Laser imprinting on something done on a digital press

[pworlledge]

Has anyone done this. We need to run small runs and send them to customers who then imprint. It's done on their laser printers which they currently already have. We worry that when it goes thru the heat on their printers it will track what we've printed when that hits the heat.

 

[kdw75]

We have had pretty good luck with this, though not 100%. Our customers frequently run jobs we print through a laser printer and imprint them and I would say that 98% of the time they have no problems. So far the only problems have been on jobs that we printed on our Workcentre 7556. Never had a problem on our Xerox 560. From what I have been told they both use the same toner so I think it was just hit and miss and that the people that have problems are using printers that run hotter.

 

[arossetti]

We have had pretty good luck with this, though not 100%. Our customers frequently run jobs we print through a laser printer and imprint them and I would say that 98% of the time they have no problems. So far the only problems have been on jobs that we printed on our Workcentre 7556. Never had a problem on our Xerox 560. From what I have been told they both use the same toner so I think it was just hit and miss and that the people that have problems are using printers that run hotter.

This is interesting since it is the toner melt point that causes the problem. The Xerox560 uses EA toner which is a low melt toner. So if anything, the prints of 560 should give you more problems then most. I think the fusing temp for the EA toner is around 140deg F / 60deg C. So you need to find a fuser that runs cooler then 140deg to ensure the Xerox toner doesn't re-melt onto that printer.

 

[kdw75]

This is interesting since it is the toner melt point that causes the problem. The Xerox560 uses EA toner which is a low melt toner. So if anything, the prints of 560 should give you more problems then most. I think the fusing temp for the EA toner is around 140deg F / 60deg C. So you need to find a fuser that runs cooler then 140deg to ensure the Xerox toner doesn't re-melt onto that printer.

I suspected that the low melt toner would cause a problem, but it hasn't seemed to. From the marketing info I have read it wasn't totally clear what the melt point was.

 

[pworlledge]

So from the responses and the lack of other responders I assume there isn't a solution.

 

[kdw75]

Use laser safe ink on the press.

 

[Craig]

We have had good results with our Xante Impressia and a KMC360. We crank up the fuser temp higher than normal on runs we know are getting re-printed.

 

[damfino]

Testing actual output is the only way to assure absolute compliance. As stated, run the printer as slow as possible (the setting is usually found at the driver level as 'paper type' on most printers).

Notes: Brother desk-top printers are almost always culprits. If the toner in your printer is oil-less, you will have better luck.

 

[Craig]

I also heard the HP5000 series can give headaches. Something about their fuser will over heat when it starts to go bad.

 

[Possumgal]

Stay away from machines that use low melt toner just in case. You never know what your customers are using, or what they may switch to when they need a new machine. Trial and error will get their machine gunked up.

 

[kdw75]

Stay away from machines that use low melt toner just in case. You never know what your customers are using, or what they may switch to when they need a new machine. Trial and error will get their machine gunked up.

While this sounds like a no brainer does anyone know if the low melt toner actually re-melts at a lower temperature?

 

[Craig]

While this sounds like a no brainer does anyone know if the low melt toner actually re-melts at a lower temperature?

Yes it does

 

[pworlledge]

While this sounds like a no brainer does anyone know if the low melt toner actually re-melts at a lower temperature?

That's my understanding too. Which is my concern if too many sheets are run thru customers will begin to complain about "tracking".