8 recommendation before mounting foams and tapes application:
- Clean cylinders, sleeves, and plates. Remove grease, oil or ink using a mild professional solvent. Remember that using an automatic washing system polymer plate is 100% clean, dry and ready to use.
- Ensure the surface is totally dried before mounting.
- Don’t use ink thinners or mixed solvents for cleaning purposes.
- Surface uniformity is important for consistent adhesion. Scratches, nicks, and dents can cause variations in adhesion, leading to removability problems, or flagging.
- The photopolymer plate should ideally be applied plate per with a roller, paying particular attention to the plate edges, to help ensure the correct contact between tape and printing plate.
- Make sure there are no air bubbles.
- Where small diameter cylinders are used and there is the time between plate mounting and use, then wrapping the plate with polyethylene after mounting will enable the bond to build to full strength and prevent plate lift at the edge.
- Occasionally, edge sealants may be required to prevent ink or solvents from causing plate lift, particularly on long runs, where plates are cleaned during the print run.
Biessse adhesive plate mounting foams and tapes ensure excellent adhesion of the printing form to the cylinder or sleeve even during the most demanding printing operations. Biessse adhesive mounting tapes are optimized for easy and clean mounting and demounting.