• Building No. 294, IInd Floor, Patparganj Industrial Area, Delhi - 110092

Flexo Image Graphics dedicates to enhance your productivity by ensuring that your equipment is up and running when you need it.

Our team of engineers provides  technical support 24 x 7.

We dedicate ourselves to customer support.

Frequently Asked Questions

Registry Issues

  1. Make sure all Idler Rolls are clean and rotating properly.
  2. Make sure that the web has not, inadvertently, been routed over a dead bar.
  3. If the press is equipped with a turn bar make sure there is adequate air supplied to the device and the air holes are not plugged. (60 PSI at 4 SCFM)
  1. Visually inspect the line shaft segments and couplings for obvious issues.
  2. Verify that the couplings are aligned properly. Each coupling should slide easily and completely onto the line shaft, if this is not the case loosen the coupling bolts and slide the complete coupling onto the line shaft and then retighten the coupling bolts.
  3. Once the coupling is aligned and tight slide the coupling into place, make sure the keys are in place and tighten the hub on the line shaft only. Do the same at the other end of the line shaft segment. At this point the line shaft should slide easily on the gear box input shafts, once this task is satisfied then center the line shaft segment and tighten the set screws. Complete these steps for all line shaft segments.
  4. If adjustments are made to the press level then the line shaft couplings should be rechecked.
  1. Observe the oil level and the cleanliness of the gear box oil.
  2. Make sure the gear box mount cap screws are tight and the locating pins are in place.
  3. Make sure all the cap screws affixing the flanges to the gear boxes are tightened properly. These flanges are load bearings that secure the input and output shafts. These cap screws tend to work loose initially with the heating and cooling of the gear boxes.
  1. Check the disc on the infeed pacing roll tension brake for excessive runout. This runout should not exceed 0.002″
  1. Make sure the pulley that is driven from the line shaft and drives the waste wind-up is aligned properly. On occasion this pulley has migrated toward the gear box. IF this pulley is rubbing against the gear box flange bolts it will create press vibrations, registry issues, and print quality issues. This would not be an issue on servo driven systems.
  • Most material ran in our presses have a temperature range they can run in. If this temperature is exceeded then there may be registration issues as a result. As the material exits the hot air drying tunnel or the UV lamp housing, using an infrared thermometer, measure the material temperature. If the temperature exceeds 100 degrees F. or 38 degrees C. you may need to consider lowering the drying temperature.
  • If the UV lamps are the main source for drying on a press check to make sure the life of the UV lamp has not been exceeded. If their life has been exceeded they will not go out….instead they will produce more IR then UV which will over heat the material and not totally cure the ink. If the UV system is set to ramp in intensity with the speeds of the press, in most instances, 100% power should not be attained until the press is at 60% speed. If the ink is not thoroughly curing the normal tendency would be to increase the power, however if the maximum temp range of the material is exceeded there will be registration issues.

Print Quality Issues

  1. Make sure pulleys are aligned and the drive belt is tracking properly.
  2. Make sure the drive belt is tensioned properly.
  3. Pulley Runnout should not exceed 0.002.
  1. Visually inspect the line shaft segments and couplings for obvious issues.
  2. Verify that the couplings are aligned properly. Each coupling should slide easily and completely onto the line shaft, if this is not the case loosen the coupling bolts and slide the complete coupling onto the line shaft and then retighten the coupling bolts.
  3. Once the coupling is aligned and tight slide the coupling into place, make sure the keys are in place and tighten the hub on the line shaft only. Do the same at the other end of the line shaft segment. At this point the line shaft should slide easily on the gear box input shafts, once this task is satisfied then center the line shaft segment and tighten the set screws. Complete these steps for all line shaft segments.
  4. If adjustments are made to the press level then the line shaft couplings should be rechecked.
  1. Observe the oil level and the cleanliness of the gear box oil.
  2. Make sure the gear box mount cap screws are tight and the locating pins are in place.
  3. Make sure all the cap screws affixing the flanges to the gear boxes are tightened properly. These flanges are load bearings that secure the input and output shafts. These cap screws tend to work loose initially with the heating and cooling of the gear boxes.
  1. Check the disc on the infeed pacing roll tension brake for excessive runout. This runout should not exceed 0.002″
  1. The print cylinders should be checked for Runnout on their bearings. This Runnout should not exceed 0.0005″. The bearing quality is critical for fine process printing when ordering plate cylinders be sure to request quality bearings.
  2. The print cylinder gears can either be helical or spur gears and should not be less than a class 10 in quality and precision. Mark Andy would prefer that a class 12 gear be used.
  3. The printing plate durometer and the type of mounting tape used to mount the plates play a critical role in fine process printing. The customer should work with their vendors to find the best plate components for their products.

Web Turnbar Troubleshooting

  • The most common reason for this is the difference of neutral axis or pacing radius shifts of the material depending on which side is against the pacing rolls. This is due to the material being constructed of materials that have different modulus of elasticity (stiffness) or not being homogeneous (consistent throughout its thickness).
  • Example:  Pressure sensitive material has a paper side and liner side.  If you were to print this material with the paper side up and then print the same material with the liner side up, measure the length of image, you would see a difference in length since the material paces differently in each of these conditions.

One of the most common observations is an application where the web slacks after the turnbar. The first action is raising the overall tension in the press.  What this does is stretch/strain the material more so that the strain removal on the exit side caused by the lower pacing rate is not enough to reduce the web tension to an unacceptable level.

The most effective way to analyze the problem is fairly simple and only requires a standard tape measure. This method will identify the magnitude of the problem so that the appropriate action can be taken whether it is impression roll stepping or replacement or just running the proper tension.

  • Step 1: With the press in standard configuration without the turnbar utilized, run the subject material though press with (side A) facing up and print one station. (The usually the backing side up)
  • Step 2: After 2 press lengths which will allow for tension stabilization, remove 20 repeats or maximum number of repeats your tape measure will accommodate. Measure the length from first print image to the last. Note: You must measure from the same mark.
  • Step 3: Run the subject material though the press so that you can print on the opposite side (side B) of the material. Note: Do not run though turn bar, simply run the roll around on unwind.
  • Step 4: Remove 20 repeats of material and measure the same length as preformed on step 2.
  • Step 5: Calculate the pacing ratio by the equation: Side A ¸ Side B

If the ratio is greater than 1 the web should be slacking after the turnbar and the tension should increase.

To find how much an impression roll may need to change we will look at a typical example where the web is slacking and our throw measurements show that Side A has a throw length of 240.0625 (96 tooth 12” or 1 ft repeat, 20 repeats). Side B has a throw length of 240” or theoretical.

Side A ¸ Side B X Impression roll diameter = C

C- Impression roll diameter = D

Example 240.0625″ ¸240″ x 3.9390″ = 3.940″

3.940” – 3.9390” = .001”   Note: a positive number here indicates you need to add a .001” delta to the downstream or Side B or subtract this from your upstream rolls. On paper stocks with the modulus of elasticity 1.1 x 10^6 to 1.6 x 10^6 , 10” wide x .007” thick an increase of 20 to 30#s tension on the infeed side will eliminate the slack. However most LP and non servo 2200s may not have the potential to create this much additional tension and there may be slippage if the difference required is above 20#s. These situations require the impression rolls to be resized to accommodate the application. Combinations of tension increases and roll sizes can be made in an effort to maintain the performance of the press for normal non turnbar applications. A rule of thumb is that for instances where the delta is above .001, a dedicated roll set before the turnbar may be needed and these rolls changed or bypassed for standard non turnbar applications.

There are conditions where the throw measurements are essentially equal and you need to reduce the residual drag and you should check the items below.

Other elements to consider:

  • Material should be rundown the center-line of press.
  • Any holes that are not covered by material should be plugged to prevent too much pressure loss. As any rule of thumb any hole within 1″ of the web edge should be plugged.
  • The material must be tightly wrapped around turn bars yet there must be sufficient pressure to allow air flow to crate an air bearing to keep material separated from the bar so that it slides freely.
  • Turn bars are not well suited for applications such as those utilizing porous materials, clingy plastics, foils, and thick board stocks.