Picture framing

[cole]

We have recently installed a XL105. We are having great results with this press the only down side being the picture framing issue. We have tried different founts, blankets ,chemicals, played around with temp and last week a differnt compound damper(Bottcher) and pan roller on 1 of the units but to no avail. Is there anybody out there with a similar type of press having the same problem. The plate we are using is a Fuji with a course grain the only trouble is that none of our other presses have this problem.

 

[seejay]

hi there,

when we first installed our XL we had exactly the same issues - talking to other printers, many others had experienced the same problems.

Eventually, we solved the issue by a combination of Heidelberg intervention with settings, maintenance etc. hi-speed inks, fount and plate changes.

At the time we had varying results with different plates - if its any consolation, we found that the Fuji plate was one of the best performing plates on this press. In the end we settled for a combination of Agfa Elite plates, Toyo inks and not sure what fount.

 

[gsterwald]

Picture Framing

Picture Framing

We had the same problem on the XL105 along with many others, its not very plate friendly. You will most likely need a shallow grain plate to get rid of the framing.

 

[keldrewett]

Didn't someone post a GATF bulletin on this issue some time ago?
Anyone??

 

[cole]

Thanks for the advise guys. Will try the Toyo ink, we are using impression H&S inks.

 

[cole]

Seejay what type off fount are you using and what percentage alcohol and fount do you run on your XL.ie when running Fuji plates?

 

[Steve Perkins]

roller oscillation settings

roller oscillation settings

Hi Cole

Just a quick note. I had a similar problem and vastly reduced it by cutting back the amount of oscillation in the ink roller train. There is a lot of friction created in the oscillation motion, this creates excessive heat and can cause the ink to break down - unfortunately veggie based inks have a tendency to breakdown under heat - more than mineral oil based inks. The ink breakdown causes excessive emulsification and picture framing. Does it tend to be worse in the cyan unit? Try and cut the oscillation back as much as possible - up to 1/3 or 1/2 of the original setting. If you get tram lines in certain jobs you can always increase the oscillation to over come it - just remember to put it back again. I always find that Heidelberg techs / demonstrators set everything up to the max. Good luck.