Printing blankets are an important element in ensuring the quality of printing, and printers are very concerned about blankets and their properties. How does it handle the field and halftone dots? Does it have good ink and paper separation? Is there a good dimensional stability on the press and will not be deformed? Is its printing performance stable? How is the recovery after the blanket ruptured? How is the cleaning effect? As Mr. Axel Thien, Manager of Consumables Production Department in Heidelberg, commented: “People usually want their blankets to have all the advantages and a high price/performance ratio.â€
It is not excessive to make these demands in print production. Because the blanket is where ink and paper come into contact, positioning registration and dot reproduction occur here, and is a very important part. The runnability and durability of the blanket is also very important. Imagine the need to replace a blanket with a bulky web press. The cost of the business is far greater than the loss of the blanket itself.
Although the cost of the blanket itself cannot be compared with the loss caused by the shutdown of the printing press, its cost is very large. According to expert statistics, the second largest cost is the consumables in the rotary offset printing process. The quality and compatibility of consumables directly affect the bottom line of the company's operations.
Special printing blanket
Today, the demand for high-quality printing blankets is greater than ever before, in part because of the growth of CTP, the growing use of UV inks and hybrid inks, and the concern for the safety of the printing environment. Some experts claim that with the rapid growth of FM screening technology and CTP technology in recent years, the problem of positioning registration and stickiness has been greatly reduced. In this situation, people are paying more and more attention to printing plates. Some experts believe that with the constant emergence and application of new technologies, the role of blankets is increasingly important. Operators need to understand how different screening methods affect the reproduction of outlets, and the shape of outlets has become irregular, outlets have become smaller and smaller, and there is a problem of ink and water balance in FM screening. The change in the process is unclear, and there will be problems with the blanket. The pile of ink on the blanket is a typical failure. If you set the FM screening network to 300 lines/inch, you must use a blanket with a high dot reproduction capability so as not to distort the dots.
Blanket manufacturers use a lot of facts to explain: The market's demand for UV inks and some special printing blankets has greatly increased. One of Phoenix North America's most prosperous market branches is UV blankets. UV blankets and coatings are two of the largest areas of development in MacDermid's printing solutions. In addition, according to reports, a Heidelberg company that purchased rubber blankets may also develop and produce its own brand of UV blankets. The UV field is developing at a faster pace to meet customers' requirements for high-quality printing.
UV inks pose a challenge for the development of rubber blankets. The rubber mixture on the blankets must withstand chemical attack and UV cleaning agents and UV inks. You cannot use UV inks on traditional blankets or traditional inks on UV blankets.
Now that more and more printers have changed from traditional printing to UV printing, the use of mixed inks is also increasing. In the face of this situation, most manufacturers strive to make the blankets double functions. At present, hybrid blankets suitable for both conventional inks and UV inks have been further developed, and blankets that can be used for EPDM UV blends have now been developed.
It is not easy to achieve green printing
Some printers are still battling with environmental pressures, and the need for reducing the number of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) is now becoming urgent. The key to the problem is that after reducing the number of VOCs for blanket cleaners, the effectiveness of cleaning the blankets becomes less than ideal, and it is even possible to leave hard-to-remove residues on the blankets. â€
However, this did not arouse the attention of many printers. They still chose a viable blanket and insisted on using it. This provided suppliers with a certain market space. If the current printing speed and demand are used to judge, many blankets will not be able to meet the requirements. The blanket has a long way to go. Overall, its progress is very slow.
The following is a summary of the blankets and an introduction to other printing consumables
New compression layer technology for long-life blankets
Day International has newly developed a blanket technology, DuraZone, which uses a theoretical model of a compressible layer and optimizes all of its constituent structures. It is said that this technology can extend the life of the blanket and improve the printing quality. Day's 5000 Series blankets based on DuraZone technology were originally made up of three models: the Model 5000, a blanket for commercial thermoset rotary printing presses with a light yellow surface; the 5010 model is also The rubber blanket designed for commercial thermosetting rotary presses is characterized by the use of Day's patented technology - textured surface; the 5500 model is suitable for printing catalogue guides, inserts and other operations. Day plans to launch a sheet-fed blanket with DuraZone technology in 2004.
A tear-resistant blanket for sheet-fed and carton printing
Duco's latest product is dot master blankets for sheetfed and carton printing. This blanket is said to use a very thick compressible layer to ensure superior, stable performance. The dot master (Dot Master) provides excellent resistance to crushing, allowing the dots to exhibit a good reproducibility and provide a good resistance to edge shearing.
The field is fuller and the halftones are clearer
DYC Supply's S7630 offset blanket features a new rubber surface and a reinforced carrier. This rubber surface has good ink affinity and post-processing properties, allowing more ink to be used to print sheet-fed paper, which is fuller in the field and clearer in halftones.
This new S7630 blanket has excellent resistance to swelling and smearing. The reinforced matrix can provide a stable structure for the blanket, making the image transfer more smooth and durable, especially in the gap.
Automatic coating blanket cutter
Gerber Innovations has introduced the Gerber Sector Automatic Coated Blanking Knife, a blanket coating specifically designed for digital printing systems. It is generally used for commercial printing and packaging printing. It consists of software and a blanket-coating tool that allows automatic, precise single-blanket cutting to solve problems such as filing, breakage, and spillage. The software includes a library of customizable templates that allow users to create personalized files to suit the needs of a variety of print jobs. It can also set precise cutting parameters to solve the problem of registration positioning.
The high-speed cutting head is a distinguishing feature of the cutting unit, which can be easily connected to the insertion device and pre-cut on paper or polyester film before cutting; the polarization sprocket drive design is another of the cutting unit. A feature that guides the blanket movement without slipping and skewing, in addition to its sophisticated tooling technology that automatically adjusts the cutting depth of different materials and the geometry of the tool.
DI printing plate; imposition proofing paper
Heidelberg's product range includes the Perfect Dot blanket dot blanket for sheetfed commercial printing, the newly introduced Saphira Caleidoplate 46 series plate, a replaceable plate material for Quickmaster DI Pro and Plus. For users, there is also a new imposition proofing paper for the Spinjet 5500.
Blanket/Cleaning Kit
A set of products developed by Prisco and ContiTech for commercial web offset printing includes Priscolith Conti-Air Zenith Prisco Webfount concentrates and Prisco Webwash blankets and roller cleaners.
Priscolith Conti-Air Zenith is a special blanket carrier with a patented, meshable, compressible layer technology that is said to provide an unmatched paper control to prevent overfeeding. Among them, the rubber compound is extremely hydrophilic and can be operated for a long time. This blanket and Prisco cleaner provide print operators with additional features to bring a complete solution to the user.
Prisco also reduced the VOC level of blanket and roller cleaning in the pressroom by introducing new technologies. These new products are said to provide excellent cleaning capabilities, ensuring the complete removal of oil residues while reducing VOC production. The products currently available on the market are the Autowash 4300, 5900 and 9070, which are manually operated, and the automatic operating system; E-Cure Classic NH, which can be applied to both conventional inks and UV inks; used in newsprint web printing. PES C34.
High-speed web printing blankets; easy-to-install blankets Reeves Brothers has developed a Vulcan Alto compressible blanket for high-speed heat setting web presses. The blanket is characterized by a compressible layer that closes the mesh hole and is said to be able to rebound instantly at high speeds to ensure consistency of the printed product. The three-layer structure of the surface provides greater resistance to chipping, abrasion and crushing. The low stretch properties of this blanket ensure good stability during printing and greatly reduce the damage caused by high speed operation.
Reeves' Vulcan ND 999 compressible back adhesive blanket uses a patented biaxial layer technology that allows print operators to cut and install blankets in any direction, greatly facilitating print preparation and production. Because it uses a high-strength fabric construction layer, this blanket is said to be stable on the roller. This Vulcan ND 999 blanket is designed for carbonless printing and does not crush ink capsules during operation.
The modified blanket, Phoenix North America, introduced the new Carat series, which is an improved product from Phoenix's original blanket. It adds new chemicals to the compression layer and can adjust the compressible layer according to the application. It is said that this blanket produces only a small thickness tolerance during the heat treatment and does not require excessive setting adjustments. A new chemical additive to the surface layer improves ink transferability
Reproduced from: Wins