How to educate the customers? (He doesn’t know it may be costing him more).

• Ask how cylinder is printing on press.
• Ask how is registration.
• Communicate with customer.
• Get data about cylinder history.
• Group meeting is good experience to discuss problems in the industry.
• Possibly have customers at this meeting to share experiences.
• Look at target areas – reduce variables to find problems before they happen.

cylinder wear

A. (Lannie) We would expect a million or better impressions before strip and rechrome.
Depends on the ink also. If you are engraving a lot of subtle tones, it will wear out
faster.
A. (Bill) If we have wear in the first 50,000 impressions, it usually is a press problem.
The majority of the time if it is a press condition, you will have it damage the cylinder
right away. 100,000 to 200,000 may indicate a cylinder problem.
A. (Bob) This problem has been going on since they first chrome plated a cylinder. It is
a frustrating problem and people don’t like to admit in front of a group that they have
problems. It is not just a prepress or press problem. Ink can be a big factor, also.
Q. Finish requirement: If a plant has multiple presses with different finish quality, are
they running the same RZ? This is one of the biggest problems I see in the field.
You can’t run the same RZ on different presses.
A. (Bill) RZ can change drastically from one plant to another. The product is the same,
but the presses print differently and carry the ink much differently. It is critical to
communicate that inter-plant. It is important to communicate as much information as
possible to eliminate that as a variable.

How Often Must I Do Analyses?

•As often as necessary
This means if you do an analysis and your result is outside the proper operating range, then you need to increase the frequency of analysis.
If your result is out of range you should have analyzed sooner
•Increase the frequency so that all corrections are made while still within operating range
•Better to do analysis and scheduled maintenance on an amp-hour basis instead of by the calendar
When Calculating to Make Adjustments
•First make sure that it’s necessary. Did you do the analysis correctly?
•Don’t round-off numbers until your final result.
•Check your math, it’s easier than trying to “fix” your bath because you’ve made an error in calculation.

•Eye should be level with the part of the burette that you plan to read
•Read the bottomof the meniscus
•Watch for the color change and make sure that it remainschanged
•Take at least 3 readings and average results

Analysis/Titration Depends on Consistency

•Color change may be different for different people.

It may be best to have only one person doing titrations.
•Test under the same lighting conditions.
•If a result is out of range, retest beforemaking any changes.
•Document everything!

Additive

IT’S A SECRET!!!
It refines the crystal structure, providing uniform fine grains.
Fine crystal structure is essential for good cell geometry.
It provides copper of a controlled brittleness.
The crystals must separate cleanly without being displaced.

Current Density

If the current density is too low, the additive will not co-deposit effectively.
If the current density is too high, too much additive and/or other impurities will co-deposit.
If there is not enough copper at the cylinder, it will continue to plate; ANYTHING!!!