Heaviest coverage towards gripper or tail??? The age old debate...

dub

Well-known member
So I have been in prepress and setting up layouts for over 20 years now and I have had press operators request that work be laid out with the heaviest coverage towards the gripper and I have had others say they prefer it towards the tail. The only logical response I have ever gotten was from a hedielberg tech that told me that you want the heaviest charge of ink to occur on the lead edge of the sheet as that is the first impact point from the blanket. However that being said, would the same hold true for the plate as well? Or is everyone just being silly here and overthinking it all. What does everyone else think and how do you set up layouts in terms of what is mechanically correct for an offset press.
 
We've gone both ways . . . but that being said I think the majority of our jobs like that run the heaviest solids towards the gripper, my thought is that it would release better closer to the gripper than on the back edge . . .
 
Heaviest near gripper, as dabob also pointed you get better sheet release on thin stock, otherwise sheet curls badly.
Also the tail edge is more prone to marking on some presses.
One more problem with heavy coverage on tail edge on old presses comes from the feeder pump blow oil sometimes that can be a headache too.
 
I prefer heavy coverage towards the gripper at least .75 inch from the papers gripper edge when possible. Need to keep in mind that the "shadow" of the delivery grippers on most all sheet fed presses,will not allow your powdering system to effectively deliver the required powder to this area.
 
Sounds like it is towards gripper! Another $.02 you will always fit better closer to the gripper even more so with UV printing . CURL AND OFFSET will also be reduced.
 
These days I imagine that most modern presses, have the capability to distribute the ink charge at the gripper, middle or tail end of the sheet remotely from press consoles. This can help alleviate the problem used to be a press operator's nightmare. Other opinions posted are also quite valid. Old school thoughts used be heavy coverage towards the gripper edge.
 

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