Consumables
Trelleborg Provides New Blanket Solutions For Newspaper Sector at IFRA EXPO 2008
Wednesday 29. October 2008 - Trelleborg Printing Blankets is one of the worlds leading manufacturers of offset blankets for the graphic arts market and its Vulcan and Rollin series provide the widest range of solutions available today for newspaper, heatset semi-commercial and commercial web offset printers.
IFRA provides the venue for the relaunch of the Rollin brand, made by MacDermid Offset Printing Blankets, which is now part of the Trelleborg group and the show is the first event at which the two companies will exhibit together. Visitors to the stand will be able to hear about new products under both the Rollin and Vulcan brand names.
One of the biggest recent changes in the newspaper sector has been the move to metal-backed blankets with around 30 per cent of newspaper printers in France, Germany, Italy and the UK using these products. Trelleborgs Vulcan metal-backed blankets are already extremely popular throughout Europe, and the company expects this to increase significantly following the launch of Vulcan Metal News Active.
Vulcan Metal News Active is a major new development in press blanket technology, which offers the potential for significantly improved productivity and print quality. This unique metal-backed blanket incorporates a new film backing and is the result of research by Trelleborgs R&D team, along with its Italian distributor Printgraph, which has been the exclusive Italian distributor for Vulcan blankets for 30 years. Its managing director, Roberto Levi, is the inventor of the Finito series of films and he has worked closely with Trelleborg specialists to develop this latest Finito product, while Trelleborg has perfected a method of adhering the new film to the blankets steel backing.
Conventional adhesive is attacked by a wide range of commonly used press blanket washing agents. Regardless of whether blanket washing is carried out by hand or automatically the cleaning agent will, over a period of time, dissolve the adhesive, with the usual result being that the film separates from the blankets steel backing. This means the press often has to be stopped and the blanket replaced, with subsequent loss of production.
“Vulcan Metal News Active is an important breakthrough in improving the print quality that can be obtained on newspaper presses and reducing stoppages and lost production,” says Dario Porta, managing director, Trelleborg Printing Blankets. “European trials of Vulcan Metal News Active on satellite and tower newspaper presses have shown a notable increase in print quality. Weve been working closely for quite some time with Printgraph, which will manufacture the new film for the exclusive use within the Vulcan Metal News Active solution.
“Although the new blanket will not be available until January 2009, IFRA is perfectly timed for us to discuss with customers how Vulcan Metal News Active can best be utilised in their particular press configuration. We anticipate a significant level of interest in the new blanket solution and look forward to meeting customers on our IFRA stand to discuss the opportunities it raises in more depth.”
An increasing number of newspaper press manufacturers are producing presses with cylinders capable of printing 24-pages in one revolution. Conventional rubber/fabric blankets cannot be used on these large size cylinders, which can be more than two metres wide, because the gaps created when they are fixed to the cylinders result in unacceptable gear marks and stripes on the paper. Metal-backed blankets overcome this issue and can also cope with the faster running speeds of these presses.
Despite costing around four times more than traditional blankets, the growing popularity of metal-backed products can be seen as far away as India and Australia. Another major attraction is the ability to replace a damaged metal-backed blanket in around five minutes, a task that could otherwise take up to an hour on a large newspaper press.
Several new products will be shown at IFRA under the Rollin brand, including the negative feed blanket Polycell. The printing surface formulation and the blanket construction – 3-ply under compressible layer – make Polycell extremely easy to mount and fast to clean. The foam technology features high pressure gas closed cells, which ensures a fast rebound after nip squeeze for high ink pick-up and transfer on to the substrate, resulting in extremely dense solids.
Graffity is a positive feed 3-ply blanket that incorporates a thick compressible layer and a highly stable carcass. The surface formulation and finish guarantee good solid coverage as well as excellent tone reproduction at maximum press speed, while the foam technology ensures long blanket life.
To complement its newspaper blanket range, Rollins new blanket solution, Hi-Page, offers neutral feeding on the press. This blanket is designed for large pagination presses and features a specially ground surface, which results in consistent high print quality and durability.
Trelleborg invests a significant amount of its resources in R&D, and the company works closely with the industrys major chemical suppliers and press manufacturers to ensure it can provide the right solutions for todays presses and those being developed for the future. Many new newspaper presses are commissioned with Vulcan blankets.
“The demands placed upon offset blankets become greater every year, with wider and faster presses, new chemicals, the growth of automatic blanket cleaning systems plus environmental issues all having an impact on what printers expect,” says Dario Porta. “Presses have become much more sophisticated in the number of processes they handle in-line, while at the same time everyone is looking to reduce their energy consumption and waste. The blanket plays a vital role in all of these areas.
“The technology involved in the creation of a successful blanket has never been more complex. A blanket has to provide consistent dot reproduction, with good ink transfer on to a wide variety of stock, plus durability and resistance to smashes. Customers expect high quality print almost as a right and this requires the correct blanket on the press, fitted and packed accurately, plus sound technical after-sales support – something that is often lacking from suppliers.
“At Trelleborg we firmly believe in providing customers with expert advice on choosing the right blanket for the job and ensuring they have a level of technical after-sales support that allows the greatest productivity from their presses. This can include on-site trials and testing at customers premises, plus troubleshooting support and staff training.”
The way in which people access news has changed radically in recent years and the production and content of newspapers has also altered significantly. Trelleborgs long association with this market has allowed it to provide the right blanket solutions to meet the industrys differing requirements around the world. This includes Vulcan Editor, which incorporates the DynaTech system, a special compressible layer that combines excellent rebound and dampening characteristics that absorb mechanical vibrations. The thicker closed cell compressible layer in this blanket provides an increased smash resistance as well as a longer life span.
Trelleborg supplies a comprehensive selection of innovative blanket solutions for the heatset web offset market, including cylindrical, metal-backed, blankets for UV applications and conventional blankets. The exclusive rubber compound used for the blankets closed cells compressible layer ensures a high smash resistance, good press vibration absorption, excellent print quality and no gear marks. Every element of the blanket is extensively researched and tested. The blanket carcass allows adjustments to be made to the paper feed, according to printing press requirements, while the blankets top surface is micro-buffed to achieve good paper release and print reproduction.
“The increase in material costs and modern web offset press speeds, combined with shorter print runs, makes waste control an ever more important issue for printers,” says Dario Porta. “Vulcan blankets have been designed to reduce waste by ensuring consistent high print quality, easy cleaning and good durability. The high quality fabrics used at every stage of the blankets construction ensure water solvent protection and excellent stability. As with all other Trelleborg blankets, those for the heatset web offset sector use Trelleborgs patented thermo-welding tape to apply bars.”