Roller surface material -- ink receptive

[Deleted member 16349]

I have a question about roller surfaces that have been successfully used in presses that are receptive to ink. This would be for hard roller surfaces.

Has anyone seen stainless steel rollers used in offset presses?

Has anyone seen non stainless steel rollers (different metal compositions) used in presses that can resist rust?

I have seen copper surfaced rollers, nylon surfaces and other surfaces that have been used. Has anyone seen black oxide or other anodized roller surfaces?

Thanks for any info provided.

 

[Cornishpastythighs]

There is an Ebonite material which is much cheaper than Rilsan(Nylon). Its black and can be applied in a thicker coat than Nylon. Most roller makers have access to it I believe. I have heard of Ceramic being used but the cost is very high.

 

[Deleted member 16349]

There is an Ebonite material which is much cheaper than Rilsan(Nylon). Its black and can be applied in a thicker coat than Nylon. Most roller makers have access to it I believe. I have heard of Ceramic being used but the cost is very high.

Thanks.

Cost is an issue at this point. A steel could be OK at this early stage of development but later a more permanent surface treatment would be needed.

It would be nice if there was a paint on coating available as an option.

 

[Alois Senefelder]

Metal Surfaces in Lithography

Metal Surfaces in Lithography

Hello Erik

The only Metal suitable for use in Litho Press Inking Roller Trains - is COPPER

this relates to " The Wetting of Metals" by Interfacial Tensions of the "Fatty Acids" in Ink

these make the roller become Oleophillic - Stainless Steel is only of use in the Dampening System i.e Pan Roller cheaper than Chromium !

Contact Angles of Metals Copper 60 Deg. Stainless Steel 110 Deg.


Regards, Alois

 

[Deleted member 16349]

Hello Erik

The only Metal suitable for use in Litho Press Inking Roller Trains - is COPPER

this relates to " The Wetting of Metals" by Interfacial Tensions of the "Fatty Acids" in Ink

these make the roller become Oleophillic - Stainless Steel is only of use in the Dampening System i.e Pan Roller cheaper than Chromium !

Contact Angles of Metals Copper 60 Deg. Stainless Steel 110 Deg.


Regards, Alois

Thanks for the reference to stainless steel contact angle. That rules it out.

 

[Deleted member 16349]

Roller suppliers

Roller suppliers

I contacted a roller supplier regarding this issue. The suggested option was to have a nylon coating on the roller. OK, that sounds like a possibility.

After several emails, I still could not get an answer on what the "ball park" cost would be to coat a roller of a given diameter and face length. I could also not get how it is done. I am thinking of it being a flame sprayed process.

Is it so common that it is hard to get cost info from roller suppliers?

Anybody have an idea of how much it would cost to coat a roller with nylon? Roller: 1035mm face length and 55mm diameter.

Thanks.

 

[Al Ferrari]

Hi Erik,

I am currently involved in a project very little related to ink adhesion, but which does lead me to search for high tack surface coatings. Here are some recent links:

Urethane Technology Company (UTC)

Armacoatings 1-800-524-ARMA spray-on bedliners, spray on bedliners, spray-on bedliner, spray on bedliner

Highly protective polyurethane coatings for corrosion and abrasion resistance

I believe these companies have applications engineers, so if you can pose as an engineer your self , You may get some suggestions from them.

Good luck,

Al

 

[Cornishpastythighs]

I would persist with the roller companies personally, they make and cover rollers for hundreds of different presses and applications. Nylon I believe is Rilsan, I always thought it came as a tube and they Shrunk it on the roller. Rilsan is pretty pricey and the next best would be Ebonite. Its strange they wont get back to you with a price maybe you need to find someone who is using rollers and have them contact a roller company for you.
Good luck

 

[Deleted member 16349]

Hi Erik,

I am currently involved in a project very little related to ink adhesion, but which does lead me to search for high tack surface coatings. Here are some recent links:

Urethane Technology Company (UTC)

Armacoatings 1-800-524-ARMA spray-on bedliners, spray on bedliners, spray-on bedliner, spray on bedliner

Highly protective polyurethane coatings for corrosion and abrasion resistance

I believe these companies have applications engineers, so if you can pose as an engineer your self , You may get some suggestions from them.

Good luck,

Al

Thanks Al for the info.

 

[Deleted member 16349]

I would persist with the roller companies personally, they make and cover rollers for hundreds of different presses and applications. Nylon I believe is Rilsan, I always thought it came as a tube and they Shrunk it on the roller. Rilsan is pretty pricey and the next best would be Ebonite. Its strange they wont get back to you with a price maybe you need to find someone who is using rollers and have them contact a roller company for you.
Good luck

Hi Cornish,

It is not Rilsan but some nylon that is supposedly less expensive. I will continue to ask the roller supplier for more info but I was a bit surprised that they would not supply the cost info sooner. Maybe they are just too busy.

Maybe it is a sleeve. I was told the thickness was about 0.020".

I will try and get the info again. Thanks for your comments.

 

[Deleted member 16349]

Hi Cornish,

It is not Rilsan but some nylon that is supposedly less expensive. I will continue to ask the roller supplier for more info but I was a bit surprised that they would not supply the cost info sooner. Maybe they are just too busy.

Maybe it is a sleeve. I was told the thickness was about 0.020".

I will try and get the info again. Thanks for your comments.

I did get the info from the supplier. Not too cheap. Almost $500 to cover the roller. That seems expensive but maybe it is the going rate.

 

[Alois Senefelder]

Puzzled

Puzzled

Hello Erik,


Why not have a suitable roller core/shaft, Copper Electro- plated. ??


Regards, Alois

 

[Deleted member 16349]

Hello Erik,


Why not have a suitable roller core/shaft, Copper Electro- plated. ??


Regards, Alois

Yes, that is one of my options. I was also going to lookup flame spray coating of metals such as copper. There are also anodizing processes that might be suitable. It really depends on price. I don't think I need the full performance of copper so other less expensive methods should be OK.

I have confirmed that the nylon coating is done as a flame sprayed coating. Why that should cost so much money to do is a surprise. It is probably sent out by the supplier to another shop.

I have time to investigate this so there is no urgency but the suggestions help.

Thanks.

 

[turbotom1052]

not sure of the cost but i remember a fellow drag racer talk about having one of his vibrator rollers covered with a ceramic type exhaust coating from a company in the states called Jet Hot. He claimed that it worked well at ink transfer but the coatings durability was still questionable to me as ive not spoken with him in quite a few years. He did mention that it was a bit more affordable that having the roller recovered with Rislan. The are a few different companies here in the states that do these high performance automotive coatings to both exhaust systems and to pistons. In an automotive application the ceramic type coatings offered are primarily used for its thermal properties but i know from personal experience that these coatings are resistant to many solvents.

 

[Deleted member 16349]

not sure of the cost but i remember a fellow drag racer talk about having one of his vibrator rollers covered with a ceramic type exhaust coating from a company in the states called Jet Hot. He claimed that it worked well at ink transfer but the coatings durability was still questionable to me as ive not spoken with him in quite a few years. He did mention that it was a bit more affordable that having the roller recovered with Rislan. The are a few different companies here in the states that do these high performance automotive coatings to both exhaust systems and to pistons. In an automotive application the ceramic type coatings offered are primarily used for its thermal properties but i know from personal experience that these coatings are resistant to many solvents.

Thanks for a suggested material.

I think I am going with the sprayed nylon 11 material. Some references say it is the same as Rilsan but the supplier implied it was different. Anyhow it is commonly used and in the end a safe choice.