Cold Weather?
I went to print today on my Heidelberg Windmill and found the rollers weren’t making contact with the printing plate. This was odd since the last couple jobs I did, about 2 weeks ago, printed fine. I adjusted the roller height and had to lower them significantly (2 full notches), which seemed odd to me. The studio is a little cold, although nothing dramatic. Is it possible the rollers shrunk in the cold? I can’t sort out why the roller height difference would change so much.
I was also having some ink flow issues and that I can definitely attribute to the cold, at least I think. I’ve cranked up the heat overnight and will try again.
Any suggestions?
Hang a heat lamp off the anti-offset spray tower/bracket and use it to keep the ink drum warm. Store the rollers and ink in a closed/insulated cabinet with a small heat source; just enough to keep them warm. Alternately, keep the rollers and ink elsewhere and bring them out when you’re ready to print.
Would it be accurate to guess that you’re printing with photo-polymer? Perhaps it doesn’t like printing cold, though others would be more knowledgeable about that.
Hi Mike
Photopolymer plate processing does adversely react to colder temperatures (bath temp, storage and room temp) but I can’t say I have noticed any problems on press in that regard. Ink and steel roller temperature (Vandercook) are another thing altogether. I’m shivering just putting out this post (Marina del Rey, CA but in a none insulated tin roof warehouse—sort of like working on a car in an unheated garage in the upper midwest, as I recall).
Gerald
http://BielerPress.blogspot.com
I’m not processing the plates myself. Plus, this is an existing plate for an earlier job. Can the rollers react this severely to cold weather?
I’m an idiot. I accidentally used my deep relief base instead of the standard depth. That explains the roller height issue… Glad I own a micrometer!