Although it seems we live in a fully digital age, good old-fashioned printing is far from obsolete. From books and magazines to billboard signs and advertisements, printing has never been easier — and even with the rising cost of paper, it remains a profitable business.
So to keep your printing press in top shape, it’s important to use the proper press cleaners when maintaining your equipment.
Types of Inks
Different cleaners are formulated to remove different types of ink residue. When using UV inks, the ink is cured using ultraviolet light, which dries and embeds it into the base material. This can mean dried ink residue remains on the rollers between jobs. So it’s important, just as with water-based inks, to use the right press cleaners to remove any dirt, oil, paper fragments, and other containments from the press machinery.
Types of Rollers
Specific press cleaners are formulated for different materials used in the printing press. Common anilox rollers are chrome or ceramic, and some utilize a rubber coating for jobs. Doctor blades, which scrape the rollers clean, can be metal or plastic and thus sensitive to different chemical compounds used in cleaning. Some cleaners utilize rust inhibitors and lubricants to optimize the functionality of the rollers. Consult your press’s manufacturing guidelines for what press cleaners are appropriate for your machinery.
Replacing rollers is expensive, as is having to redo a printing job due to scarring or residue corrupting the product. Keeping the rollers clean between print runs helps refuse cost and speeds up production.
Cleaning doesn’t have to be a frustrating task! Purchasing high-quality press cleaners will ensure you can perform cleaning and maintenance on your press with speed and ease.
And don’t forget your own needs — there are specifically formulated cleaning wipes you can use that are formulated to be gentle on human skin, so you can get the ink off your fingers as well as the outside of your press.
