AB Dick 9995

[Darton]

Sorry, I think I'm in the wroung forum. I am a newby to this forum and have a question about an AB Dick 9995. What are some of you using for dampening systems. I have a 9995 with the original Toneamatic and I am looking at the Crestline and Kompac systems. Does anyone have one of these systems on their presses and what do you think of them. I think the Crestline has an option of 5 and 6 roller systems, any thoughts. Do they both work just as well as the other and we now are comparing favorites (Ford vs Chevy)????



Thanks

[wld85022]

we have a 9995. The original "ryobimatic" water system is a joke. Dump it NOW.

I put a Crestline on ours. It is worlds better. Except the roller life is really short. about 9 months... maybe a year if you are very lucky and run it a lot.

the Kompac option is probably the best. at the time I was looking to change water systems, i was -incorrectly- told there was no Kompac option for this press.

there is; based on a similar unit on our Hamada, the Kompac rollers will last a LONG time. And of the two aftermarket units, the Kompac requires less adjusting.

[davek44@earthlink.net]

We have a 9995 & are using the original Ryobimatic system. We were having problems about 2 years ago & our Presstek/AB Dick service tech wanted to swap out for Crestlines ($6500).

After checking around, we found a Ryobi service tech who told us most of the problems with the Ryobimatic were usually simple adjustment problems. We had the tech come in & spend a couple of hours ($250). Since then we have not had a single problem with the dampening system. Needless to say, we switched our service away from Presstek.

Dampening systems seem to be one of those items where everyone has a preference, but they all work well when set up & adjusted properly.

Dave

[wld85022]

Good luck with your stock dampeners. I prefer to go the simplistic route, and making repetitive adjustments simply to get acceptable copy was, in short, not acceptable. I have seen the stock units on numerous machines and have never seen good, crisp copy come up in short order.


BTW, Presstek is the only servicing agent in our city. $6500 is the going rate for a Crestline unit (X2).

[davek44@earthlink.net]

Since we got the Ryobimatics properly adjusted, we have not had to make adjustments. The system just runs.

I was amazed since we had struggled with constant adjustments prior to our fix & I found it hard to believe that a simple roller pressure adjustment solved the problem. And our Presstek service tech had serviced our AB Dicks (duplicators, Century 3000 & 9995) for many years.

But I refused to spend $6500 to fix what AB Dick/Prestek sold to me.

I would guess that there is a Ryobi dealer &/or some Ryobi service available in your area. Ryobi has sold many more of the Ryobi 3302/3302H presses than AB Dick has sold.

[wld85022]

The ryobi water system seemed to need continuous adjustment. That is gone now with the Crestline. Plus I don't need metering roller cleaner or chrome cleaner for a roller that attracts ink on a whim.

The only ryobi dealer here was Xpedx and Presstek outsold them by about 100 to 1. Xpedx has lost (or given up) their franchise.

Xpedx service was pretty pricey. They used to limit intervening calls and wouldn't do a full contract with parts.

BTW most duplicators come with a variety of dampening options. Even the old 360s or 9800 series had numerous options.

[Darton]

We have a 9995 & are using the original Ryobimatic system. We were having problems about 2 years ago & our Presstek/AB Dick service tech wanted to swap out for Crestlines ($6500).

After checking around, we found a Ryobi service tech who told us most of the problems with the Ryobimatic were usually simple adjustment problems. We had the tech come in & spend a couple of hours ($250). Since then we have not had a single problem with the dampening system. Needless to say, we switched our service away from Presstek.

Dampening systems seem to be one of those items where everyone has a preference, but they all work well when set up & adjusted properly.

Dave

What were the adjustment he made? Infomax come in countless times to adjust the rollers, put in new rollers, change solution, you name it and little to no luck. I think we are going to order a new Crestline system but still need to run the press for the next 5 weeks before it comes in. If I can get this system to run with adjusting and cleaning the chrome and metering roller every 1000 sheets or less then I will hold of and save some money.

Email me if you want if you have a long list of things to check.



Thanks to everyone for their responses.

[wld85022]

You might want to look at the Kompac before you commit to the Crestline.

Either one will probably make you happy however I think you will get longer roller life on the K versus the C. Also, the Kompac has very little adjustments to make. The Crestline has three adjustments which, while not difficult, are frequent (depending on how much you use the machine)

I just point this out because it's been a long road with our 9995; getting it to where it doesn't require a lot of maintenance. The Kompac does have the little nylon seals on the end of the water roller but they are easy to replace.

We have the Kompac on our perfector and you have to remove the whole unit just to replace the seals

[Darton]

You might want to look at the Kompac before you commit to the Crestline.

Either one will probably make you happy however I think you will get longer roller life on the K versus the C. Also, the Kompac has very little adjustments to make. The Crestline has three adjustments which, while not difficult, are frequent (depending on how much you use the machine)

I just point this out because it's been a long road with our 9995; getting it to where it doesn't require a lot of maintenance. The Kompac does have the little nylon seals on the end of the water roller but they are easy to replace.

We have the Kompac on our perfector and you have to remove the whole unit just to replace the seals

Please help me understand what kind of adjustments need to be made and how often. I'm kind of worried about the Crestline now.

[wld85022]

there are three:

intermediate to oscillator roller pressure

metering to intermediate pressure

maximum metering to pan roller pressure


they are independent of each other.
the bottom two seem to be the most critical.
the metering roller is adjustable while operating the machine to meter in more water (if needed). I set mine up to meter more or less water.

to make these adjustments I mount a plate or cleaner sheet (it's just 7 mil vellum bristol).
use a light color ink (pantone yellow works really well) so you can see the stripes.

it takes about 20-30 minutes to go through both heads and then clean the ink when finished,

i find i have to do this if the press has been sitting for a few days. If it is run regularly, you probably can go for quite a while (month or longer) without rechecking.

the adjustments are not hard to make. they are explained in the manual that comes with the crestline.

if you have any doubts, then the Kompac only has a "nip" adjustment that is set up when the unit is installed (or when rollers are replaced). Otherwise, there is only one adjustment for form roller stripe.