Ink film splitting acoustics and tack on paper in offset printing

Abstract: This licentiate thesis comprises two complementary studiesdealing with the sheet-fed offset printing of paper. The firststudy addresses the further development of a practical methodto acoustically monitor and analyse the film splitting ofoffset inks. This method was tested on laboratory printingequipment, specifically monitoring the continuous ink splittingin the nip of an IGT ink distribution unit and the short-timeink splitting in the inked print disc-paper nip of the printingunit of an ISIT instrument. The study verified that the inksplitting component of the acoustic signal contributes to thehigher frequency range (10-20 kHz) of the audible spectrum, andcan thus be separated from the lower frequency machine noise.Furthermore, the film splitting component is sensitive tochanges in the ink and printing conditions, thus enabling itsuse in probing the fundamental mechanisms occurring during inktransfer and also suggesting its applicability fornon-intrusive monitoring of industrial printing presses. Anincrease in film thickness during ink distribution correspondsto an increased acoustic power, with the exception of very lowink amounts, which give reduced acoustic emission due to alubricating effect. The effect of the presence of fountainsolution was simulated by adding emulsion-forming, butnon-evaporative, ethylene glycol. This produces an increase inacoustic power at low amounts, due to resistance to glycol dropdeformation, followed by a decrease at higher amounts owing toexcess glycol lining the rolls. During test printing on paper,increasing ink amounts also display an increased acousticresponse.The second study further developed a theoretical model toexplain and predict the evolution of ink tack in terms of inksetting directly after offset printing on coated paper. Asmeasured by the ISIT, the tack of the printed ink rises duringshorter time periods, attains a maximum, and then falls atlonger times. The proposed model described how the ink tack,characterised by the impulse during disc pull-off, dependsdynamically on the viscoelastic properties of the ink, thecontact with paper and disc, and the flow geometry. The inksetting was modelled as a diffusion-limited transport of theoil vehicle through the ink film and into the pores of thecoated paper. The coupling of the tack and setting models,compared to the ISIT experimental measurements, then provided adiffusion coeffcient for ink setting during the tack riseperiod. This coeffcient decreases with time, and increasinglyrapidly with decreasing ink amounts due to theconcentration-dependent diffusion. For an accurate descriptionthe elasticity and adhesion effects also have to be considered,at least for explaining the tack fall period.