To provide an apparatus capable of applying a print master by effectively cleaning the master without long non-operating time of a printing machine on a substrate for recirculating a new coating of high quality.

An off press platemaking unit has a means for removing a lithographic image from a substrate of the print master, and a means for recoating the substrate to be recirculated with a new image recording layer. The off press cleaning and recoating of the substrate gives a short non-operating time of the printing machine. The recording substrate generates an image forming material, and can be exposed in an exposure unit which may be integrated in a digital printing machine including the exposure unit integrated in the off press or integrated within the platemaking unit by the off press and/or may be mechanically coupled thereto.