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When Stockholm commercial printer EkotryckRedners was faced with the on going problem of black ink trapping onto the yellow cylinder (ink trapping is also often referred to as ‘piling’ or ‘offsetting’ when ink adheres to cylinders), the company called on its ink supplier, Hostmann- Steinberg, for advice. The solution came in the form of Vulcan Image 4U blankets from Trelleborg, as production manager Roger Malmgren explained.
‘We operate a range of multi-colour Heidelberg presses, but the problem was most apparent on our seven-colour Speedmaster XL, which is equipped with cold foiling, as well as aqueous and UV coating facilities. Hostmann-Steinberg recommended Trelleborg's Vulcan Image 4U blankets, which we tested on the seven-colour.
‘The issue of trapping disappeared immediately and there was also a significant improvement in print quality, with much cleaner images. We quickly changed to Vulcan throughout the factory and no longer have trapping problems on any of our presses, while the press operators report that the greater durability offered by Vulcan means they change blankets less frequently.’
The Vulcan Image 4U is a compressible offset blanket designed specifically for the most stringent quality requirements. The smooth micro-buffed surface results in very low dot gain, while the quick rebound carcass ensures outstanding mechanical resistance.
‘We use Vulcan blankets with conventional and UV inks and obtain first class print quality with both,’ said Malmgren. ‘We also obtain good results across the extensive range of stock that we print on, from paper to board and plastics. The Vulcan's resistance to smashes, and ability to withstand constantly changing formats and materials, means that we use fewer blankets.’
EkotryckRedners supplies customers throughout Sweden, in addition to companies outside the country. Work ranges from business cards to packaging and long run, multi-colour, special effect jobs. A large digital press department handles short run, fast turnaround orders.
For additional information, visit: www.trelleborg.com, or just click on the Trelleborg banner or sponsor logo links on our Home page. In Southern Africa, consult Antalis South Africa’s Graphics division.
© Graphic Repro On-line, 29 July 2010.
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