In modern graphic arts technology offset printing is one of the most used printing techniques. The printing is based on the different physical-chemical properties of the printing and the nonprinting areas on the printing plate. Nonprinting areas are hydrophilic and adsorb fountains solution while printing areas are oleophilic and adsorb printing ink. Increase of the environmental avereness caused significant change of the materials and procedures used in the graphic arts industry. One of the last steps in the development of the printing plates was the processless printing plates which are not developed by the use of the agressive and environmentally unfriendly solutions. The goal of this research was to define surface characteristics of the printing and the nonprinting areas of the processless printing plates and compare them to the printing plates which include developing process in order to determine their applicability in various printing systems. For the purpose ot this research samples of the conventional wet developing, CtP wet developing and two types of the processless printign plates were prepared. The results of this research showed that low contrast by the processless printing plate is almost completely disables usage of the microscopic analysis of the printing plate's surface structures. Processless printing plates have lower values of the roughness parameters and smaller difference in roughness paramaters measured on the printing and on the nonprinting areas. All printing plates used in this research show good wetting when applying fountain solution. This research has proved that there are significant differences in the surface characteristics of the wet developed and the processless printing plates which could influence the reproduction system. Usage of the processless printing plates would probably cause change of the workers manipulation of the plates, but after needed corrections of the coverage values on the printing plates are performed, one could expect optimal reproduction results when using the processless printing plate.