor and a printing surface of the printing plate at a plurality of defined locations within the area embodied by the printing plate;
• and
• a processor in communication with the at least one non-contact plate sensor, the processor configured to cause the at least one non-contact plate sensor to measure distances between the at least one non-contact plate sensor and a plurality of defined locations on the printing plate, to perform a comparison of the measured distances at the defined locations to stored information characterizing corresponding distances for an expected or previous configuration of the plate, and to perform a responsive action based upon deviations detected by the comparison,
• wherein the responsive action comprises adjusting a position of a cylinder on which the printing plate is mounted, based upon the deviations detected by the comparison.