Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41N—PRINTING PLATES OR FOILS; MATERIALS FOR SURFACES USED IN PRINTING MACHINES FOR PRINTING, INKING, DAMPING, OR THE LIKE; PREPARING SUCH SURFACES FOR USE AND CONSERVING THEM
  • B41N10/00—Blankets or like coverings; Coverings for wipers for intaglio printing
  • B41N10/02—Blanket structure
  • B41N10/06—Blanket structure facilitating fastening to, or location on, supports
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41N—PRINTING PLATES OR FOILS; MATERIALS FOR SURFACES USED IN PRINTING MACHINES FOR PRINTING, INKING, DAMPING, OR THE LIKE; PREPARING SUCH SURFACES FOR USE AND CONSERVING THEM
  • B41N10/00—Blankets or like coverings; Coverings for wipers for intaglio printing
  • B41N10/02—Blanket structure
  • B41N10/04—Blanket structure multi-layer
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41N—PRINTING PLATES OR FOILS; MATERIALS FOR SURFACES USED IN PRINTING MACHINES FOR PRINTING, INKING, DAMPING, OR THE LIKE; PREPARING SUCH SURFACES FOR USE AND CONSERVING THEM
  • B41N2210/00—Location or type of the layers in multi-layer blankets or like coverings
  • B41N2210/04—Intermediate layers
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41N—PRINTING PLATES OR FOILS; MATERIALS FOR SURFACES USED IN PRINTING MACHINES FOR PRINTING, INKING, DAMPING, OR THE LIKE; PREPARING SUCH SURFACES FOR USE AND CONSERVING THEM
  • B41N2210/00—Location or type of the layers in multi-layer blankets or like coverings
  • B41N2210/06—Backcoats; Back layers; Bottom layers
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41N—PRINTING PLATES OR FOILS; MATERIALS FOR SURFACES USED IN PRINTING MACHINES FOR PRINTING, INKING, DAMPING, OR THE LIKE; PREPARING SUCH SURFACES FOR USE AND CONSERVING THEM
  • B41N2210/00—Location or type of the layers in multi-layer blankets or like coverings
  • B41N2210/14—Location or type of the layers in multi-layer blankets or like coverings characterised by macromolecular organic compounds
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
  • Y10T428/26—Web or sheet containing structurally defined element or component, the element or component having a specified physical dimension
  • Y10T428/269—Web or sheet containing structurally defined element or component, the element or component having a specified physical dimension including synthetic resin or polymer layer or component
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
  • Y10T428/31504—Composite [nonstructural laminate]
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
  • Y10T428/31504—Composite [nonstructural laminate]
  • Y10T428/31551—Of polyamidoester [polyurethane, polyisocyanate, polycarbamate, etc.]
  • Y10T428/31565—Next to polyester [polyethylene terephthalate, etc.]

Definitions

• the present invention regards printing machines, especially but not exclusively of the Web Offset or Sheet Feed type.
• printing machines mounted on the printing cylinder, made of metal and rotating around its own axis, is a coating film mainly made of rubber material - referred to as "caoutchouc" or printing blanket in the industry (hereinafter referred to as printing blanket) - which covers the side surface of the cylinder.
• Printing blanket is provided at its two opposite sides of a relative metal bar, usually made of aluminium or steel, having a transverse U-shaped section in such a manner to be able to be fitted onto the corresponding edge of the printing blanket and then fixed onto it.
• the two metal bars are used to fix the printing blanket onto the abovementioned cylinder.
• printing blanket comprises at least two layers one of which is fabric and the other is rubber, though over time printing blankets with a more complex structure have been made, comprising also more than one layer of fabric and more than one layer of rubber.
• the layer is for example made of cotton fabric or PET and even of metal (in particular aluminium and steel alloys) , while rubber is for example of the nitrile/butyl type.
• the manufacturer indicates the overall thickness of the coating covering the blanket cylinder.
• the overall thickness of this coating is obtained also by using an undercoating (forming the so-called under-caoutchouc or underblanket , hereinafter simply referred to as underblanket) made up of a cardboard sheet and/or more and more often, of polyester.
• underblanket the undercoating
• the face of the underblanket intended to come into contact with the surface of the printing cylinder is treated by means of an adhesive thus, once arranged on the side surface of the printing cylinder, it remains glued against the latter.
• the underblanket is the printing blanket which is blocked against the printing cylinder by means of the abovementioned metal end bars.
• the thickness of the underblanket is selected in such a manner that, summed up with the one of the printing blanket, it allows to obtain the coating thickness recommended by the manufacturer of the machine .
• the task of the present invention is that of providing a coating, a cylinder, a printing machine and a method for setting it up capable of overcoming the drawbacks observed in the known art .
• an objective of the present invention is to simplify and quicken the abovementioned replacement operation, which means a substantial reduction of costs. It should still be borne in mind that since the 70s of the last century up to date, the production of the abovementioned printing machines has increased by 4 to 20 times, due to the increased rotation speed of the printing cylinder, hence leading to a ⁇ substantial " reduction of the " time intervals between the replacement of one printing blanket and another, therefore extending the duration of the same would be extremely well accepted by the users.
• Another objective of the present invention consists in providing a coating for the printing cylinder, for the abovementioned machines, capable of lasting longer with respect to the known coatings .
• the present invention provides for a coating for a printing machine blanket cylinder characterised in that it comprises a multilayer structure comprising a printing blanket layer of the type suitable for the type of printing machine and an underlying elastomer layer having such physical/chemical characteristics that the body of said elastomer layer is provided with self- levelling characteristics and such thickness that combined with the thickness of the printing blanket layer it allows to maintain the desired overall thickness of said multilayer structure, a first face of said elastomer layer is integrally joined to said printing blanket layer, and a second face of said elastomer layer has a direct adhesion capacity and does not require interposition of additional substances for adhesion against said cylinder both at static and dynamic conditions of said cylinder at least sufficient to guarantee the maintenance of a perfect adhesion against said cylinder on one side and an easy removal from the same on the other.
• the present invention provides for a printing machine blanket cylinder, characterised in that it comprises a coating having a multilayer structure comprising a printing blanket layer of the type suitable for the type of printing machine and an underlying elastomer layer having such physical/chemical characteristics that the body of said elastomer layer is provided with self-levelling characteristics and such thickness that combined with the thickness of the printing blanket layer it allows to maintain the desired overall thickness of said multilayer structure, a first face of said elastomer layer is integrally joined to said printing blanket layer, and a second face of said elastomer layer has a direct adhesion capacity and does not require interposition of additional substances for adhesion against said cylinder both at static and dynamic conditions of said cylinder such that the force of adherence of said elastomer layer against said cylinder proportionally corresponds to the variation of the rotational speed of said cylinder.
• the present invention provides for a printing machine, characterised in that it comprises a blanket cylinder provided with a coating having a multilayer structure comprising a printing blanket layer of the type suitable for the type of printing machine and an underlying elastomer layer having such physical/chemical characteristics that the body of said elastomer layer is provided with self- level ⁇ ing characteristics and such thickness that combined with the thickness of said printing blanket layer it allows to maintain the desired overall thickness of said multilayer structure, a first face of said elastomer layer is integrally joined to said printing blanket layer, and a second face of said elastomer layer has a direct adhesion capacity and does not require interposition of additional substances for adhesion against said cylinder both at static and dynamic conditions of said cylinder such that the force of adherence of said elastomer layer against said cylinder proportionally corresponds to the variation of the rotational speed of said cylinder.
• the present invention provides for a method for setting-up a blanket cylinder in a printing machine, characterised in that it comprises a step of preparing a multilayer structure by joining without additional mechanical means a printing blanket layer having such physical/chemical characteristics that the body of said elastomer layer is provided with self-levelling characteristics and such thickness that combined with the thickness of the printing blanket layer it allows to maintain the desired overall thickness of said multilayer structure, and apply said multilayer structure to said cylinder by fixing directly and without interposition of additional adhesive products exploiting the surface adherence capacity of said elastomer layer at least sufficient to guarantee the maintenance of a perfect adhesion against said cylinder on one side and an easy removal from the same on the other.
• the coating provided for by the present invention does not provide for the use of any adhesive between the elastomer layer and the side surface of the blanket cylinder hence eliminating the drawback (revealed, as mentioned, by the known coatings of this type) of the adhesive residues on the blanket cylinder surface. It is to be observed that, regardless of the absence of the adhesive, due to its special physical/chemical characteristics, the coating according to the present invention does not slip on the printing cylinder, even considering the high rotational speed of the same currently provided for the abovementioned printing machines . The slipping phenomenon, otherwise known as lateral moving, is avoided through the high mechanical grip characteristics (static and dynamic friction) of the material used. It has also been proven that the elastomer layer has also the self- levelling purpose.
• the elastomeric layer significantly reduces penetration of washing solutions into the printing blanket fabrics.
• Penetration of washing solvents might lead, over time, to the separation of the layers making up the coating, side swellings with the entailed loss of printing calibration and damages on the support fabric consequently leading to structural collapse.
• the penetration phenomenon is accentuated when automatic printing blanket washing machines of the Baidwin/Elettra and or Oxy Dry type, for example, are used like in the case of most recent printing machines.
• the close adhesion between the elastomer layer and the surface of the cylinder ensures that the latter has a protection purpose against the corrosion of the cylinder.
• the thickness of the elastomer layer has a tolerance +/- 0.01 mm.
• the elastomer layer which forms the underblanket is mainly composed of thermoplastic polyurethane
• TPU TPU
• Estane composites distinguished by numbers 54660, 58437, 58070 and ETE 55DS3 produced by Noveon Inc, Cleveland, USA can be used.
• the elastomer layer is applied on the internal face of the printing blanket through a process of the known type in order to obtain the thickness recommended by manufacturer of the machine and the thickness desired by the user (who can thus have a coating with a thickness customised to his specific needs) .
• the process of coupling the elastomer layer with the printing blanket layer can be of the mechanical type, physical and/or chemical, for example by means of flat head extrusion, calendering, spreading or other processes.
• the elastomer layer can be produced and simultaneously applied on the printing blanket layer or it can be produced and subsequently coupled with the printing blanket layer.
• the printing blanket layer has the following chemical/physical properties, in compliance with the ASTM 1894 directive:
• the coating 10 comprises a conventional printing blanket, indicated in its entirety by 12, and an elastomer layer 14 applied onto the internal face (the one facing the blanket cylinder, not shown) of the printing blanket 12.
• the latter is made up of three fabrics 16, 17 and 18 mainly composed of cotton fibres (but, as already mentioned, they could also be made of PET fibres or carbon fibres or metal support) , by an external layer 20 making up the face of the printing blanket opposite to the surface of the printing cylinder, made up conventional nitrile/butyl rubber, by two intermediate layers 22, 23 of the so-called RUBBER of the known and variable formulation, for example the one used for the printing blanket made by REEVES spa (in Lodi Vecchio - province of Lodi - Italy) , currently Trelleborg Engineered Systems Italy SPA and an intermediate layer 24 still made of nitrile/butyl rubber but modified by adding an expansion agent, with closed cells (for example of the type distinguished by Expancel) .
• the composition and the structure of the printing blanket 12 can be different with respect to the one just described beforehand, this depending also on the type of printing machine. Assuming a Roland Colorman or Uniman machine is used, for the newspapers, or else a Lithoman machine for commercial printing, or still otherwise a Heidelberg Speedmaster 102 machine for printing papers, depending on the model of the printing machine, the thickness of the printing blanket ranges between 1.70 and 1.95 mm. In particular regarding a Lithoman 48 pages using a 1.70 mm Vulcan Alto printing blanket model and a 0.20 mm underblanket elastomer having the abovementioned characteristics, a total thickness of 1.90 mm is obtained.
• the second face of the underlying elastomer layer composed of thermoplastic polyurethane instead of being directly coupled to the holding cylinder, has a layer in PET both to facilitate assembly with printing blanket and to facilitate the subsequent application of the so obtained assembly on the holding cylinder.

Landscapes

• Printing Plates And Materials Therefor (AREA)
• Inking, Control Or Cleaning Of Printing Machines (AREA)
• Rotary Presses (AREA)

Priority Applications (6)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=39591319

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Cited By (3)

Families Citing this family (3)

Citations (3)

Family Cites Families (10)

• 2007
  • 2007-07-13 IT IT001405A patent/ITMI20071405A1/it unknown
• 2008
  • 2008-05-28 BR BRPI0812615A patent/BRPI0812615B8/pt active IP Right Grant
  • 2008-05-28 US US12/668,649 patent/US20100199869A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2008-05-28 JP JP2010515358A patent/JP5403759B2/ja active Active
  • 2008-05-28 EP EP20080758827 patent/EP2170621B1/en active Active
  • 2008-05-28 ES ES08758827T patent/ES2371131T3/es active Active
  • 2008-05-28 WO PCT/EP2008/004244 patent/WO2009010123A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2008-05-28 SI SI200830424T patent/SI2170621T1/sl unknown
  • 2008-05-28 AT AT08758827T patent/ATE518663T1/de active

Patent Citations (3)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events