R-Bak overcomes production problem

DIG Corrugated recently overcame a production problem for one of the main manufacturers in the UK, with the use of R-bak. R-bak is a compressible plate mounting material that acts as a pressure reducer and shock absorber for flexographic printing plates. At production speeds in excess of 8000 feeds per hour, printing plate bounce was resulting in an unprinted line being seen on the boxes.

DIG manufactured new mounting cylinders with a slightly smaller diameter. This cylinder was then nickel and chrome plated to prevent corrosion problems, and R-bak was mounted on the cylinders. This meant that the printing stereos, when mounted on the cylinder, always had a backing of R- bak.

The plate bounce problem was eliminated, print quality improved and production is now able to be run at speeds of up to 15,000 feeds per hour, with acceptable print quality. The results are so favourable that the customer is now considering doing the same to the print cylinders on another machine in the plant.