SM 52 Back Cylinder Cleaning

[RGPW17100]

We have a 5 color SM52 that perfects 3/2. After the perfector we have the rough surface back cylinders. When using the cloth cylinder and blanket cleaners to automatically clean the cylinders the rough material in the cylinders make the cloth lint up real bad on the cylinders. I tried using water, water misable presswash, typewash and MRC and nothing seems to cut this lint. What are others doing. Just hand cleaning these cylinders or is there a trick to get this stuff off of the clylinders.

 

[rbailleu]

we dont have a perfector, but are you using the heidelberg cloths or the white kind.

 

[RGPW17100]

We are using an aftermarket kind made by nubtex which are blue. They are $9 per roll instead of $13 that the Heidelberg ones cost. The perfecter back cylinders are coarse instead of smooth like the ones before the perfector on units one and two. Maybe I should go back to the Heidelberg ones.

 

[rbailleu]

I know I tried some cheaper thinner white rolls once, I like the feel of the sonatara cloths better. but it may be worth a try. also I notice that water seems to break down the fibers of the cloth more. some blanket washes also weaken the fiber. so you could try a different blanket wash and reduce the water.

 

[GazKL440]

I know its an expensive option, but can you look at getting a chrome surface perfecting jacket fitted? We had an old Roland Rekord that was a 4/0,2/2, and it was a bastard of a thing to clean the back cylinder on the 2nd unit until it ate a transfer gripper and damaged the surface, which then required a jacket to repair it... before that time running uncoated stock meant cleaning 2nd unit back cyl every 2nd stack...by hand of course...with a lot of elbow grease and sweating....we used to toss coins to see who got it

 

[RGPW17100]

May have to clean the last three by hand. We dont do a lot of perfecting but when we do the chrome cylinder wont work not to mention the pain of replacing one. I am going to order the heidelberg clothes and see if that helps. If we dont get all that crap off the back cylinder it dents the sheets where the lint is. Not ready to mess with the water and press wash set up. This was done by heidelberg during set up and it has worked well for three years. Main press operator is on vacation so I am filling in for two weeks. I will discuss this with him when he gets back.

 

[rbailleu]

I bet you will find that your pressman alters the settings for what they need to clean off. perhaps someone put the wrong wash in the blanket wash tank

 

[MikeG]

I have the same press configuration but no impression cylinder washers. Those perfect jackets are a pain to keep clean but it's the technology that allows Heidelberg's to perfect coated sheets. I've run into the same issue with linting even washing by hand. I would try the better cloths as even a shop towel gets destroyed by those jackets. Maybe your regular operator has a secret like pre-wetting the cylinders (using manual wash mode) or washing by hand.

 

[dana]

on the Komori Perfecting jackets I've used Allied Turbo Clean followed up with some press wash and had good results.

APC > Manufacturer > Distributor of Pressroom Chemicals & Printing Supplies

 

[MikeG]

Dana, thanks for the mind jog! I tried a sample of the Turbo Clean a few years ago and it worked great, but I never reordered it. I'll have to get some in again.

 

[RGPW17100]

I will check with Pitman or Fuji for that Turbo clean product. We only have one type of presswash and that is V120. The worst part of the linting is how bad it dimples the sheets. I found scrubbing with V120 full strength then going after it real hard with a dry lint free towel works the best. I am worried about using type wash for fear it might ruin the finish of the cylinder sleeve and the smell kills me.

 

[rbailleu]

we have used v253 and wmm washes with out issue. right now we are using heidelbergs wash for everything, but I think we are going back to wmm or 253 for the blanket. pressman likes saphira for the rollers but it does not quite dry out enough for the blanket. what did we do before blanket washers.

 

[dana]

RGPW17100,

I use to get our turbo clean from Pitman.

 

[GazKL440]

Before blanket washes we got dirty and sweaty!! we get a bit of back cyl mess on the (manual wash) K26, and no one likes to climb under feeder to clean first unit impression cyl's, and like your issue RGPW17100 its more the embossing than the mess that causes drama. They clean the back cyl's twice a shift and use a kitchen scourer to soaked in blanket wash to get the stubborn junk off...

 

[RGPW17100]

Before blanket washes we got dirty and sweaty!! we get a bit of back cyl mess on the (manual wash) K26, and no one likes to climb under feeder to clean first unit impression cyl's, and like your issue RGPW17100 its more the embossing than the mess that causes drama. They clean the back cyl's twice a shift and use a kitchen scourer to soaked in blanket wash to get the stubborn junk off...

When you say kitchen scourer do you mean one of them 3M green scratch pads? Just got some today and think they will work great with V120 and water mix.

 

[GazKL440]

When you say kitchen scourer do you mean one of them 3M green scratch pads? Just got some today and think they will work great with V120 and water mix.

yeah thats exactly it... and they work bloody well with a good water miscible wash at about 50% and wont hurt anything, also excellent for cleaning hard ink on back edge of ducts after a full weeks running.

 

[RGPW17100]

Thanks GazKL for the tip. I tried it today and my arm is not sore. Before I would go over it about 5 times per cylinder with all the strength I could muster. Today one green scratch pad and about 1/4 cup mixed V120 and it was a light scrub then follow up with a wipe with a rag. We have three cylinders that are like that and after cleaning the press I was not even winded. I still will be glad when the press operator gets back. He sure makes this look easy.

 

[GazKL440]

We were always workin our butts off to keep the old Rekord's back cyl's clean, when one of the offsiders bought some in to try out...worked great and saved a heap of effort!!! Beer was on me that friday !!!

The normal press operator probably has a system worked out that just makes it easy, just one of those things he has worked out over the years and doesnt even think about on a day to day basis, just business as usual for him....

 

[RGPW17100]

He is back Thursday so I will find out. Heidelberg consumables called me this morning after reading this thread. I guess they sell perfecting type wash rolls. In the past we have only gotten the blue ones from them and I did not know they sold more then one type. When they come in I will give them a whirl and post back.

 

[GazKL440]

We use a white roll, will have to check branding etc tomorrow, but it does a passable job on our 40 inch Komori... have to remove paper lines when running full size sheets but otherwise it beats the hell out of handwashing... only issue recently is the console has had some probs and the tech reset it which threw out our customised settings... stopped cleaning properly and blanket wash cloths were running dry on 4th unit, creating a bit of noise and not cleaning well...