The development of ink transfer through a sheet-fed offset press

This paper mainly describes the experimental study of ink transfer through a sheet-fed offset press and how scientific research methods are applied to current research. Industry-oriented scientific research goals are to find the most up-to-date methods for solving problems in the system. In the new industry development framework, it is to increase technological capabilities and increase production capacity; it is also to save experimental time and costs through intensive theoretical discussions and research. To achieve a high degree of automation in the printing industry and increase economic efficiency.

At present, the printing quality and production capacity required by an offset press require high accuracy and high reliability. The maximum ink layer thickness error during printing is approximately 0.05
Îœm, or the deviation of color image positions of a color image, the maximum distance error of a color separation image from the edge of another color separation image is 0.02 mm, which is technically acceptable under general printing conditions and corresponding printing parameters The range.

Such requirements can only be met through intensive research on the core process of offset printing, which in turn promotes the development and production of the printing press. The complexity of the printing process and printing press requires the help of a large amount of scientific research.

In addition to the discovery of research activities from non-specialty printing machinery for printing press engineering, there are also special printing press research activities conducted by printers and printing equipment system manufacturers and many research institutes around the world. Companies and research institutes have also participated in joint research projects. These research projects are mainly aimed at basic research, improvement of production capacity and further development.

There are commonly used tools and methods for these experiments and theoretical explorations in research activities, as well as the development of new tools and the development of further research methods. This article mainly introduces scientific experimental research of ink transfer.

Design and Calculation of Ink Transfer System

1. Ink transfer system design

The ink transfer system for offset printing transfers ink from the ink fountain to the printing plate, forming a thin layer of ink on the printing plate. It is apparent that the amount of ink transferred depends on the image to be printed, and the number of inks in the transverse direction to be printed varies due to the difference in the printed image. For this reason, ink control is generally performed in zones. Due to the precise requirements of the thickness of the ink layer and the prevention of diffusion effects, the design of the ink delivery system is one of the technically extremely difficult to solve and more complex components of the printing press.
The development of each type of offset press depends mainly on the design of the ink transfer system. The ink transfer system must be able to best meet the following requirements:

a, a highly uniform ink layer in the longitudinal and transverse directions of the printed paper;
b, rapid adjustment, sensitive response;
c. The separation between the thin layers of the ink in each separation image is small, that is, the low sensitivity to the effect of splitting (for example, changes in temperature and humidity);
d, there is a wide range of control variables for the amount of ink and wetting fluid;
e, economic benefits, etc.

The parameters for designing the ink roller are mainly material, diameter, arrangement and movement, and the number of ink rollers. In the process of optimizing the development, time, and cost of the ink transfer system, most of the mechanisms adopted by the ink transfer system in the conventional design are based on empirical and experimental methods. Therefore, through the systematic investigation of the ink transfer process of the ink transfer system, the purpose is to establish its theoretical basis and in order to accurately design the ink transfer system in most cases. In the early days, someone was already looking for the regularity of the ink transfer system.

2. Calculation and simulation methods

In 1960, Mill first proposed a method for calculating the ink layer thickness in ink transfer systems. A balance system was established by establishing a balance equation for the amount of ink at each ink outlet. In this system, the ink layer thickness is unknown. In order to determine the ink layer thickness for the geometric parameters of the ink transfer system, Ruder proposed a precise and simple method.

Under Ruder's proposed two algorithms, only the average ink thickness can be calculated. It is impossible to calculate the inclination of the ink layer thickness in the circumferential direction of the ink roller and the printing plate. In 1971, this problem was first proposed by Rech and solved by computer.

For this calculation based on the angle increase method, all the ink roller and drum circumferences are divided into the same size zones. The thickness of the ink layer at each ink outlet is obtained by establishing equations and solving equations. Based on this algorithm, a further calculation method has come into being. It takes into account more and more parameters of the ink transfer system, so that it should be able to better approximate the actual thickness of the ink layer. In finding and simulating calculations that are as close as possible to the actual situation, it is crucial to determine the regularity, legitimacy, and ink transfer parameters.

The NKTEAM simulation program proposed by Patzelt and Ruder in the FGD research project reflects the latest developments in technology. It mainly considers the following parameters:

a, geometric parameters of the ink transfer system; b. Continuous or intermittent ink transfer; c, transfer of ink in circumferential and transverse directions; d, transfer and evaporation of wetting fluid; e, temperature; f. Horizontal partitioning; g, ink absorption.

INKTEAM ink transfer system is a simulation system. In the beginning, the ink transfer system is empty, the ink is separated, the ink is transferred throughout the ink transfer system, and each simulation calculation project recalculates the printing equipment until the ink layer thickness in the transverse direction of the print sheet no longer changes, that is, until Achieve stable conditions. From the calculated thickness curve of the ink layer, it can be seen that it is tested with two ink transfer systems in the length direction of the print sheet.

In the first case, all ink rollers and water rollers contacted the plate cylinder one after another, and the consistency between the simulation and the test was not satisfactory. This can be attributed to the interaction between many of the parameters considered and the accuracy of their settings. Simply changing the percentage of the percentage of factors that affect ink splitting can lead to completely different results.

In the second case, the ink and the wetting fluid are passed through the wetting roller and transferred to the plate cylinder at the same time. This produces a good effect. In other words, there are actually three ink rollers that are idle and wetting the system and the ink roller. The bridge between the wetting roller and the ink is delivered.