Some advantages:
- remove adhesives, glue, glozes, paper dust, powder;
- more thorough than hand cleaning;
- reduce business interruption costs;
- improved worker safety;
- reduction or elimination of solvents;
- dramatielly increases resale values
Today's ink and varnish polymers are designed to adhere to most surfaces, resist scratches and, in some instances, be solvent resistant. These characteristics that make their use attractive, also make the removal of dried ink very difficult. Ink buildup on the gears and deck guides causes poor alignment and results in low print quality and high scrap rates. To compensate for this phenomenon, plate mounting generally needs adjusting several times to register critical graphics in order to produce an acceptable quality level. Generally, each "press run" to check the register of the colors results in thousands of feet of wasted material.
In many plants, the cleaning of the side frames and print deck mechanism is usually avoided until absolutely necessary. Typically, several hours are spent on each color station to scrape and wipe the critical surfaces. With today's modern presses having six to eight color decks, cleaning downtime can easily add up to several thousands of dollars of lost production per cleaning cycle. Printing with fluid inks at high speeds also creates an "ink mist" of fine droplets that comes from the splitting and transfer of the inks from the printing plate to the substrate being printed. These droplets settle on the "between color dryer boxes" and eventually clog the vent slots or nozzles, resulting in a reduced and uneven air flow, which in turn inhibits proper drying. This can also be caused by an overflowing fountain pan, which occurs when a press stops suddenly. To compensate for this reduced air flow, the press speed is reduced, which immediately results in lost production and lower quality. One printing machine need clean gears, bearings, journals and screw adjustments for controlling the variations in printing registration. With highly accurate impressions, residue build up from inks and varnishes can constantly inhibit the smooth operation of the printing cylinders which can affect your productivity.
- long down time hours due to intricate machinery cleaning;
- poor print quality products and increased scrap from improper alignment;
- disposal of hazardous waste and solvents;
- unwanted wear of machined parts and their high replacement cost;
- personal injuries due to use of hazardous solvents and hand tools;
- high labor costs inherent to complex cleaning.
