Offset printing ink system innovation

When the mechanical speed cannot be surpassed, offset press manufacturers have to focus on every aspect of the equipment, such as rapid changeover time of the printing press, rapid realization of printing color and registration, etc. The rapid operation and flexible response functions are required to meet the needs of short-run printing and frequently changing prints, so as to adapt to changes in the number of print jobs and the delivery time of the print customers.

Here we introduce several short ink systems that are more eye-catching on drupa. The short ink system eliminates the need for multiple inks and ink rollers in the past. Only 3-5 ink rollers are required. Simply pass the ink. The ink is evenly transferred to the plate cylinder, which saves the time for even ink and quickly completes the printing preparation, reduces the use of the overprinted paper, and also avoids the waste of the ink because no excessive ink is transferred.

KBA anilox roller short ink inking device

KBA was the first offset printing equipment manufacturer to use anilox roller short ink transfer method on offset presses. The device uses a flexo-printing anilox roller to eliminate the traditional ink transfer device and eventually reduce the number of ink rollers to one. At present, the anilox roller ink inking device has been used on KBA's waterless printing equipment. The device installed on Drupa is Genius 52 UV, Rapida 74 Gravuflow, and 74 Karat DI. As well as Cortina's four waterless printing equipment, its environmental protection has greatly improved.

Heidelberg Anicolor inkless ink system

In Heidelberg's booth at Drupa, we can see impressively a few Anicolor characters. It represents the inkless ink system and is one of Heidelberg's key new propaganda technologies. The Anicolor Short Ink System is a revolutionary technology pioneered by Heidelberg. It combines the Anilox ink delivery technology with the Alcolor direct continuous dampening system. The technology is easy to use, maintains extremely stable printing colors throughout the production process, and achieves excellent offset quality. The Anicolor Ink System uses only one anilox roller and a single stencil-printing roller, eliminating the need for ink zone settings. Therefore, the printer can quickly realize accurate colors and start reliable production soon after startup. Anicolor uses an advanced temperature control system to adjust the amount of ink. Since no ink zone settings are required, the job preparation time is reduced by 40%, and boot-up waste sheets will be reduced by as much as 90%. Finally, it should be noted that the standard media used for commercial printing is in harmony with Anicolor technology, so companies do not have to spend extra on consumables. Anicolor has now officially become an optional component of the Speedmaster SM52 Offset Press.

Gaussian DigiRail Digital Ink Supply System

Gauss introduced Goss M600 Folia, an offset printing equipment for the new generation of printing ideas on Drupa. In this device, Gauss uses its DigiRail Ink Pack, a short ink supply used in newspapers. This ink supply uses a high-precision, low-torque, linear gear pump to deliver individually controlled "digital" values ​​and then provides the ink fountain with precisely metered ink pulses. The gear pump is enclosed in a diverter valve which supplies the gear pump with ink evenly through a single tube supply system. The design of the pump and its drive system uses a synchronous AC motor. Rotary valves complete the determination of the amount of ink that is in the same position as the inkjet key they replaced. The valve works in binary mode. In the "on" position, they supply ink to the ink rail. In the "off" position, the ink returns to the diverter valve for backup. The system outputs a completely predictable amount of ink by changing the “on-time” of the digital pulse and changes the ink flow according to the image density. The accuracy of the system allows the ink flow rate to be adjusted in 0.1% increments, which gives better control over small image processing.