Roller Cleaning, Decontamination and Care
Printing rollers are the “heart” of the printing press and require regular attention, care and maintenance. In optimum/clean condition, on-press rollers will feel soft, pliable, velvet-like and deliver top quality printing results every shift.
The ultimate success of the printing process depends on control of ink distribution. A press roller with dried ink, gum. glaze, paper lint and calcium carbonate on the surface or ground-in the grooves or valleys (nap) of the roller, will not have the ability for fine-film ink pickup or lay-down. The “nap” of a glazed roller has been filled and covered with different particles accumulated from all the materials that have passed over the roller such as:
– Water-soluble particles (gums, coatings, surfactants, dust)
– Solvent-soluble particles (inks, varnish, etc.)
– Insoluble contaminates (calcium, clays)
• Surface of a clean, healthy rubber surface free of contaminants in the “nap”.
• A soft, clean rubber surface will attract and hold ink for effective ink pick-up/lay-down and higher-quality print output.
• A glazed and hardened rubber surface will not hold and distribute ink effectively resulting in poor print output…and shorter roller life.
All of these particles are mixed and bound together, trapping each other and likely hardened into the tiny grooves or valleys of the roller nap. To restore roller, these particles must be solublized and flushed out of the roller in increment steps as water or solvent solution alone won’t work. Consider the following roller cleaning and decontamination steps:
1. Wash rollers with an INX Products water-miscible wash solution to remove ink and the top layer of water-soluble and solvent-soluble contaminates from the roller.
2. Use an INX Products roller deglazer (RubberKleen) and/or Roller Cleaning/Decontamination Paste to release and remove the insoluble particles that typically are “ground-in” or hardened in the grooves or valleys (nap) of the roller.
3. With the insoluble particles removed, a final rinse with an INX Products water-miscible wash will leave the rollers clean, contaminate free and ready to “ink-up”!
Keep the “heart” of your press in top condition for consistently crisp impressions, optimum colors, minimal downtime and operation cost-savings. As always, we appreciate your choice of INX Products pressroom chemistry!
