German Presses and Fogra

[Lukew]

This is interesting. In the mid 1980's, the company I was working for started into running offset. They already were running gravure and flexo for their food packaging system. They started offset with IPA free printing with EB inks.

I have always been surprised that the IPA free issue is still being discussed but I have come to think that its continued use is related to the way it covers up problems in the process that have not been corrected.

I probably would not have gotten so interested in the density control problems of the press if it was not for the fact that we were running EB inks, which are reported to be more of a problem with ink water balance than conventional inks and that we were not allowed to use IPA, which also helps.

The culture of avoiding the effort to understand a problem by covering it up in the short term has not helped the industry in the long term to be more productive and efficient.

It would be interesting to find out how many print firms in Aus print alcohol free. If the info given by consumable suppliers & roller manufacturers is anything to go by perhaps no more then 50 sites would be alcohol free.
The norm here is 10% + alcohol, with no set guidelines from the government I guess most printers are going to take the easy route if they get the choice.