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FAQ

Quick answers to common questions

On a daily basis, printers face many repetitive questions and minor challenges. We've gathered them in one place to give you quick access to simple and specific hints. These are quick tips based on our team's experience and real-life situations from production - so you can find a practical solution right away.

  • What are the most common causes of problems?
  • How can they be resolved quickly?
Flexographic plates

Possible causes:

  • Incorrect pressure of the printing roller on the material.
  • Incorrect pressure ratio of the anilox roller to the print roller.
  • Too little printing inks in the ink system, inkwell.
  • Used, damaged printing plate.
  • For foil materials – no activation of the printable substrate.

Possible solutions:

  • Creation of a printing taxonomy.
  • Regular inspection of all components: anilox, printing plate, cylinders.
  • Use of camera video surveillance systems.
  • Each time before printing, check the activation of the material or, in case of doubt, activate it.

Possible causes:

  • Print cylinder misalignment.
  • Printing cylinder bearing wear.
  • Wear of gears in the printing unit.
  • Too much tension on the printed material.
  • Poor assembly of the printing plate.

Possible solutions:

  • Due to the wear and tear of parts, the most important thing is prevention and periodic technical inspections of all components.
  • It is necessary to check whether the printing machine meets boothard printing conditions (unwind tension, pull guides, etc.).

Possible causes:

  • No or too little photoinitiator in the printing inks.
  • UV lamp power too low.
  • Dirtiness of lamps, dustiness - dirtiness of the reflector.
  • Printing speed too high.

Possible solutions:

  • Using only a certain boothard of printing ink.
  • Using only appropriate and specified by the manufacturer of the printing machine fusing lamps, regularly inspecting and replacing the lamps when its power decreases.
  • A cleaning schedule for lamps and reflectors should be established and followed.
  • Follow the printing machine manufacturer's recommendations for printing speed.

Possible causes:

  • Excessive dilution of printing inks with solvent.
  • Using too much printing inks to lighten the printing inks.
  • Contaminated or worn anilox.

Possible solutions:

  • printing inks viscosity control.
  • Inspection and measurement of anilox values.
  • Regular cleaning and measurement of the anilox.
  • Checking the wear of the anilox with measuring devices.

Possible causes:

  • Failure to dry the first layer of printing inks, the printing inks on which we apply the next layer should be absolutely dry.
  • Insufficient drying between colors.
  • Saturate the air with solvent in the immediate vicinity of the printing area.

Possible solutions:

  • If possible, change the printing unit and place the colors so that those that do not dry between them are as far apart as possible.
  • Check the drying systems between colors for closure or clogging.
  • Check that the ventilation system is open.

Possible causes:

  • Change Printing inks viscosity Printing inks during printing.
  • Excess solvent added by the printer to correct viscosity.
  • In the case of machines with a central cylinder - contamination of the printing inks by overflow of the preceding color onto the anilox rollsr.
  • Dirt , clogging of the anilox roller.
  • Wear and tear on the printing mold, especially in grid - raster transitions.
  • Excessive pressure on the printing mold, scooping - pumping Printing inks through the printing die.
  • Deviation of the fit between colors(already a deviation of about 50 micrometers causes a visible color change).

Possible solutions:

  • Control the viscosity of the printing inks in the printing inks section.
  • Use electronic viscometers.
  • Check regularly the condition of aniloxes, washing and maintenance - important.
  • Do not overpress the printing mold, try to position the mold in the print so that it does not have to be put down later - kiss print technique.
  • Inspect the technical condition of the printing machine regularly, if possible use tools and equipment to prevent play on the drive wheels.

Possible causes:

  • Lack of adjustment of the machine tension system, poor mechanical, electronic or manual adjustment by the printer.
  • Errors in the installation of two or more utilities on the perimeter of the cylinder/bushing.

Possible solutions:

  • Carry out the necessary adjustment, check that the system that regulates pressure, tension (load target) works properly.
  • Paste printing plate paying attention to the accuracy of gluing and assembly.

Possible causes:

  • Raster contamination on the printing printing plate
  • Anilox roller damage
  • If the dirt or defect appears in different places after each revolution of the roller, it may be due to contamination of the printing form.
  • Raster strip passes too much Printing inks on raster roller.
  • The squeegee becomes damaged and metal particles contaminate the anilox roller – they can damage the anilox roller by creating circumferential scratches.

Possible solutions:

  • Check the cleanliness of the printing printing plate, for cleaning use only agents recommended by the manufacturer or supplier of the plates.
  • Checking the technical condition of the anilox roller, gentle handling of the roller surface.
  • Each time the doctor blade is replaced for the next job.
  • Using only recommended squeegee blades, checking wear.

Possible causes:

  • The cause is the under-drying of the printing inks or varnish surface
  • For machines with a central cylinder - no or insufficient cooling of the central cylinder and winding of the warm web on the winder
  • Using Printing inks with bad drying balance - lagging behind the speed of the printing machine
  • Web winding tension too high

Possible solutions:

  • Check drying between colors
  • Check the temperature of the cooled rollers
  • Determine appropriate print speed for drying time Printing inks
  • Check tension forces for unwinder and rewinder, check correct operation of pressure transducers and tension regulators

Possible causes:

  • Very high tack printing inks
  • Too much printing inks coverage in the area where this problem occurs – over 300% for paper

Possible solutions:

  • The printing inks should be diluted with a suitable solvent or the tack should be reduced using a suitable resin from its composition.
  • Reduce the tonal value sum to 270% - 280%

Possible causes:

  • The differences in the raster angles for individual process colors are less than 30 degrees
  • An anilox roller with a ruling less than five times the ruling of the printing plate was used

Possible solutions:

  • Correct the used raster angles to the values recommended in the printing technology
  • The ideal ratio between the anilox roller and the work ruling is 5:1

Possible causes:

  • The scratch occurs in one color by damage to the squeegee knife and scratching the anilox roller, the squeegee lets the ink through, there may also be damage to the printing form
  • If the scratch occurs in all colors, it may be due to the material, printed or not, passing through the immobilized steering rollers

Possible solutions:

  • Check racket, print roller and printing plate, replace damaged component
  • Find where the scratch is formed in all preceding colors, check which roller stops during printing or correct the web transition

Possible causes:

  • Excessively oiling anix roller, too much roller capacity, too little ability to transfer Printing inks through the mold, causing Printing inks ks to collect on the Printing plate surface until the excess is transferred to the printing substrate
  • Frequent effect on the edge of the applique at the contact with the edge of the mesh - tonal transitions

Possible solutions:

  • Reduce the anilox roller to a smaller capacity
  • When printing appliques with graded edges, reduce the print mold linetype or, if possible, split into two print molds the elements in the applique and the tonal transitions

Possible causes:

  • Excessive pressure on the printing form
  • Excess printing inks
  • Print mold wear
  • If the raster point prints extended in the direction of printing, it is possible that this effect occurs with incompatibility of the thickness of the board and foam - the sum of the thicknesses may be higher or lower than recommended for the machine

Possible solutions:

  • Correct the pressure on the machine
  • Check the correct value of the anilox shaft
  • Replace printing plate
  • Check manufacturer's recommended thickness of foam-matrix combination, correct

Why Print Systems?

Over 20 years of experience
We have been supporting printing houses in Poland and abroad for two decades. We combine practical knowledge of printing with technological know-how to help customers achieve better production results.

Our own brand of equipment and chemicals
QUICKER is not just a logo - it is a line of equipment and chemicals created from scratch by our team. This gives us full control over the quality and development of the products.

We start with an analysis, not an offer
Before we propose anything, we conduct an audit and tests. Thanks to this, the solutions we implement are truly tailored to the needs of our clients and bring measurable results.

Flexibility in cooperation
We adapt to your possibilities and production rhythm. We fulfill quick orders, implement system solutions and support when you need it most.

A comprehensive system approach
We deliver not only products, but also ready-made solutions – from plates, through chemicals and devices, to service and consulting. Everything works together – efficiently and predictably.

A relationship based on trust

# Y esW e Car e is our daily life. We are a partner who really listens, advises and takes responsibility for what we propose – from the first conversation to implementation.