HOW THE PRESS WORKS
• With conventional offset printing, inks sits on top of a raised plateau on the printing plate. To transfer ink from this raised image area to the press sheet, conventional printing uses fountain solution (a complex mixture of chemicals). Fountain solution dilutes the ink and causes the printed dots to soak into the paper and spread, producing dots that are larger and less round. This is known as dot gain.
• In comparison, in waterless printing ink sits in a recessed image area on the printing plate. To transfer ink from this “valley” to the press sheet requires no fountain solution. Hence the name: “waterless”. Waterless printing produces dots that are a more accurate reproduction of the plate that generated them. With waterless there is less dot gain. What’s more, the waterless plate can transfer more ink as there is no water emulsifying into the ink. This allows for a more solid and dense saturation of colours, while looking sharp and defi ned.
• A thin coat of ink is transferred to the plate coater with each rotation of the ceramic-covered anilox roller. A doctor blade removes surplus ink in order to obtain a constant fi nal print. The plate cylinder and anilox roller are temperature-controlled in order to stabilize the printing process over the entire sheet width. This practically adjusts viscosity of the ink and in effect controls density
• Keyless inking with KBA’s unique anilox roller Gravufl ow inking system and short, temperature-controlled ink trains (just two jumbo rollers) are factors that both simplify operation (no roller adjustment) and minimize ghosting. The ink form roller, which is the same size as the blanket cylinder, is also outfi tted with a blanket
FASTER TURNAROUND TIMES
• Less variables and therefore more industrial production
• The image is transferred wet on wet with UV-curing inks which are instantly and fully cured after the last printing station by
means of a powerful and effi cient integrated dryer unit in the delivery unit. The sheet can be turned over immediately and printed on the reverse or have additional processing operations such as laminating or die-cutting completed without any delay
VIBRANT, MORE ACCURATE COLOUR
• Better colour saturation
• The waterless printing plates take up only as much ink as the subject needs. There are no ink keys to under or over-ink the image. No drop of water “dilutes” the ink
• The UV process relies on special inks that have photo initiators in them that when exposed to UV light, spurs a chain reaction that forms a solid, dry continuous ink, yielding bright, vivid colours and deep rich blacks
IMPROVED & MORE CONSISTENT PRINT QUALITY
• Gives you better dot gain (up to 50% less dot gain than conventional printing) and higher screen rulings can be run
• With less dot gain, more photographic detail can be printed at far more clarity and depth, especially in shadow and mid-tone areas of the picture
• Short inking units guarantee an exact and unchanging ink density and brilliance that extends through to the smallest detail, no matter how much coverage is on the job, sheet after sheet
ELIMINATION OF INHERENT OFFSET DEFECTS
• Each sheet is printed true to register without gripper transfers, thus preventing register differences
• Its auto-plate changing feature with a new type of pneumatic lock-up and registration system guarantees register-true mounting
• There are minimal ghosting effects with the Genius due to the design of the press and its Anilox inking roller, plate inker, plate cylinder and blanket cylinder having exactly the same diameter
• Registration is improved because paper stretch caused by fountain dampening solution is eliminated
• As the inks are cured by UV light, they are immediately dry and therefore there is no need for set-off powder to be used, which is another common offset defect
OPTIMAL EFFICIENCY & PRODUCTIVITY
• It only takes 10 minutes and around ten sheets of run-up waste to produce a sheet that is up to color and will remain that same color throughout the press run
• Job changeover in no more than 7 minutes with semi-automatic plate changing function which can be triggered by button on the adjustable display
• Reduced time for cleaning of machine as press doesn’t need to be washed up every night, because the ink remains stable on press and only dries with UV light rays
USER-FRIENDLY PRESS
• Single-operator use
• Control console features a touch screen display that can be slid from one end of the press to the other for easy press operator access to all components
• No more major infl uence of operator on printing results
MORE STOCKS TO CHOOSE FROM
• Ability to print on paper, plastic, foil, or almost any nonporous surface
• Features an extended delivery for handling fi lm, plastic and board
• Has the world’s widest stock range in this format; from 0.1 to 0.8 mm (0.004 to 0.03“) depending on substrate.
ENVIRONMENTAL CREDENTIALS – LESS WASTE & ENERGY USE
• The environmentally-friendly press, when combined with the FSC-certifi ed stock we already use, means IBS offers a closed loop, sustainable printing option for its clients
• UV-curable inks do not contain hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), are 100% solvent-free and do not result in the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
• UV curing does not generate any by-products during the curing process - any ozone that breaks free from the UV lamps is turned into pure oxygen immediately.
• UV-curable inks are free of antifungals or antimicrobial additives and heavy metals
• UV printing converts ink to 100% solid material and is insoluble meaning when it is put in landfi ll it remains a solid and doesn’t biodegrade back into the environment.
• UV printing is much easier to fi lter in the recycling process than conventional print, using less chemicals and power in the recycling process.
• Solvent-based and UV-curing inks will act very similarly in a paper pulping plant as they are water insoluble and easily separated
• Faster make-readies mean less power is used on producing wasted sheets
• Combined with recycled and FSC-accredited stocks, the Genius is a printing evolution for the environment. The environmental credentials of our stocks are:
‘Business Class 420’ is a Virgin fibre product (with no category to date)
‘Economy Class 310’ is FSC Mixed
‘Stationery Class 100’ is FSC Mixed
• IBS is also in the process of implementing measures in-house so we can become FSC Chain of Custody (CoC) certifi ed. Once this has been achieved, we will be able to display the FSC certifi cation on all our printed products.
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