Problems with a ‘stripe’ area showing a lack of print after the unit gets hot. This was on a CIC unit. The Mesa Tribune has seen this and replaced the Blankets with Day 8890’s, which seemed to help. They had replaced the original cylinders with new Goss stainless cylinders, which are not nickel plated as used in the past and thought it might be a balancing issue. We spoke with Alan Walshlegger from Goss Engineering and he said they have been using stainless steel cylinders on all new presses for some time, which are now ‘super-balanced’, so this is not the problem. Check the impression settings with the blankets spread and reference the middle of the cylinder to insure proper clearance all the way across. Alan explained "True-Rolling" and how this alignment can lead to improper impression settings when only referencing the ends. Contact Goss for further information on impression settings.

Ghosting seen on the 13-side of a unit only, with ink-train dampening. Try heavier Ink Form settings, most shops use 7/16" to the Plate for this application. Also, check to insure the Forms are not coming off during the run, check linkage stops and setscrews inside the frame at the air cylinder, check air cylinders for leakage as well.

Some ideas were offered for those looking at new or expanded Production facilities in the future, including: Adequate vacuum or dust collection system for Folders and upper level slitters & angle bars. Adequate lighting and light colored walls to spread light. Overhead service rails with motorized traverse and dual lifts of at least 4-ton capacity, for removing cylinders of 5,000 lbs. or greater, as well as moving tools, heavy parts, rollers etc. safely. Adequate air plumbed to room with quick-connect chucks at regular intervals.

Portland raised concerns over excessive linting and blanket loss. Some of the ideas discussed were: possible calcium buildup on the common impression cylinders from recycled paper; check out the bearing pre-load on the cylinders as some have seen loose bolts and spanner nuts which cause a loss of pre-load and impression; also some sites now leave the CIC in the down position for all modes to prevent the possibility of improper impression clearances due to not making it to the stops during mode changes, problems with linkage or safety issues and injuries.

One site using a ‘Sandpiper’ vacuum pump on top of a 55 gallon drum with a 3" hose, some using electric air motors, some using pneumatic vacuums, others still doing this ink removal manually.

Finding bearer rings that are not concentric following rebuilding by some vendors. Also, finding that some vendors are filling the original slots with plugs and re-machining, only to have the plugs work loose after running for a period of time and cracking Plates. Houston has gone back to Goss for new cylinders after having problems with aftermarket rebuilds. Pressline now does cylinder rebuilding as well. Most sites doing these rebuilds due to cylinder surface damage from corrosion or crashes.

On-edition Blanket washing: The ‘Lintbuster’ from Machine Design was pulled from the market due to a change in direction for that company, which is now under new ownership, may come back under another vendor. The Web Cleaner from Wayne Kaim is working well for some sites to clean the web before impression, really helps to remove the tension belt marks and is set up to retract during the Paster cycle.

Phoenix is using a 10% Hydrogen Peroxide solution, input manually, to keep their dampening systems clean and clear of biological growth. Some of the Spraybar systems are set up as a dead-end system, promoting problems of growth and blockage. Some are using refrigeration and/or ultraviolet light cells to control growth. We are finding that the fountain solution vendors need to rotate the biocide pack periodically to minimize the potential for the system developing an immunity from using one solution alone for long periods of time.

The Madison paper is replacing its inkers and has the original injector page-packs, clutches and assorted other parts available. Contact Don Kelleher at Madison Wisconsin, they converted to CGI digital page packs.

John Scheckel from Goss presented their Static-belt RTP upgrade which replaces most of the original Tension and Paster panel components, some of which are getting hard to get and difficult to service. Contact John at Goss for more information.

Houston has bought several used Metro units and is planning on stacking on existing units. Dow Jones offered several ideas and things to watch for. Quite a bit of discussion about lubrication, need to check for adequate oil pressure at all locations, don’t rely strictly on the gauge. Switch to a ‘flow-valve’ from a ‘pressure-valve’ to ensure oil delivery. Install Plexiglas covers to allow convenient visual inspection of oil flow while running.

Sites are using copper, ebonite and nylon (Rylsan). Several sites have seen problems with using the ebonite in the rail position and have returned to copper in this location. Some are applying nylon on-site, such as Tacoma.

Problems of impression actions sticking in the off or on position. Suggestions included checking of cylinder eccentric sleeves for fit, corrosion or lack of lubrication; some have had to re-machine to remove material to increase clearances. Check for dry, clean compressed air and proper air lubricator operation. Check air pressure to the unit and actuating air cylinder. Check for proper impression settings and setup, including level. Check for proper bearing preload with a dial indicator and keybar, looking for excessive lateral movement. Spokane found dirty eccentrics, bent impression cross-shaft, as well as a cracked impression bracket. Goss recommends servicing the throw-on shafts by removing them and cleaning them before lubricating and reinstalling. Some sites have had success changing to a different oil, with additional tackifiers, see Goss’ new oil specification for details on the engineering requirement.

Most sites removed these, if equipped, due to accessibility issues around the ink rail. Seattle re-installed them using modified brackets which locate the roller lower, they also set the rollers light and this roller seems to help catch spitting ink from the early high-speed Inktrain design.

San Diego seeing the Texaco waylube 68 turning red-orange after running a period of time. Suggestions included looking for dampener leakage or contamination into the oil sump. Several sites dissatisfied with waylube, finding the viscosity breaks down early. Ron Somaska at Goss has information about the new lubricating oil specification, which is not vendor specific. They have a Service Bulletin available, which defines this. Mobil is now marketing a gear oil with tackifier again, seems they lost more business than they anticipated when they removed this from Vactra 2…

Discussed proper set up of the linkage and brackets during repair or rebuilding. Start the small diameter thread 1 ½ turns before starting the large diameter thread; this must be the same on both operating sand drive sides for proper operation. Goss can supply an assembly drawing upon request.

Some sites using Belzona and hand finishing to complete on-site repairs of cylinders damaged or corroded. Most sites now running blankets which are wider than required by an inch or more to protect the cylinders from chemical corrosion. Use a rust inhibitor such as ‘Rust-Veto’ or ‘Iron-Clad’ to prevent corrosion under the blankets. Goss has a Service Bulletin on the Rust-Veto product, also selling a lot of stainless cylinders. Bob Buckley at River City Grinding provides on-site cylinder repairs to several sites, using metal spray and other means of permanent repairs.

Some sites reported having electrical ‘noise’ problems on their RYCO Spraybar systems. Installing ‘Ferrite’s’ minimizes this static interference.

Several sites are changing out the original clip-type lockups during web reduction projects, particularly when going all the way down to a 50" web. Tooless lockups are available from several vendors now. Portland installed Goss Tooless assemblies during their cutdown. Seattle installed the Mechanical Design Services assemblies in their Metroliner, includes an upgrade to a head/tail ¼" register pin, they have seen improved color register and eliminated cracked Plates during Production.

Fewer sites running the .010" plate. Most have returned to .012" plates as specified by Goss. Sites that returned to the thicker plate cited fewer thrown or cracked plates during Production, improved color register and quality as a result. Also, impression setting accuracy is negatively affected by using the thinner plate.

Some have set these up to be disabled during slow speeds to avoid wetting out the webs during kickoffs.

Several sites have completed this conversion, are in-progress or have scheduled for the next 1 – 2 years. Several good ideas exchanged for these older Presses, many of which were engineered for up to a 60" web originally.

On 144 pg. Imperial Folders, Metroliner and early 160 pg. Sovereign Folders, check the Nip ring to barrel undercut. These early Folders can benefit by machining for a .035" to .040" undercut per side to allow the ring to pull the paper instead of the barrel, ensuring proper web & section feed characteristics.