the present invention provides methods of reclaiming and recycling the polymer - contaminated solvent that was used in the developing process for the preparation of relief plates crosslinked by photopolymerization . the solvent of the present system contains alkyl esters , alone or in combination with co - solvents and / or non - solvents , as washout solvents for the unpolymerized material in the printing plates to develop a relief image and a method for developing printing plates . the process comprises transferring the contaminated solvent , from a plate processor or a dirty holding tank , to a centrifuge , and centrifuging the contaminated solvent to remove the polymer . the reclaimed solvent can be transfer directly back to the plate processor or to a clean holding tank .