Paper rippling

[Quick Printer]

One of my dislikes with digital copiers/presses is that the paper ripples & curls
after imprinting. Some papers having many waves .... makes letterhead and
padded jobs look especially bad.

I haven't found much difference in the offset papers and the "digital" papers....
but maybe I haven't hit on a good digital paper. I have been using Exact Color
Copy and have tried the HP line as well.

Any suggestions/solutions?
TIA

 

[UberTech]

This can have as much to do with your enviroment as the machine. If you find the sheets are pretty flat when they come out and end up wavvy then your enviroment is probably too damp or the paper is damp to start with. Or it could just be plain damp to start with if it ripples immediatly.

Another factor is the fuser, all digital machines have a fusing unit of some variety and they are not all created equal. Colour printing is different to monochrome in regards to the type of fuser rollers required. Generally they are not as hard has a monchrome printer and are made of silicon or in recent times a silicon roller and a fuser belt. The softer rollers deform a lot easier than harder ones and if the engineering team made the fatal mistake of keeping both upper and lower rollers in contact even at idle then your chances of a ripple free print are zero.

I am not sure what machine you have but in the CX50X the fuser unit has a harder silicone rollers and a very soft roller inside a fuser belt which gives it a contact area of about 12mm (dual hard rollers only have about 4mm). I have found the wider the contact area the less ripple. Not to say these machines don't ripple as they do but certainly not as much as the c500 which had two hard rollers.

 

[X33]

I haven't found much difference in the offset papers and the "digital" papers....
but maybe I haven't hit on a good digital paper.

there's a HUGE difference between Offset Papers and Digital Papers : fiber, grain, coating, brightness, humidity, etc.

check out "The Guide to Paper and Digital Printing: What You Should Know" :
Paper and Media Resources for Commercial Printers

have you looked at the Xerox line? great papers, more expensive than average though.

 

[Josh]

What grain direction are you running?

We have to buy a lot of our sheets SRA1 and cut down to SRA3 to get them long grain. This reduced the amount of curl massively.

 

[rsands]

what machine you running? Does it have active decurling units? if it does the sheet should be coming out dead flat and no wrinkles - without them...run your media as a heavier stock setting and it will reduce the curl and wrinkling from the machine.

However if it is wrinkling after print and lying about...key is get it cut sooner

 

[Kingsfish]

Electro-static Process ie...Digital Printing

Electro-static Process ie...Digital Printing

someone can add more science to this, but the basics as i understand them:
0. paper has moisture in it, the level depends on storage properties
1. paper is heated to 160-200degrees celcius
2. moisture content of the paper is zapped to nothing
3. fuser presses the toner on/in the substrate
4. paper is ejected with no humidity in an environment with some humidity(varies greatly)
5. paper starts to soak up moisture similar to the environment

if you let the paper "cure" like you must in traditional offset, you will notice better results when working with it after it goes thru the electo-static fusing process.

 

[TheMarine]

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If you need any help in that area, feel free to call me 847-669-0222 Ask for Tom "The Marine"

 

[TheMarine]

Quick Printer-

I would also like to point out that the Boise HD line of products- 24#, 28#, 32#, 80# cover, and 100# cover are the only brands we use for our high speed copiers, fax machines, and printers. It is the smoothest, most lint free surface I have seen in the many years I have been around the print industry. It is also an extremely high brightness (which will make your images look phenomenal). It may also help to know that Boise, one of the most trusted names in high quality, problem free paper- is 100% American made and sold (it only directly benefits the US economy). Please don't get fooled by paper brokers and manufacturers that try to sell foreign brands- may save some money but you may only get what you pay for- a "cheap" sheet. The slightly higher cost for Boise can be made up with the quality and presentation of beautiful work done on beautiful paper- that clients will pay for (trust me- they already are now all over the country). I can accommodate you with the brand, but if not through me- please inquire with someone who can as I strongly believe it can be an answer to any runability, curling, jamming, printing, and/or quality concern you have had or will have- no matter what type press you utilize!

----I never understood how a product made in a currency that is stronger than ours, then is shipped via boat, and can be sold in a weaker currency for less than American made paper- unless it wasn't exactly made with quality components in the first place I am guessing.-------