Product category:
Printing Presses Ancillary Equipment
News Release from: Meech International | Subject: Static Eliminator
Edited by the Printingtalk Editorial
Team on 16 February 2004
Digital Printer Shocked By Static
Problem
One of the UK's leading digital printers, The Basingstoke Press, has had its headaches caused by static electricity soothed by Meech.
One of the UK's leading digital printers, The Basingstoke Press, has had its headaches caused by static electricity soothed by Meech Basingstoke specialises in both digital colour and digital web output, with short runs and variable data work
This article was originally published on Printingtalk on 19 Dec 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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However, a problem with static on lightweight stocks in particular was giving costing the company both time and money.
Static build up on 80gsm papers and plastic sheets regularly caused the printers to jam, resulting in lost productivity and an increase in wasted work.
The situation was exacerbated in the finishing room where the static problem meant the lighter materials had to be individually hand fed into machines for processes that were normally automated.
The crunch came when The Basingstoke Press took on a contract to produce a large number of ring-bound manuals that had to be printed on 80gsm paper to keep weight down as the final product had to be posted by airmail.
Printing problems and delays with the finishing meant that the job was in danger of not being financially viable.
Ian Stewart, head of digital colour printing at the company explained: "It was a nightmare because we were handling half a million A3 sheets, so it was a big job.
The paper kept on jamming in the printer and the finishers had to peel each page apart and manually feed them into the machines.
These were 70 page manuals, usually 200 manuals each time, so it was a slow process." Stewart was recommended to try Meech Static Eliminators and after a visit to the factory a Meech 915 static eliminator bar for a trial run.
The results were immediate and dramatic.
"The Meech bar worked a treat, it broke the static bond between the sheets of paper making them much easier to handle.
As soon as we turned the Meech bar off, the printer jammed up again," commented Stewart.
Not only has the installation of Meech equipment solved the specific problem with 80gsm papers and plastics, but static build up has also been reduced in every job the digital printer handles, reducing waste and saving the company money. Request a free brochure from Meech International ...
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