Section of Roller Not Applying Ink to PP?

I have been having issues with uneven inking on my 10 x 15 kluge M model press. I have read through the archives and found this post:
http://www.briarpress.org/8653
to be helpful, but ultimately none of the suggestions are what I seem to be dealing with (except one, possibly - see below).

I am printing with pp plates on a boxcar base. The middle (vertically) of my plate does not ink as heavily as the top and bottom, however the area with light to no ink is not always in the same spot. I am able to get impressions over the entire desired area. The ink does not apply from a section of the roller to the pp plate, this is the real issue. I have new rollers and new bearings, so I don’t believe they are warped or have a flat spot. I have used a roller setting gauge to adjust the height of my rails. Also, the problem is only occurring on one roller.

It is not the pp, as other plates have had this problem as well.

Has anyone had new rollers come in misshaped? I ordered them from NA graphics and they were packaged wonderfully, and they have never been left on the ink plate. The pictures show me handling the one roller that is having the problem. The other one seems fine, but it is hard to tell.

I know it’s very hard to diagnose a problem without being able to work with the press, but any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

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What kind of trucks are you using?
If you are using Morgan expansion trucks, and there is a high spot, that could cause a wandering light area. That’s more likely than a low spot on the roller.
Eccentricities can be found by supporting the roller ends so trucks, and then rollers, are just above a flat surface, and rotating. Look for a change in gap.
If your trucks are set larger than the roller to compensate for low tracks, roll the whole assembly over a flat surface and look for wobble or changing gap.

Hard to say what’s going on, could the form be stripping ink off the roller in one spot then a rider roller might help, aa third roller could help, my kluge has 4 form rollers. you could try double rolling if it’s s short run, watch the rollers and see if they skid across the form, this could happen anywhere and cause this. I would try what parallel-imp says to do then try one thing at a timeand see whats going on. Good Luck Dick G.

Thanks for your comments. I am using delrin trucks, which are also new. I am going to order two more rollers, four more trucks and bearings, and see if that gets me up and running. I had wanted to start with only two rollers to cut on initial costs, plus if that was possible, not as much clean up!

I have been watching the trucks on the rails very closely and have not been able to find any slipping, gaps, or wobbles. So who knows? In the mean time, I think I will try an unorthodox make-ready and take an exacto to the tape on the rails. To try and remedy a high spot.

This is unrelated, but I was able to successfully get my press in without breaking the floor tiles! Thanks Dick G (and others) for your advice on that :)

Sarah, i only use 2 rollers on my kluge for almost everything i print, once in a while i use the rider roller that sits on top of the two rollers, your form is not that heavy that you should have to use 4 rollers, maybe double rolling the form will cure the problem, you might be right to take the tape off the rails, i have never taped my rails, if the rollers are hitting the type too hard i always tape the trucks. Dick G.

Where are you located? If another Kluge operator is near you, you could try your roller on their press, or try one of theirs on your press to see if the roller is the problem.

I would try dropping your roller height a bit. You can always put them back to your original height if it does not work.