Ink problems
Please look at the picture below, I could be printing along nicely on my platen and the suddenly this happens to my ink, does anyone know what causes it and what the solution is?
press: Heidelberg Platen

think smudging
ffi |
fl |
5m |
4m |
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k |
e |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
$ |
@ |
# |
Æ |
Œ |
æ |
œ |
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j |
b |
c |
d |
i |
s |
f |
g |
ff |
9 |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
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? |
fi |
0 |
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H |
I |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
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Please look at the picture below, I could be printing along nicely on my platen and the suddenly this happens to my ink, does anyone know what causes it and what the solution is?
press: Heidelberg Platen
think smudging
I would change the word “suddenly” to something appropriate to events , the only way you would get fill in like that is if you are hand inking the top roller (not best practise) or you have added chemistry , otherwise the effect would be gradual .
Wash up , check you have a mix suitable to attain the colour you require , you cant just pile the ink on if its too weak a shade to get the results you want. The mix must make the shade required before you are overinked overinking will produce a mess similar to your picture .
Patience and time are important with letterpress , you need to build up the ink stream gradually till you hit the setting you need then run the job , its a lot of practice before you can just wind it up and go , the ink makes noises that let you know you are carrying too much ink (sounds hissy Like a fryer ). Little by little works , like the image are you scottish.