Reuse a complex matrix / makeready

I have done this many times on my kluge….which is a platen press. You don’t say what press you have, but I will tell you how I do it on my press. (Since you have two jackets you will need two chases.) Keep your form locked up in your chase. My diecutting jacket has predrilled holes that screw into the predrilled platen. When I put my locked up forme/chase into my press and put my jacket on….they are the same…and line up.

Have you ever tried tape instead of matrix…it is a little more forgiving if it doesn’t line up perfectly.

I can give you more hints/help if I know which press you are using.

Thanks for the advice. I do you a second chase with form still locked up ad the platen is a GTP Heidelberg and has 3 screw holes for the jacket but unfortunately they are countersunk screws and have an albeit small amount of play… Meaning it can be out when screwed back in by a few tenths of a mm. But this is enough for it to hit the edge of the matrix and no line up in the channel perfect meaning bad creases and cracking. any ideas how to lose that ‘play’ in the jacket?

Very interested to know what you mean about using tape instead of matrix? Do you mean shim tape? How does that work as surely you need a channel for a tight good crease??

TIA :)

please send a close up pic of these counter sunk screws in place. they should be lining up exactly each time. that is what they do. something is not right here. IE the wrong angle on the screw or something.

Not shim tape, masking tape…4 or 5 layers. I will post a picture later to show you.

hi ericm, thanks for the reply.

not by the platen to take a pic but they are neatly coutersunk but the jacket can still move ever so slightly even with counter sunk screws by a few tenths of a mm to mean the matrix is off.

thanks ’ girl with a kludge’ ;) look forward to seeing it. How do you go about posititioning it on the jacket as matrix has a simple location strip you place on the crease rule.

It could be that the countersink hole in the jacket is worn or somehow oversize and the shoulder of the screw is bottoming on the hole in the platen before seating tightly on the jacket. If so, a remedy could be to very slightly countersink the screw holes in the platen a little deeper.

Bob

I use a sharpie to mark my diecutting jacket. Place your tape on the jacket, make an impression, cut the excess away with an exacto knife, miter the edges of the tape like you would with matrix. These photos show strapping/fiber tape. I normally use masking tape and then cover it with clear two inch box tape. Because the box tape is wider than the masking it makes a “ramp” to help lift the gripper up and over the tape so it doesn’t get ripped off the jacket.
The 1st picture shows the die used. The second shows this makeready on a platen press. The third shows it on a cylinder press.

tape score 006.JPG

tape score 005.JPG

tape score 003.JPG

either the screws are worn or the plate is. a simple solution would be to flip the plate over. the screws will stick up a bit, but, it should center well.

hi sorry i have been away but thanks so much for the post GWAK. I’ll give the tape a try over the matrix and take a look at potentially flipping the jacket over too ericm.