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News Release from: Stork Prints | Subject: Rotary screen printing technology
Edited by the Printingtalk Editorial
Team on 31 January 2008
Glue Dots Application Without Smears Now
Possible
An answer to the persistent problem of applying high dots of paste on a substrate without smearing may have been resolved, according to Stork Prints.
Stork, the inventor of rotary screen printing technology, said that the coating and printing industry could be free of the problem thanks to the company's application specialist, Wim Claassen The company said that he discovered the answer whilst working in a situation where the required dot height was causing the pre-flow problem of paste pouring through the screen before the substrate reached the application point
This article was originally published on Printingtalk on 30 Mar 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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He decided that the key to resolving the issue was to have extra rollers.
Stork added that the development solves problems with existing applications and also enables a range of new uses in printing and coating.
After succeeding in guiding the substrate around the screen, Claassen also tested if it could solve another persistent screen printing problem, that of screen blocking caused by dried out paste.
His solution worked by preventing the evaporation of solvents in pastes, which often occurs in processes requiring a slow printing speed, such as coating cling film, added Stork.
At the company's Technology Centre, specialists have already succeeded in applying dots and patterns from 50um to 1,000um, instead of the 50um to 200um that has always been considered the maximum possible dot height.
Claassen said: "I found that we could solve this problem by using special screens and extra rollers to guide the substrate around the screen.
This way, the substrate itself stops the paste from dripping through, at the exact spot where it should be applied anyway.
Once we discovered this worked, I just couldn't imagine why nobody had thought of it before." He explained: "Just think of glue dots anti-skid patterns, relief printing and lots of other applications, both for functional and aesthetic reasons.
Combined with the advantages of rotary screen technology, this is a great way to add value to products." Claassen believes that Stork thinks it is likely that the company will succeed in applying even higher dots but it is still testing that.
The invention also provides more design freedom because it enables the use of larger screen holes and lower viscosity pastes.
And he continued: "For both these solutions there's one important condition. Request a free brochure from Stork Prints ...
The use of good, stable screens that can resist the increased fabric tension but, for the kind of applications concerned, you'd need thick screens anyway.".
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