Consumables
New Printing Blankets from PHOENIX Xtra BLANKETS
Tuesday 04. May 2010 - Three products for perfect printing results Produced in Germany
With the Phoenix Journal, Xtra Sticky and Xtra Spot printing blankets, ContiTech Elastomer Coatings developed three new products of the PHOENIX Xtra BLANKETS brand that ensure perfect printing results. At the IPEX 2010 in Birmingham (booth 20-D630), the innovative printing blankets – manufactured exclusively in Germany – will be presented to the international public.
Phoenix Journal: the innovation for high-speed rotary newspaper presses
The Phoenix Journal, the first newspaper printing blanket from PHOENIX Xtra BLANKETS, is ideal for non-shaft satellite newspaper printing machines as well as for the classic four-high towers. “Thanks to ContiTech technology, a new universal product has evolved with excellent quality and a long life,” explains Sven Speier, area manager PHOENIX Xtra BLANKETS. “With this blanket, we are closing a gap in our product portfolio and, with the Phoenix Journal, can now provide blankets for both configurations.” Equipped with two low-stretch, hydrophobized carcass fabrics and a highly resistant, special buffed surface, the printing blanket ensures stable and reliable production conditions and a significant reduction in paper dust buildup. The slightly negative paper transport properties provides for a smooth paper flow and uniform low power consumption by the motors for the individually driven cylinders. The Phoenix Journal is the logical next step for ContiTech Elastomer Coatings in the evolution of its printing blanket line. This innovative and stable product is ideally suited to the requirements of newspaper offset presses.
Xtra Sticky: the self-adhesive printing blanket for special applications in offset printing
The Xtra Sticky printing blanket was developed on the basis of the PHOENIX Xtra BLANKETS technology and features a special self-adhesive layer for special offset applications like continuous form or envelope and label printing. In the development, particular attention was paid to the resistance of the adhesive, which enables tight thickness tolerances. This adhesive ensures that the printing blanket sticks securely to the printing cylinder and that the blanket can be removed from the cylinder with no adhesive residue after use. “With our new type of innovative adhesive technology, the use of the printing blanket is problem-free,” Speier stresses. “In addition, the blanket is characterized by the outstanding resistance of its printing surface, for instance to edge markings.” Solutions are available for UV printing as well as for conventional applications in various nominal thicknesses ranging from 0.90 mm to 1.07 mm.
Xtra Spot: the optimum, reusable varnishing blanket for spot varnishing applications
For UV- and water-based spot varnishing, ContiTech Elastomer Coatings has developed Xtra Spot, an optimum reusable varnishing blanket which – thanks to its elastic polyester back – remains dimensionally stable and guarantees smooth, precise separation. “This makes it ideal for manual and CAD cutting, and thanks to its high stripping depth, it provides for top quality and precision,” says Speier. The varnishing blanket boasts an enormous stencil depth in all of the available product thicknesses (1.15 mm, 1.35 mm and 1.95 mm) and, with its extremely smooth buffed surface, it also ensures a clear and smooth transfer of UV or dispersion varnish while at the same time minimizing ink buildup. “With our Xtra Spot, we can now provide products to all varnishing plants in the area of sheet-fed offset printing, and especially for the trend towards the finishing of prints,” Speier reports. “And we are thus closing the gap between a conventional, non-reusable varnishing blanket and a special product that is ideal for repeated use.”
With these three new products, ContiTech had developed printing blankets that are geared perfectly to the needs of market and that will further strengthen the PHOENIX Xtra BLANKETS brand. The company is the third-largest manufacturer of printing blankets worldwide and the only one producing all its blankets in Germany. “As declaration of origin, Made in Germany is regarded as a seal of quality in the branch. Customers can look to us not only for high-tech production and first-class quality, but also for new standards,” notes Dr. Thomas Perkovi?, head of printing blankets at ContiTech Elastomer Coatings. 75% of the printing blankets are exported to customers all around the globe.