Totally Process free 40" Fuji plates

[susanmike2003]

I am looking for insight on how the TPF (totally process free) plates from Fuji clean up when they are rolled up on a press. We have been using these plates for approx 4 months, and have seen intermittent problems when our fountain solution reacts with the coating on the plate.

Once the plate is cleaned, it is fine if the press stops and restarts. It is only when the plate is hung and the initial start is when it is giving us trouble.

Thoughts??

 

[Chasfinch]

are they the ecomaxx plates? we went through a lot of issues found it really was not the fountain solution but more of the process of how you develop the plate

 

[jaed]

How many revolutions are you running with the water form on before you start up? The ecomaxx-t plate develop with alcohol sub, so if they aren't starting up well try adding a little more sub to your fountain solution.

 

[susanmike2003]

They are the TPF plates from Fuji. We were told, and are doing 20 revolutions, then another 20 with the water forms engaged. Fuji said to add another 2.5 ounces of sub in addition to the 5 ounces we're using. Doesn't seem to help. We are currently using Prisco 4951 Fountain, and Fuji wants us to try their solution. what's interesting is that for the first 3 months using these plates, we had no issues. The last 3 months have given us issues.

Once test that I am currently trying is to see how long the plates lay around before they are put on press. Currently, we have about a3-4 week lead time from the time the plates are made to when they are rolled up. When my pressman has a big issue with cleaning the plate out, I run him a new one ASAP. This new freshly made plate rolls up, and cleans with no issue. Might be that with these TPF plates, the run time in pre-press to the press needs to be shorter.

 

[Chasfinch]

sounds like how you are developing issue on press. Dont listen to most fuji techs especially if they are trying to sell you their product. There are a few that actually know better.

I know the startup is press dependent - I will find out what the pressman are doing. What I remember we were keeping the water on too long before running and while its counter intuitive it scummed the plate somehow.
More tomorrow when I talk to our lead pressman

 

[susanmike2003]

Thanks... I'm always suspect of any vendor that wants to offer an only solution by selling their product. In some cases, the change would be justified. Since we had no issue with our Prisco product at the startup, there should be no real reason to switch at this point.

I'll look for what you find out tomorrow. The effort is much appreciated.

 

[Chasfinch]

okay here is what the lead pressman said (we are on 28 inch komoris)

put the flush on HI and startup as normal ( another words no rotations) within 40 sheets everything should be good and put the flush back to your normal setting.

I remember that too much water would scum the plate. you may need to add a tad more etch but sounds like you already have done that.

 

[susanmike2003]

I wanted to get back to you with our latest on the plate clean-up issue. I have good news. We believe we have resolved the issue. What we found Wednesday last week was that even though the plates after making were being slipsheeted, they still were getting exposed by the light. Because this was happening, it was causing the coating to solidify to the plate making it tough to clean.

What we do now is that when I run the plate(s), I put them under chipboard to ensure no light leaks. Then, when I take them to the press, we put them under chipboard again until Jim bends and hangs. The exposure to the artificial light is reduced by about 95%. Since we have done this, we have had zero issues with roll-up.

The current chemical config is 15/10 for etch/sub. We also are using the Alkaless 6000 like before and have seen no issues.

For now, I think we can put this to bed, and hopefully move on from it.

Thanks for all the help and checking while we struggled with this.

 

[susanmike2003]

alibryan- thanks for the agreement in our our thoughts on covering the plates. Our business is proprietary and we control what, how much, and when things get printed. The 3-4 week lead time is what we allow our customers who purchase our products to have for finishing the goods. We are not only a print shop, but we bind, box, and ship our goods all over the world. This is why we need the lead time as such.

Thanks again for the comment(s)