PM52 water setting very high

[gkwallace]

Hi there,
My water setting is getting very high, up to 90 today. All my stripes look good. It's been fairly gradual. 6 months ago I'd run at around 50. 2 years ago around 35. The press is running great and prints great.
Any suggestions?

 

[smalloffsetpressexperts]

Stripes may look good, but how about their durometer? Check the dampener motor voltage?

 

[gkwallace]

Stripes may look good, but how about their durometer? Check the dampener motor voltage?

I didn't think about the durometer. The rollers are 3 years old. I am a one man shop and don't do a whole lot of impressions, but I run mostly spot colors so there are a whole lot of washups.

 

[smalloffsetpressexperts]

Even idle rollers get hard, As plasticizers leave the roller, the roller can become hard and a glaze forms. This means you have to run higher levels of ink and water. In addition, dot gain, hickies, mottled solids and other unwanted problems may appear.
Greasy solvents like water misiable type's have caused me headaches for years.
Good Luck

 

[SheetSqueezer]

I didn't think about the durometer. The rollers are 3 years old. I am a one man shop and don't do a whole lot of impressions, but I run mostly spot colors so there are a whole lot of washups.

A Durometer is the instrument used to measure the shore hardness of the rubber. The chemicals used for wash-ups are harder on rollers than anything else and are the number one cause for roller glazing and hardening. Try including a roller cleaning gel or paste in some of your wash-ups to help condition the rollers and keep them in better shape.

 

[turbotom1052]

Do you do regular calcium rinses of your rollers?