URGENT ! Please HELP ! Heidelberg Windmill Letterpress
Hey guys,
Okay so i brought in an operator today for my first order, just to help me out a bit…so we started off with the deboss ( was made all on 1 plate and i cut out the text for printing ) all fine no problems there…now we went onto printing, no issues with registration and first pull was almost perfect except some of the outside words where a bit “blurry” ( text looks a bit bolder and not sharp ) now im guessing this is because the rollers are two low over those points and the ink is “wrapping” around the plate instead of running on the top….however…..the print was fine in the centre of the plate….it was only the words on the left edge and right egde, other than that everything was printing fine…i had a block of aluminium machined down for my base and im using a local plate supplier who previously made a sample plate for me and it worked perfect….My order is due next Saturday and there are 2 public holidays next week :( (doesnt mean i wont be working but suppliers wont be ) oh im in South Africa btw…the plate is a 1mm Nyloflex 080….
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, i will post a picture on Monday of a print so show…
What we have done:
- Flipped rollers around
- Repacked
- Different Paper
- Reink
- Reapply plate
- Readjust rollers
- Changed position of plate from guides to gripper registration (no difference)
Thanks,
Nick
How old are your rollers?
Perhaps rollers, but do I dare type the word “makeready”? It is common for the outer edges of an image area to punch more into the paper than in the center of the image area. Back off on impression until the outer edges print well, then add makeready under the top sheet to the areas in the middle areas that would then not be printing well until the overall image prints as it should. I’m sure makeready has been beaten to death on this forum and a search of the archives should turn up many recommendations. Makeready is a pain in the rear but a technique that is imperative for any press person to understand and master.
Im not too sure how old my rollers are, im purchasing new ones soon but the guy who came in said they were in good condition and i didnt have this problem with my previous plate. Haha yes im well aware of makeready, not saying the makeready we had eliminates it but we did spend quite a bit of time on it to even out impression…it was suggested to me to use a brayer to ink up the plate and see if i get the same result to determine if its the plate or not so will give that a go on monday
No! Fritz said the “M” word……
Impression sufficient to print the center of a flat plane will invariably be strongest at the edges of the plate. As a quick test, put a couple sheets of 20 lb bond strips at the middle of the form and back down the impression until the color just starts to fail, then see what the edges look like.
I think this is a place where makeready would resolve your issues. It’s also the cheapest solution.
Thanks for the reply, going to try test it out again tomorrow as its a public holiday so cant order or get anyone in anyway so i will look more closely at my makeready…