itsaprintshop
Active member
Would like to talk about the importance the PH and how it effects poly plates, ink, and of course print quality.
After 5 years of bindery I'm finding myself running light 4 color work on a 2 color Hamada, most 8 1/2 x 11 sheets on an AB Dick 9810 and Envelopes on a Halm Jet.
The AB Dick is rather tolerant of any mixture of universal Pink, IPA, and Water. I stick with 4 oz of IPA, 3 oz of Pink and 25 oz of water.
Hamada is pretty temperamental, I can go a few months with a mixture then I'm hit with a coming up with a new formula. Lately I've been using
5oz of Anchor and 2 oz IPA to 2 gallons of water. In the past I've run 15 oz of Pink and 2 oz IPA to 1 gallon of water. I try to avoid IPA on the Hamada since I'm told it doesn't need it.
Halm is doing okay - 15 oz of pink and 2 oz of IPA to each gallon of water.
Poly plates occasionally wear out at 5-7,000. Average run is 3k. (lately they have been 10-12k) The plate salesmen says 1 thing and the press repair guy says the opposite.
I try the advice given, and nothing really seems to last long - a few months at best.
Picked up a PH test kit and I'm finding that its higher than 6. Using vinegar I've been able to lower it down to 3.5. and things seem to be OK.
So is tap water to blame, should it really be filtered?
What are you using and are you using tap water?
After 5 years of bindery I'm finding myself running light 4 color work on a 2 color Hamada, most 8 1/2 x 11 sheets on an AB Dick 9810 and Envelopes on a Halm Jet.
The AB Dick is rather tolerant of any mixture of universal Pink, IPA, and Water. I stick with 4 oz of IPA, 3 oz of Pink and 25 oz of water.
Hamada is pretty temperamental, I can go a few months with a mixture then I'm hit with a coming up with a new formula. Lately I've been using
5oz of Anchor and 2 oz IPA to 2 gallons of water. In the past I've run 15 oz of Pink and 2 oz IPA to 1 gallon of water. I try to avoid IPA on the Hamada since I'm told it doesn't need it.
Halm is doing okay - 15 oz of pink and 2 oz of IPA to each gallon of water.
Poly plates occasionally wear out at 5-7,000. Average run is 3k. (lately they have been 10-12k) The plate salesmen says 1 thing and the press repair guy says the opposite.
I try the advice given, and nothing really seems to last long - a few months at best.
Picked up a PH test kit and I'm finding that its higher than 6. Using vinegar I've been able to lower it down to 3.5. and things seem to be OK.
So is tap water to blame, should it really be filtered?
What are you using and are you using tap water?