The heat set web printing process is a printing method that involves the setting and drying of ink by applying heat through a drying oven.
The heat set web printing process is a printing method that involves the setting and drying of ink by applying heat through a drying oven. This evaporates the solvents that the ink contains. As the printed web goes through the oven, it passes a chain of chill rolls, which cools the web and eventually sets the ink. Many Fort Worth heat set web printing companies offer this process for local clients. Before searching one to accommodate your printing needs, you may want to get know some of the major components of heat set web process. These include the following:
Printing units – This includes an inking unit, a dampening unit, the plate cylinder and the blanket cylinder. Most high speed presses use the blanket-to-blanket arrangements, which allow printing on both sides of the paper or web.
Oven dryer and chill rolls – The oven drier and chill rolls work to dry the ink on the printed sheet as well as prevent it from setting off. The type of ink used in heat set web printing press does not dry by air or absorption so to dry the ink, the web is passed through a dryer. This exposes the web to a temperature of around 300 to 350 F degrees in a matter of seconds. The high temperature lets much of the ink solvent to evaporate. This will also soften the ink resins that will combine the pigments together. After going through the drying ovens, the web enters the chill roll section. Chill rolls are a chain of rolls containing cooled water. In this process, temperature is switched down to about 90 F degrees, cool enough to allow the binder and pigment to set and produce a dry print.
Roll Stand – This component holds one or two webs of paper into the press. A dancer roll that operates with a brake on the roll stand, controls the web as it unwinds and goes into the printing unit. The web weaves on the dancer roller, actually riding on the web as it presses its weight on the moving paper. If the web feeds too fast, the paper under the dancer roller relaxes and the dancer roller drops, automatically applying a brake to the roll stand, which slows down the paper feed. If the web feeds slowly, the opposite happens. The paper becomes firm and lifts the dancer. This releases the brake on the roll stand, which makes it possible for the web to feed faster.
Splicer – Aside from the dancer roller, a splicer (also commonly know as a “paster”) is usually included in a roll stand. It functions by automatically positioning the new web or in feed, then splicing the lead end of this web to the tail end of the current web.
If you are looking for a Fort Worth heat set web printing company, make sure that you choose the one that is known to offer quality printing and the right equipments. Having an idea on what these components do allows you to understand who the process works.