Easy to Check - Often Missed Print repeats play an important roll in the performance of the finished product. You may have a beautifully executed award-winning package, however if your repeats are out of specification tolerances you may have to throw the product away. Worse yet, the product could make its way to the packaging … Read More...
Category Archives: Miscellaneous
Hardness, Density, or Compression? If you see someone measuring a foam mounting tape with a durometer gauge or have done so yourself in order to measure hardness, density, compressibility…hit PAUSE. With all due respect to tape supplier(s), the durometer (measurement of hardness) is not a correct method of measurement or term that should be used when … Read More...
The Resins Remain Behind We have hand cleaned anilox rolls using stainless steel brushes and primarily caustic chemicals, ultrasonic, and media blasting [which can limits some line counts on anilox rolls based on the particulate size of the media]. Most recently we have seen high-pressure solution wash systems that use detergents, chemicals, and water. The … Read More...
A Bent Journal Translates to Poor Registration The above statement is what many of us simplify that TIR has an adverse effect on print registration. However, many of today's flexographic printing presses don't even use print cylinders with journals. TIR can be the root cause of different print defects based on where that compromised surface … Read More...
The Continued Evolution of Solvent Photopolymer Plate Processing APR prides itself in not just quoting equipment and providing solution based consumables, but making it a point to thoroughly understand a customer’s needs and goals. As water wash plate technologies continue to evolve into a viable competitor to solvent and thermal processing through improved print quality … Read More...
Is there a right or wrong? Our Technical Solutions Group (TSG) always references mW (milliwatts) when referencing lamp intensity, but the product brochures of some plate manufacturers reference exposure times (sec) and joules (mJ/cm2). If you look further down on the brochures you will see these values are based on an assumed lamp intensity, for … Read More...
Time is Money An often-overused phrase but still accurate none-the-less. Typically, a converter’s inventory management process for such items as stickybacks, tapes, doctor blades, and similar supplies are not done within their ERP/MRP systems but rather managed “off-line” via spreadsheets or similar processes. Although these methods are fine, they can be time consuming for those … Read More...
Why is this important? If rotational speed does have an effect on outward force, then one could surmise that with increased press speed we will see more force between the photopolymer printing plate and the impression cylinder or drum. The answer to the question is "yes." So why is this important to consider? Well consider … Read More...
Flat-Top Dots Let’s start by stating what is meant by the term flat-top dot. A flat-top dot on a photopolymer plate is one that accepts the transfer of data from an imaging device to the finished plate at a 1:1 ratio. The 1:1 imaging ratio is measured in the file, post-CDI imaging, and ultimately on the … Read More...
When we see expiration dates or “best if used by…” on products, many of us ask ourselves if this is merely a suggestion or could there be some unwanted consequences by not using a product by this posted date. When it comes to food product dating a "Best if Used By/Before" date indicates when a product will … Read More...