Method of preparing lithographic printing plates using novel compounds and compositions, and improved lithographic printing plates

A lithographic printing plate in which the oleophilic imaging areas are formed as a thin cross-linked block copolymer film adhered to the hydrophilic surface of a backing plate. The block copolymer comprises blocks of copolyacrylate and polyurethane wherein the copolyacrylate blocks are a copolymer of a hydroxy-containing acrylate and a second acrylate component comprising one or more esters of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid or mixtures thereof and the polyurethane blocks are formed of polyoxybutylene as the prepolymer component. In forming the printing plate the block copolymer is deposited as a thin film containing an ultraviolet initiator and a cross linking promoter and the cross-linked imaging areas are formed by exposure to ultraviolet radiation.