Spots developing on plates QM46

[mmpmedford.com]

He actually finds that the ink comes out too saturated at baseline levels most of the time. He is currently running water settings of 5/5 (baseline 3/3).

 

[Swifty2]

Is That on the Qm46 ...damn Either Your water rollers are out of adjustment, or his fountain solution is mixed wrong
No way He should be running h20 almost wide open!!!!

 

[mmpmedford.com]

I think he's amped up the water recently in response to this issue. The other pressman suggested that it made a difference in the spots...

 

[Swifty2]

Lol as long as it cuts ,folds and goes out the door and gets paid for
Ain't printing fun lol

 

[mmpmedford.com]

Yep.

 

[mr.mark]

Yes this looks to be an ink and water problem. I get you're using the ink on another machine with no problem however, the damping system on the gto is different. My first step would be to add a little more sub to your fountain . This might make it worse depending on what your sub is made of. The next step is to add tack to the ink or switch to a happier combo .

 

[mmpmedford.com]

So the fountain solution has been mixed stronger, weaker, and with different products. He changed to a different brand of solution at one point, which helped for a few days. But it's always come back. They've been fighting this issue for about 3 years now, so they've done a lot of things.

 

[mr.mark]

I'm also assuming you've tried a few different types of ink.

 

[mmpmedford.com]

Yes. Today we're verifying the packing and roller pressures.

 

[mr.mark]

Check the end play in the water rollers.

 

[Swifty2]

hmmm....take your finger nail and give the hard roller in the h20 units a scrape..wondering if you have calcium build up..

 

[Inky]

I had what looks like the identical problem, I have a QM & a PM 46.

It was the blanket in my case, I didn´t know till I put another blanket from the same source on my other machine and it started doing the same thing.

 

[mmpmedford.com]

Definitely not calcium build up. We're going to try using a blanket from a different manufacturer and see if that helps.

 

[mr.mark]

So i just had an issue with another type of press but it was doing a similar problem.It wasn't an press problem but an operator error. The operator is a trainee going from heavier coverage to lighter without sheeting down. He was using the water at a higher speed to compensate for the over inking. Now like i said he's a trainee and its a different press but the problem was the same. Random dots appearing running down the sheet. I know problems like the one you are having can be frustrating and its hard to tell whats going on because most of us replying are in different time zones. That said have you changed operators on that piece of equipment for a day or so ?It might be something as simple as this.

 

[Swifty2]

He is over inked to get the color up and opens the water to fight it !!
Like I said it is an INK issue , try the Ab dick Mega concentrate!

 

[mr.mark]

You could try to cut your baseline on that machine by 10 % before you toss a bunch of money at it. If he's running saturated and dumping water to fight it .

 

[Inky]

I suppose someone should ask, do the spots move?

 

[mmpmedford.com]

They don't move after they've appeared. They are actually visible on the plate once they appear. But they aren't consistent between instances.

On a positive note, we aren't having this problem as much as we were a few weeks ago. Not sure what changed exactly, but something seems to be helping. Thanks to everyone for the help. We're still trying to work out what it is.

 

[Inky]

As they don't move once they have appeared I still believe it's blanket related & if I'm completely honest I think at the time I was also guilty of using very harsh solvents in the blanket wash up device.

I only use Pronto Plus now.

 

[Arc_of_a_Diver]

Do you see any shadowing on the first plate you develope? And on the very next plate everything is fine? If so, the problem is within the processor. I had the same problem and thought the same thing. I contacted my processor tech, he came in, serviced the DPM and the problem was gone. He removed the scatter shield and everything was fine. Hope that helps you out.