Ink drying on rollers

For the past few months I have tried to print a four color job. Seeing that the person that owned the press before me wasn’t a printer the press has many problems I have worked out.

I noticed one problem with the job, that I trashed six times due it didn’t print right was the ink coverage.

At first I thought it was the roller settings, so I took the parts the rollers sit in and cleaned all back to looking new, removing 1/2 inch of dried ink on each.

So, I printed the job again. I noticed that the ink on the rollers was dry to the touch. The ink only stays wet for a few minutes on the rollers.

Now, could the problem be, that the room is 90 to 100 degrees all the time?

Should I wait until winter to do printing?

Log in to reply   13 replies so far

What kind of ink are you using oil or rubber based?

This is worth a try…Head for your nearest health food store and get some oil from the plant “Syzygium aromaticum,” commonly known as Oil of Cloves or Clove Oil. It ain’t cheap, but just a drop or two will keep the ink open on the press and still dry on paper. A good idea is to either get this in, or put it in an eye-dropper bottle. Works with rubber or oil base ink. I suppose soy ink and clove oil may make your shop smell like an Oriental restaurant! Also good for toothaches: remember Grandma with the Red Cross bottle with the oil and the wee tweezers and cotton balls and the clove oil get put in the cavity!

I was using Van Son process ink.

I think it is the heat causing your problem. You could try calling Van Son and asking their opinion. I never heard of the clove oil trick so I can’t comment on how well that works. Can you cool your shop with air conditioning? How cold does your shop get in the winter?

Wish I could running the A/C, but it not my shop, I just rent a space for the press in a mans shop.

He has a small a/c that only brings the building down to 90.

He doesn’t need the build cold for his work.

When my shop reaches 90, I go fishing. Even my rubber base ink dries on the rollers. I’m working on getting air conditioning.

you should fish when its cooler, maybe when the shop is between 20 and 90.

A bad day of fishing is better than a good day of work.

The weather should get cooler in a few weeks. I will see how things go with the ink.

Iirc clove oil is the oil used in rubber base ink to start with.

Friday, I placed new rollers on my press and set the height with the gauge tool.

With the heat early in the morning and new rollers the ink and the printing was GREAT.

I think using poor rollers, and the room being around 90+ I was fighting a losing battle.

Friday, I placed new rollers on my press and set the height with the gauge tool.

With the heat early in the morning and new rollers the ink and the printing was GREAT.

I think using poor rollers, and the room being around 90+ I was fighting a losing battle.

I haven’t used rubber base ink in 20 years, but a few colors in the VS line definitely had clove oil then. It was not noticeable across the entire line.