Abdick 385

I have an ABdick 385 with good gripper bars and timing
When the sheet enters the cylinder gripper it transfers to the gripper bar just fine. As the Gripper bar proceeds to take the sheet away from the Cylinder it begins to buckle and the sheet eventually will snap out of the gripper itself.

Almost seems as if the sheet is being forced through the impression cylinder faster than the gripper bar can carry it away. I'm trying to print on a heavy plastic so the buckle performs a pretty hard snap

Any suggestions with this sort of press?

Will use tough tex to print on this plastic

Which is much faster than if I silk screen print it and much more defined.

Thanks !
Leo

 

is the sheet stickin too yor blanket?

 

Very old post but the answer is you need at least 2 adjustable transfer wheels positioned in the chain delivery, maybe even 3 though I seem to get by fine with 2.

Ken

 

We use baby powder rubbed on the blanket to reduce tack for your printing on a very smooth material. Just like Ganzman 72 stated the delivery grippers may not be strong enough to pull the plastic off the blanket. If baby powder works you have to reapply every time you restart the press. Better have a quality spray unit as well. We imprinted varnished labels on a 385 and took off the AB Dick water system and installed a dahlgren to minimize sheet curl. Plastic does not absorb water so print quality could be an issue.

 

Feed a sheet through the press with the press off impression by hand. Tug on the tail of the sheet and roll the press very slowly as the sheet is transferred, if the sheet pulls out with a slight tub on the tail then your impression grippers are opening before the CD gripper bars are closing allowing a brief period where the sheet is in between the 2 grippers, this can be fixed by retarding or advancing the opening time of the impression cylinder grippers and by adjusting the cam which opens and closes the CD gripper bars. The CD gripper bars should close and have the sheet firmly before the impression cylinder releases...