Line on our plates going down the plate

[JimmyInTN]

We have a RIPit Speedsetter X2 imagesetter with a Vastech EZ-14 processor. We are getting a line on the plates going down the length of the plate, 3.5" from the edge. If we use thinner material, you can barely see it, but ink won't stick to it like it will on the thicker plates. I have cleaned all the rollers in each assembly (dev, fix, wash). I have taken each out and let the material go through and it's still there. I changed rolls of film. It's still there. I've done everything I know to do and just cannot figure out what's causing this. Anyone else out there have this problem before? Any ideas? We have some thinner material on order, but our press operator prefers the stiffer, thicker material. Attached is a pic showing the line.

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

How long have you had this? How did it start? Is it on every plate? Was it something that came gradually? Not familiar with the system, but a stripe can be in the plate batch (defect) laser trouble, hard disk fragmentation (cache let's drum spin one revolution or so while loading next part), physical scratch in the machine. First you need to find out which, preferably by elimination. Is the hard drive fragmented? Is the line exactly at the same place each time? If you just develop a plate exposed will you get the line? An unexposed plate? Do you have test patterns that do not reqire RIP? Have you inspected a plate that is exposed but not developed/developed manually? …Those are some ideas, there are probably more.

 

[JimmyInTN]

It started a while ago, but when we tried the thinner material, it wasn't into the silver so the ink didn't adhere to it, so we just let it go. Now, we're out of the thinner material and until the order comes in, the thicker stuff is all we have. I've changed rolls, so it's not the material. It's in the same exact place on ever plate. It's 3.5" from the right side starts at the lead edge and goes straight for like 9.5 inches then it gets all squiggly and disappears. Makes no sense. I used a built in diagnostic print from the imagesetter, so it wouldn't involve the PC and it was still there.

 

[Walleye-one]

If you're cleaning the processor daily, it certainly doesn't seem like the issue should be in your processor. Does the line go in the feed direction? I'm not really too familiar with your device, but if it goes in the feed direction, is it possible there is something on the drum of your imagesetter or possibly in the feed cassette. You might check the bridge too. We use to get calcium buildup on rollers in the bridge back in the film days that caused similar scratches.

 

[JimmyInTN]

Our imagesetter creates a 'virtual' drum. The material is bent into a circle and the laser spins inside it and moves across to image the plate. So if there was a spot on the laser lens, it would go across the plate, not down the length, like this is. I'm thinking of rigging up some kind of light safe box to feed the film in and then take into a dark room and develop it in baths like my old photography class. That would take the whole processor out of the equation.

 

[Walleye-one]

Sounds like a good idea. Does the device give you the option to skip the bridge? i.e. can you manually unload the film/plate and go directly from the image setter to the processor, eliminating the bridge?

 

[Cornishpastythighs]

How many lasers are used in your machine to image your plate? if you have more than one for instance one laser images half the plate then another takes over to image the rest you could have an issue with your lasers not being balanced. I assume the line is not a scratch but a line of image area? A Heidelberg Suprasetter for instance has 3 lasers.

 

[JimmyInTN]

OK. I just had the imagesetter feed a plate out but didn't process it. I exposed it to light. (Didn't see the mark yet.) Then I fed it through the processor and the line is there. It's not as straight as before, but it's in the same exact spot. My next move is to image the plate. Put it in a light safe box and process it in a bath in a dark room. See what that does.

 

[JimmyInTN]

OK. I found the light safe box that came with it. I imaged a plate, fed it into the light safe box. Took it into a bathroom with the light off and developed it in baths. Line is gone. So it's got to be something in the processor. It can't be on the roller or it would only be as long as the diameter of a roller. I'm thinking there is a bur or something on one of the bath trays. I'm going to take all the rollers and bath trays out and clean them again.

 

[pacart]

Back when we were using a chemical processor, we had unexplainable lines as well, come to find out the material was getting scratched by the equipment. Our Mitsubishi rep, replaced our processor with a newer one and it had a different finish to the pieces of metal in each unit, they were like a diamond waffle. We didn't have any more scratches after that.

You might want to check all of your gears as well to see you don't have any missing teeth.

 

[maxon]

Pay more attention to crossovers and bottom of dev and rinse roller racks, scratches usually come up where the film bends more. Take out all crossovers, feed some film into the developer, pull it out before fixer, dip it into a tray with fixer at room temperature leave it there for half a minute, quick rinse, inspect. If scratch is gone repeat test and pull film before entering the rinse(wash) section, inspect again. If film is still clean take out all rollers in the dryer section and clean them like never before.

 

[STSTech]

Jimmy,

You know now that the problem is with the processor. Check all the film guides, and check the entrance of the processor for chemistry build up and dirt. Pull the racks and
check that all rollers move correctly. Hope this is some help to you.

STStech

 

[Captain Kirk]

Back when we were using a chemical processor, we had unexplainable lines as well, come to find out the material was getting scratched by the equipment. Our Mitsubishi rep, replaced our processor with a newer one and it had a different finish to the pieces of metal in each unit, they were like a diamond waffle. We didn't have any more scratches after that.

You might want to check all of your gears as well to see you don't have any missing teeth.

We had an old DPM that was driving us crazy with lines on the plates. It turned out to be scratches on the metal inside the processor as the plate was being guided through the developer....that's where I would start.