GTO 52 single colour dampening question

After many years away from the single colour GTO i have been back on one for the past few months

At some point it has been switched from the conventional damp system to 2 bareback dampers

I figured(and someone may disagree) that there is no bonus in using 2 barebacks when one can do the job equally well

So i took one out and all is ok

My question is do i need the spring loaded chrome roller that normally fits in between the 2 conventional dampers?

I cannot see what purpose or bonus it gives leaving it in, happy to be proven wrong though

Also slightly unrelated, is there any way to remove the Rilsan rollers? I notice they have 2 fixing bolts at each end but am not going to start undoing things until i have a clearer idea

Any help appreciated

 

Hey William - Glad to hear you're still printing...thought you passed away back in the late 1400's. Wow, I guess that's what "ink in the blood" can do for you. All jest aside, I have seldom seen anyone using the chrome roller, much less both water forms. You do have a much smaller running window using barebacks, but is it worth the wash up time you save?? That is the million dollar question you have to answer for yourself. Re you second question, if your machine is early to mid 80's vintage, you will have three 6mm (5 allen cap) fixing bolts on each end of the roller, loosen up op side bolts, oscillate to op side, remove gear side bolts, oscillate to gear side and remove op side bolts. Might take some wiggling and finesse, but the roller is then ready to come out. Good Luck, Steve

 

Ye exactly that Steve, 3 on each end

Couldn't understand why there removal is not in the manual

Thanks mate

 

Hi, It's been a while for me but I ran conventional gtoz for twelve years doing any work that came along. I chose to run one form with a 3m sleeve and used that mechanism that was meant to hold the bridge between the the forms locked up against the form journal right at the roller adjustment screws for the form. That extra spring tension made all the difference. Hated bare back system, it's crap for all but simple work. Useing the bridge roller holder like said helps a lot on warn journals. This was a '86 press. Hope that helps.

 

Hi Hitrun,

I'm not 100% sure what you mean here?? Are you saying you effectively took out ONE of the conventional dampers but kept the steel in place?

I have never ran a conventional damper system as always told it was far worse than bareback.

I have no intention of switching back but am most curious

I have decided after putting in a new damper(so much better) to replace all the rollers as the price i have been quoted is amazing!!!

I presume i cant mention them here so i will not but i was expecting it to be around £600, it certainly was not!

I think if anyone is expecting there GTO's to produce good solid work it is always going to be a struggle but with a new damper the difference has been excellent.

 

No, we took out the bridge roller. Worked since '86. This is not my idea it came from Heidelberg mechanic in '86. The key is useing the spring tension against the form journal. If what you have is working good that's fine. But your question asked about taking the bridge roll out. No not with bareback.

 

I will bow down to your greater knowledge

As i said it has been a long time since i've been on a GTO so its all a bit strange to me

 

No,bowing. I'm not a know it all guy. I just soak up any info I can, that's why I read stuff in the first place. Were all just learning, even thirty years later. I was only throwing a tid bit out. It's been many years since I ran conventional gto also. But I did it for about 11 years. It ran well the way I said on all types of work. Much of it 4 color two at a time. Good luck.

 

I run a GTO with bareback damping.

It has: 1 metal roller in the fount pan. This transfers to the fluffy sleeved roller, which is exactly the same as a conventional damper roller. This then transfers to another metal roller which finally distributes it to a rubber forme roller which is in contact with the plate. Seems like a lot of rollers for a damper system but it gives very even coverage.

It's excellent and never gives me any trouble really. I produce all kind of work on all kinds of papers - ncr through to 330gsm, single colour through to CMYK at 150lpi (it could handle 200lpi no problem if I wanted it to) as well as dense, consistent solids. Besides a Kompac continuous damper, I would say there's nothing better available. The only thing I don't like is that it can leave a dirty edge which is only evident when you take the stack out out of the press. Fine for me as I trim all my jobs to size afterwards and never run finished-size paper. It normally only does it when the rollers are worn or I if haven't bothered adjusting the ink duct properly.

Hope that helps!

By the way, I really DO get excellent solids from my GTO, as do 3 other GTO operators I know. Full-page solids in spot colous that match the pms swatch. If I'm feeling dubious about it and think the press can't cope with the solid I'm asking of it, I run it light and put it through twice with powder on the second pass, but only on short runs ... and then leave it to dry for about 4 days! ;-)