February 21, 2012

Paper Electronics is Successful: Where Next?

By Dr Peter Harrop, Chairman, IDTechEx www.IDTechEx.com

Electronics and electrics on or in paper is being used for security, safety, crime prevention, brand enhancement and merchandising. Cost, weight or bulk are a problem, so conventional electronics in paper products is being replaced with printed electronics. According to IDTechEx analysis in the report, “Brand Enhancement by Electronics in Packaging 2012-2022″ (www.IDTechEx.com/brand), the global demand for electronic smart packaging devices is currently at a tipping point and will grow rapidly from $0.03 billion in 2012 to $1.7 billion in 2022. The electronic packaging (e-packaging) market will remain primarily in consumer packaged goods CPG reaching 35 billion units that have electronic functionality in 2022.

Three types of paper electronics
The very paper itself can be electronic or electrical. Secondly, electronics can be placed onto paper like the familiar talking gift card, which is increasingly printed to save space and cost. Thirdly, electronics and electrics can firmly buried in paper or operate by being on both sides of a paper sheet.

Paper with inherent electronic functions
There are many forms of paper made to have inherent electric functions, including the conductive paper of Kimberley Clark that can be patterned into heaters, antennas and the like. Photovoltaic panels made from a paper made from material rather than wood or cotton could become a cheap, easy alternative to traditional solar cells. Within a few years, people in remote villages in the developing world may be able to make their own solar panels, at low cost, using otherwise worthless agricultural waste as their raw material.

That is the objective of MIT researcher Andreas Mershin, leveraging a project begun eight years ago by MIT. Its Shuguang Zhang is senior author of the new paper along with Michael Graetzel of Switzerland’s École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. Zhang enlists photosystem-I molecules in plant cells that carry out photosynthesis. Zhang and colleagues them from plants, stabilized them and forms a paper layer to produce a photovoltaic current when exposed to light.

Even school laboratories can replicate this and make improvements. Efficiency is only 0.1% but huge areas can be viable and it can probably be improved tenfold or so to become useful in smaller areas if made fibrous. Accordingly, Mershin has now created a tiny forest of zinc oxide nanowires and a sponge-like titanium dioxide nanostructure coated with the light-collecting material derived from bacteria. This is a supporting structure carrying the electrons generated by the molecules down to the supporting layer of material to a circuit.

Professor Paul Yager, of the Bioengineering Department at the University of Washington, leads several subcontractors investing grants totaling up to $26 million to progress paper-based diagnostics. In two to three years, people miles from a laboratory may be able to cough, spit, or urinate on a piece of paper, upload the image on a cell phone and get lab-quality results for a range of illnesses. “Imagine what could happen if you knew what kind of virus you had,” said Yager. “You would know whether you needed to go to the hospital or just go to bed.”

Electronics on paper
“Printed Electronics Europe 2012″ (www.PrintedElectronicsEurope.com) in Berlin, Germany 3 – 4 Apr 2012 is the premium event for paper electronics and allied subjects. Speaker Dr Philip Cooper of security printing leader De La Rue will explain how only energy harvesting systems have the potential to power low cost electronics on paper. His is powered by holding a mobile phone close to it. He notes, “Mobile phones are suitable power sources we all carry and we have fully printed UHF rectifiers that provide an activated security function”. Fulton Innovation covers, “Printing Wireless Power” for charging mobile phones and other devices. Fulton Innovation’s concept for Nestlé’s Cheerios cereal box uses inorganic electroluminescent displays on the packaging, powered by inductive coupling. Dr Ellen Fu of the Nano and Advanced Materials Institute in Hong Kong and Caledon Controls in Canada are among those describing totally new ways of printing the transparent conducting films needed for many forms of display, photovoltaics and sensor.

Electronics in or around paper
QR Codes are the barcodes you can scan on packages, posters or magazines to launch a website or unlock exclusive content. Unfortunately, reading the ugly large QR code requires activating a camera app on a phone or tablet, turning your device around, shooting a picture, and then suffering a delay as the appropriate app tries to interpret the code. Printechnologics GmbH, which will speak and exhibit at   “Printed Electronics Europe 2012″ in Berlin, uses existing multi-touch smart phone displays to read digital information printed in paper, cardboard or foils: the phone thinks the hidden conductive pattern is your finger. Hence, it can be used for a broad variety of e-packaging, e.g. for marketing and consumer information applications like loyalty programs, brand protection, lotteries, and access to online content.  You unlock exclusive content in apps or web pages by simply touching printed materials such as business cards or packages to your phone or tablet screen.

Called Touchcode, the new technology works by embedding a thin layer of conductive pattern printed in or on paper and other items. Though the app should run on any multitouch-enabled, capacitive screen, it works best with panels that support at least 5-points of touch input. Like QR codes, Touchcodes can be used for launching web pages, enabling coupon codes, event ticketing, or even mobile payments. An alternative is the new Near Field Communication NFC phone using those standards to interrogate RFID labels on or in packaging, posters etc. They will complement each other. At the event, TNO of Finland looks generally at technologies for embedded conductive structures.

Professor Elvira Maria Fortunato of the New University of Lisbon will speak on, “Paper as a Substrate and Functional Component in Logic”. Her discovery is that paper can form the gate dielectric in printed transistors and she will report how this is progressing to commercialisation. There are also presentations by the companies Enfucell and Blue Spark with many sales successes based on thin, flexible batteries made by patterning and impregnating paper in plastic film. Indeed, both will focus on applications in their presentations. P&G’s Braun division presents on introduction of electronics into the Pampers paper products and consumer goods giants Mars and the Metro Group and Abbott Laboratories in healthcare diagnostics will detail their needs. Information Mediary Corporation has sold 800,000 smart blisterpacks that record which tablet was taken when in drug trials and it has also had success with other RFID and monitoring products, most of which involve paper. This year its topic is “Printed Electronics for Ultra Low Powered Smart Packaging”.

All this has something in common with integrating electronics into textiles, something TITV Greiz is analysing at the event. Indeed, Lang Consulting Engineering covers solar cells in textile products.

For more information see www.PrintedElectronicsEurope.com

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February 7, 2012

Life Cycle of a Cleaning System?

From What’s the BuZZ? by Sonic Solutions

So how long will an ultrasonic cleaning system last? Well you might find yourself comparing equipment in the shop to our equipment. Will it last as long as a press, or rewinder, or a fork lift?

 Probably not. But if you really understand that the ultrasonic equipment is more like your cell phone than a press, you might be more realistic. Now that doesn’t mean that the ultrasonic equipment will only last a year. What you need to understand is that this is a pretty technical piece of electronic equipment. You can’t just beat on it 24 – 7 and expect it to last forever.

What are the top 3 things you can do to keep the system going for years?

  1. Keep it clean and wipe up spills.
  2. Keep it clean and wipe up spills.
  3. Keep it clean and wipe up spills.

See a pattern yet? Cleaning solution and electronics just don’t mix. 

Also, never place and use the system on a rolling cart. Make sure it is placed on a solid sturdy table near a water source. Sprinkle in a little TLC for your turner too every few months.

Use and care are the biggest factors in the longevity of cleaning systems. The longest lasting I’ve seen is just over 13 years. The average is between 6 and 8 years. As I said before, care is the biggest factor in making them last longer. Spend a little time with yours today to help it last longer. How old is your system?

“90/10 – Max 5″   90% Soaking – 10% Ultrasonics - No more than 5 minutes of ultrasonics each time.

 

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January 30, 2012

“Notice Me” Packaging in the Coffee Aisle

By  Alan Harris, Print Coat Instruments Ltd

Not so many years back, the coffee aisle in most supermarkets and convenience outlets was fairly unimaginative, dominated as it were by a handful of instant coffee brands. Generally, both the product and the packaging container—usually a glass bottle, a plastic container or a tin and a wrap around label—were regarded simply as commodity items. Packaging design changes were few and far between, and when they did occur the changes often amounted to no more than coupon offers. From the brand owner’s perspective there was little incentive to make changes. Competition, certainly in markets such as the UK, was far from being of concern, with fresh bean and speciality milled coffee sold more often than not only in the upmarket specialist grocer.

A combination of factors—greater spending power; a new generation of younger people; enthusiasm for American TV shows such as Friends, which often featured the actors in a coffee shop; the international marketing strategy of the coffee shop chains, the Starbucks, the Costa’s; and, of course, a marketing image, one associating coffee with a successful on-the-go lifestyle—have all helped revitalise (for the better) the way in which coffee is marketed and the way in which the product is sold throughout the various retail channels including the Internet.

Packaging for coffee has to work hard and goes beyond the presentation of a good image, critical though that is. While marketers, brand owners, and consumers all demand an aesthetically pleasing package, functionality, ergonomics, convenience, and quality attributes also need to be considered for retailers and consumers tend to pay a premium for a package that keeps products fresh, opens and closes easily, stacks well on the retail shelf and the kitchen shelf, and seals in freshness and provides protection against freshness-robbing moisture and oxygen.

Packaging options include the valve and gusseted foil bag. The former is composed of layers of foil and poly to create a sealable airtight environment, which is claimed to be more conducive in the preservation of fresh coffee. The key feature that sets this type of packaging apart from others in the one-way valve that allows fresh coffee to release naturally occurring carbon dioxide gas slowly out without allowing the ingress of oxygen. In this way it’s said that the aroma, flavour, and freshness of the coffee bean are preserved, contributing to consumer enjoyment.

Gusset bags are likewise popular; they can be shipped great distances while retaining optimum freshness and shelf life both in the retail store and in the kitchen cupboard.

Other packaging options include so-called stock-bags with zipper closures and quad/four-corner seal bags. The latter have no back-fin seal, allowing for full graphics to be displayed both on the front and back. Quad-seal bags can be displayed to their full advantage as they sit upright on the retail shelf for maximum presentation.

Good design is essential for maximum standout impact and is one of the main elements that builds brand recognition and, providing the product contained within is good, motivates the impulse purchaser to become a regular purchaser. Eye-catching foils, bright colours, and strong graphics typify coffee packaging, so its essential that pack colour and graphic fidelity remains consistent run after run, time after time.

With so much riding on colour, one can see why marketing departments and product owners are so intent that their suppliers—the printers and converters—adhere to agreed colour standards.

Instrumentation devices available today enable printers and converters engaged in the flexo process to more readily achieve quality and colour matching standards, with minimal difficulty and offline. In addition to monitoring the performance of inks and substrates over time, computer colour matching, conducting pilot runs and research and developments, devices such as the RK Print Coat Instruments’ FlexiProof are ideal for the preparation of customer preparation samples—enabling the customer, the brand owner, the marketer, etc, to determine if a colour really works, if it’s a colour that is warm, sophisticated, authoritative or conveys some other quality that is desired.

Of course flexography is not the only print process. Gravure is a choice where photorealistic quality, the image seemingly rendered in 3D, is required to convey the ultimate luxury image.  Now available is a compact bench-top device that enables users of press viscosity gravure ink to generate high-quality proofs on any flexible substrate instantly.

While there is no outright magic formula or guarantee for what will be selected, especially as the purchasing of coffee is often very personal involving aspirational, class and age demographics, colour, colour choice and the way it is faithfully reproduced is of paramount importance. Colour communication tools can be employed by everyone in the supply chain and are essential tools in controlling colour and printability variables

About RK Print Coat Instruments (www.rkprint.com)
The RK Print Coat Instruments’ FlexiProof 100 and variant FlexiProof UV enable flexo printers and converters to more readily achieve quality and colour matching standards, with minimal difficulty and offline. In addition to monitoring the performance of inks and substrates over time, computer colour matching, conducting pilot runs, and research and development, the FlexiProof is ideal for the preparation of customer preparation samples. It enables the customer, the brand owner, the marketer, etc., to determine if a colour really works, if it’s a colour that is warm, sophisticated, authoritative, or conveys some other quality that is desired. And because it takes up a minimal amount of bench top space, it can be sited in a variety of environments—the pressroom, the laboratory, and even in a marketing department.

For those engaged in gravure printing RK Print Coat Instruments has introduced the GP100. This compact bench-top device enables users of press viscosity gravure ink to generate high-quality proofs on any flexible substrate instantly.  The device incorporates a microprocessor-controlled servo drive and employs the same electronically engraved printing plates that are used to great effect on the K Printing Proofer system.

High-quality proofs using gravure, gravure-offset, or flexo inks can be produced in an instant with the K Printing Proofer making this a versatile device for the converting or print room department that uses multiple print processes.

Using the gravure head, ink is transferred from an electronically engraved printing plate directly onto the substrate, which is attached to the rubber covered impression roller. Doctor blade and roller adjustments are made via micrometers allowing repeatable settings for future settings.  Both wet and dry laminated samples can be produced on this machine by using the gravure head with RK’s K-Lam laminating accessories. For gravure-offset, the flexo head is employed, fitted with a plain rubber covered offset roller to transfer ink from the plate to the substrate.

The K Printing Proofer device supplied with the flexo head fitted can therefore be used for both printing techniques with the possible addition of an alternative stereo/offset roller and printing plate.

Colour communication tools such as the FlexiProof, GP100, and K Printing Proofer— which can be employed by everyone in the supply chain, from substrate producer, to ink supplier and printer/converter—are indispensable aids for controlling colour and print variables while at the same time reducing on-press waste and speeding job throughput.

sales@rkprint.com
RK Print Coat Instruments Ltd
Litlington, Royston, Hertfordshire SG8 0QZ
UK

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January 22, 2012

Using Social Media to Engage Customers, Prospects & Partners to Grow Business in the Flexo Industry

 

  By Salmon Creek Media & Marketing

 

It should not be a surprise that social media needs be an integral part of any marketing strategy being executed today. While social media implementation has become common in business-to-consumer (B2C) campaigns, the business-to-business (B2B) world has been slower to incorporate it.

Roughly 81 percent of B2B companies reported using social networks to some extent in 2011. The manufacturing segment of the B2B crowd has been somewhat less active. As Jeffrey L. Cohen, a Social Media Marketing Manager at Howard, Merrell & Partners, points out, “most manufacturers aren’t even online, let alone using social media.” — Derek Singelton, Software Advice

As print manufacturers, we need to be aware that the majority of our customers are using social media to look for information, discuss our products and services, and network with other customers. Our companies need to be there, hosting the forums and actively listening and dialoguing.

Building Your Social Media Strategy

Small and mid-size printers and their suppliers have a great deal to gain by building their social media channels. The word-of-mouth and “virality” of information dissemination via the various social media layers can quickly put your products and services in front of present and potential customers and help you stand out from the crowd.

But, while today’s social media tools are quick and cost-effective to implement, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to plan your strategy. You need to decide which social media channels to use, based on your target audience’s preferences. You need to decide what type of information to share in each of those forums and how often to make postings. And finally, you need to make a commitment to engage and respond to people commenting on your postings.  Answer questions, thank people for following and participating. Social media is a dialogue, not a monologue, and if you are unresponsive, your followers will quickly leave for another forum that provides the information and connectivity they are looking for.

Social Media Tools

Facebook and Twitter are by far the most common social tools being used today. They are free to use and easy to set up and maintain. Facebook’s Branded (Business) pages are a great way to share short messages, stories, and updates, while Twitter limits you to 140-character messages or teasers that should link back to your Web site or blog with the bigger story.

Blogs and YouTube allow you to educate your customers and promote your brand and product with a bigger story and richer media. It’s a chance to tell your story and make a call to action. They are also forums that allow you to share information that helps without actually “selling.”

LinkedIn is your professional network where you can build you contacts and network with your peers within Linked Groups. None of us can go it alone, and using LinkedIn to stay on top of the latest industry news, share information with peers, and offer and receive relationship-building advice can be invaluable.

The newest, and some argue the hottest social network out there is Google+, a collection of different social products that includes a Stream (a newsfeed), Sparks (a recommendation engine), Hangouts (a video chat service that everyone should try out), and Circles (a friend management service that gives your great versatility in what you share with specific people. It integrates well with any of the Google Cloud products you may be using, and it helps place your brand at the top of Google searches.

So, are you using any of these social media tools to build your brands and increase your sales? We’d love to hear from you what you are using and the benefits you’re realizing.

And, if you’re not using social media, Salmon Creek Media & Marketing can help you jumpstart your efforts!  Visit us today to find everything we can do to help you navigate the social media maze and cost-effectively reach your customers.

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January 10, 2012

How long will cleaning solution last?

 

By Sonic Solutions, What’s The BuZZ ?

The life of the cleaning solution will be dependent upon a number of factors including: What types of inks are you using (water based? UV? Solvent?), How dirty are your rolls?, Are you diluting the solution?

What types of inks are you using?
Sonic Kleen is a water based cleaning solution. For water based inks, the contents of the cells will absorb into the cleaning solution. Because of this the cleaning solution will become contaminated with the dirt and debris from the anilox. Over time these contaminants will reduce the effectiveness of the cleaning chemicals and the chemicals will become less effective in softening up the contents of the cells. As this saturation level goes up, the cleaning times will also. UV and Solvent inks will float on top of the solution. Very little of the contents of the inks will then absorb into the cleaning solution so the solution will last longer.

How dirty are your rolls?
Cleaning solution will be impacted by how dirty the rolls are. Just like in the above explanation. As the solution gets saturated with dirt and debris, the solution will become less effective and soaking times will increase. First time cleanings (since the rolls are loaded with dirt) will use up solution quicker. On the other end of the spectrum, if you clean rolls after every press run, the rolls won’t be very dirty and the solution will be impacted the least. Also, if you do this, you know that the rolls will be 100% ready for the next print run.

Are you diluting the solution?
If you dilute the solution then you are basically reducing the chemical concentration of the cleaning solution. As you clean the rolls the dirt and debris taken out of the rolls will work against the concentration of chemicals. If there is more dirt than the chemicals, then the cleaning effectiveness of the solution will go down. Using the solution undiluted will help the solution to last the longest.

Don’t forget the purpose of the cleaning solution. Its job is to soften up the dirt and debris from the cells of the anilox. If it can’t do its job correctly, then the cleaning process will take longer. Time is money, so see what is your balancing point. Always remember the “90/10 – Max 5 rule”.

“90/10 – Max 5″   90% Soaking – 10% Ultrasonics – No more than 5 minutes of ultrasonics each time.

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December 21, 2011

Cal Poly Professors Publish Setup Reduction Book for Printers

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA – Dr. Malcolm Keif and Professor Kevin Cooper of Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo recently completed their third book on the topic of Lean Management for the printing industry.

Their newest title, Setup Reduction for Printers: A Practical Guide for Reducing Makeready Time in Print Manufacturingcan be purchased directly at https://www.createspace.com/3663543.

This new work is a must read for any printer looking to embark on a Lean journey and improve their cost efficiency to more effectively compete in today’s conditions. This title follows in the footsteps of Lean Printing: Pathway to Success and Lean Printing: Cultural Imperatives to Success, which are both available and bundled with the new title as a set through the PIA/GATF Press bookstore http://www.printing.org/store. Lean management continues to be one of the primary ways printers can compete and improve their results consistently.

Setup Reduction is how companies increase value to their customers. Yet it is not a simple process. Setup Reduction for Printers outlines a method for reducing setup times by using the proven techniques developed as Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED). In their book, the authors outline a ten-step process that can reduce setup times by 50% or more by focusing on reducing internal makeready tasks and moving those to external tasks. Setup Reduction for Printers goes in-depth by focusing on all aspects of your makeready, from standardizing fasteners, to minimizing adjustments, to incorporating parallel processing, to error-proofing your makeready.

Using practical printing examples, Setup Reduction for Printers shows how you can engage your team, utilizing Lean principles, to methodically work through the process of makeready reduction. Using a motorsports pit crew analogy, your employees can work through the strategies discussed in this book to lower your costs and improve your bottom line. Setup Reduction is vital for your success in the competitive landscape of print manufacturing.

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December 14, 2011

Growth in Printed Electronics

By Dr Khasha Ghaffarzadeh, Technology Analyst, IDTechEx

At end of November, IDTechEx held the world’s largest printed electronics and photovoltaics conference and tradeshow in Silicon Valley at the Santa Clara Convention Center. This show brought together more than 1300 attendees from 28 countries. Players active across the entire value chain were present; covering the full range from research organisations to end-users, and from small start-ups to multi-billion internationals.

Mr Raghu Das, CEO, IDTechEx, opened the show with his keynote speech, arguing that there lies a great untapped market opportunity in offering final integrated products. Indeed, product integrators are in the privileged position of being able to cherry pick the best materials from an ever expanding range of options. This conclusion is supported by IDTechEx statistics showing that 97% of all companies profiled are currently offering only materials and/or components, and not final products. Therefore, IDTechEx is excited to see the printed electronics world evolve towards its next step, which will witness more and more final solutions and/or products appearing on the market.

New printed electronics products
Indeed, things are already moving quickly, as testified by a range of end-user companies including Proctor and Gamble (P&G), MWV Packaging, Boeing, Decathlon SA and more. A notable example was from P&G, the world’s largest consumer packaged goods company with sales of more than $80 billion, which unveiled a decorative tissue box featuring an electroluminescent (EL) display. Here the product consisted of two parts: an interchangeable tissue box featuring the display and a fixed base providing the circuitry and power required to drive the EL display. This will be in stores this season. Also interesting was the novel anti-theft packaging produced by MWV Packaging in collaboration with Vorbeck. This product, which won IDTechEx’s Best Product Development award, features a low-cost printed flexible graphene conducting layer and will be used in Home Depot stores in 2012.
Boeing discussed their current use of printed electronics as a bird strike detector in aircraft.

Rollable Displays
System and device manufacturers also presented their latest progress. PolymerVision showcased their truly rollable display capable of showing animated images. This is good news for printed electronics as flexible displays could provide a platform for a plethora of printed components, enabling large new markets. These include flexible Indium Thin Oxide (ITO) replacement, printed thin film transistors (TFTs), printed OLEDs, etc. However, replacing vacuum processed devices still remains ambitious, not least because printed TFTs will struggle in the near future to match the performance of the mature organic and the emerging metal oxide TFT technologies. For more information on Thin Film Transistors read the report from IDTechEx; “Printed and Thin Film Transistors and Memory 2011-2021″ www.IDTechEx.com/tftc.

Sensor Technologies
Printed sensors and actuators are also showing very promising signs of rapid improvement. PST Sensors offered a printed silicon-based temperature sensor that could be employed as a touch screen. Peratech offered a quantum-tunnelling ink that would change its conductivity by as much as 16 orders of magnitude when pressed with a finger! The Peratech ink can be formulated in opaque, translucent and transparent formats. This technology, which won IDTechEx’s Best Commercialisation Award, could extend touch screen capability to a vast array of substrates and products. Artificial Muscle, Inc showcased their morphiepulseTM technology in the “Demonstration Street” area. This technology can bring a high definition feel to touch screens by printing voltage-controlled actuators. This means that touch screens can respond back to users in a fun and intelligent way, giving rise to different vibration modes for different events.

Conductive Inks
A large variety of different conductive inks were also on show. The inks were differentiated on the basis of their conductivity and price. Nanoparticle inks (Nanogap, Nanomas, Intrinsiq, PChem, Applied Nanotech etc) claimed the higher conductivity ground with higher cost. Traditional flake-based polymer thick films (Dupont, Dow International, etc) offered low-cost and familiarity, but that came at the expense of conductivity at the same temperature. All have an opportunity depending on the application. Copper oxide nanoparticles (Novacentrix) offered truly low-cost inks suitable for high-volume applications such RFID tags, but mandate the use of special equipment to provide high-intensity light pulses. Graphene inks (Vorbeck) were also presented, plugging a gap in the market which requires low cost, moderate conductivity and flexibility.

ITO replacements
Conductive inks offering high levels of optical transparency are also becoming a viable ITO replacement option. Most notably, Cambrios announced that their silver nanowire inks are now in hundreds of thousands of Android cell phones. This represents a significant endorsement of their technology and a clear leapfrog towards capturing a portion of the $3 billion ITO market. Moreover, Evonik brought an exciting nanoparticle ITO ink to the play that could be printed only where needed thus doing away with the subtractive and wasteful sputter-etch process predominantly used today.

There is currently no one-size-fits-all solution on the conductive ink market. They are a variety of technologies, each sitting in its own niche based on its own attributes. Breaking into mature multibillion dollar markets traditionally served by polymer thick films is one strategy – the other is to deploy the new functionality (such as better conductors on flexible substrates) to do new things. This however still remains a challenge.

While such presentations bear testimony that printed electronics is indeed fast making significant progress and inroads into markets, they also highlight critical challenges that lie ahead. From the end user prospective, these include the fact that the current state of the market largely requires them to take on the challenge of product design and integration. And from the prospective of material/component providers, these include the delay in the realisation of high-volume markets that would enable printed electronics to realise its ultimate promise of being truly low cost.
We at IDTechEx anticipate the next few years to be fast moving as more and more partnerships are formed from across the value chain to realise products that not only attempt to substitute an existing product, but add a new functionality or concept into the market. That was certainly clear at the event.

The next event in the series, also focusing heavily on market needs and adoption, will be in Berlin, Germany on 3-4 April. For more about Printed Electronics Europe 2012 see www.IDTechEx.com/peEurope. For more information on printed electronics market research please visit www.IDTechEx.com/Research; until 2 January there is a 20% discount on all market research reports.

Events:
Printed Electronics & Photovoltaics Europe 2012 | April 3-4 | Berlin, Germany| www.IDTechEx.com/peEUROPE

Energy Harvesting & Storage EUROPE 2012 | May 15-16 | Berlin, Germany | www.IDTechEx.com/eh

Printed Electronics & Photovoltaics USA 2012 | December 5-6 | Santa Clara, CA | www.IDTechEx.com/peUSA

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December 6, 2011

Line Counts

“What’s the Buzz?” – Sonic Solutions

Occasionally we will get asked questions about an anilox roll’s line count and how long we recommend using the ultrasonics to clean the rolls.

It’s pretty clear that as the line count goes up that the thickness of the cell walls goes down. They surely get dirty and plugged up pretty quickly too.

I understand what the roll manufacturers say about minimal ultrasonics, but I think they are a bit too conservative. What I think is most important is as the line counts go up is a stricter adherence to the “90/10 – Max 5″ rule. It will be even more important to thoroughly soak the roll to make sure the cell contents are as soft as possible. Then a quick application of ultrasonics should do the trick.

Don’t forget to keep the ultrasonics at 5 minutes or less. Make sure that the cleaning solution is in good condition too so that the soaking time is being best utilized.

I also recommend that you don’t go too long in waiting to clean a high count anilox roll. In fact, right after the print job, take the roll out of the press and clean it right away. The contents of the roll will still be pretty soft and the ultrasonics won’t have to work too hard to clean the cells out. Plus, the next time you grab the roll, you’ll know it’s ready to go. Just remember the “90/10 – Max 5″ rule.

“90/10 – Max 5″   90% Soaking – 10% Ultrasonics – No more than 5 minutes of ultrasonics each time.

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November 11, 2011

When Dirty Rolls Get Clean

From What’s the BuZZ? by Sonic Solutions

We are often asked the question, “How often should I clean my anilox rolls?” That’s a great question. Over the years, we’ve asked our customers how often they clean their rolls and have found that they vary from one end of the spectrum to the other. We have some customers that will clean their rolls after every press run and we others that clean their rolls once a year – whether they need it or not! Where are you on this spectrum?And, where should you be on this spectrum?

Here are a few things to take into consideration in deciding where you should be. Is you company Proactive or Reactive? Can you risk loosing a job because of poor quality? Do you want to minimize the setup time for your print jobs? Do you want to run your print jobs more efficiently – saving time and money? If you wait too long to clean your rolls and it impacts your printing, then you’ve put yourself into a losing situation already.

It’s our opinion that you should clean your rolls after each print job. The ink and resins will still be soft in the cells, so cleanings will be quick. Minimal ultrasonics will be safer for your rolls. Every time you start a job, you will know that one variable (ink volume) will not be the problem for your printing so setup time will be less. Because your rolls won’t be as dirty when you go to clean them (as opposed to being fully plugged), you won’t use as much cleaning solution, and your cost per cleaning will go down.

We’ve found that those customers who clean more often tend to be the larger companies, have multiple shifts, have plenty of work and are more profitable. Where are you in this spectrum?Where do you want to be?

Don’t forget.   “90/10 – Max 5“   90% Soaking – 10% Ultrasonics – No more than 5 minutes of ultrasonics each time.

Visit Sonic Solutions for more cleaning solutions

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October 29, 2011

The Simple End Seal

By Dave Southall, Northeast Regional Sales Manager, Max Daetwyler Corp.

Ah, the End Seal. I mean how hard can it be? A piece of foam, felt, neoprene or rubber designed to seal up the ends of a doctor blade chamber. There really can’t be that much to it. In fact, it actually sounds rather simple.

Well if it’s that simple, why do so many presses have big issues with leaking chambers, full messy drip pans, and expensive down time to address these leaks. What about the not-so-obvious issues such as scored rollers due to the extra loads press operators put on chambers just to stop leaks? Why are there printers who would rather save $.25 on a seal but end up throwing away many dollars in ink that has leaked from the end of a chamber? (How much is that opaque white ink per pound these days?) What about the cost of extra time spent on change-over’s just to clean up?

Look Familiar?

Well, I would be happy to tell you that there is one end seal that will fix all of your problems! Well, to quote famed Persian Gulf War General Norman Swarzkopf, that statement is Bovine Scatology or plain B.S. There are so many different conditions that can affect how well an end seal performs that it’s impossible to have one type of end seal fix everything.

For starters, a common issue some printers have is that the end seals that are being used are often not even the correct size and shape for the chamber. When the press was new, the OEM sent a couple of week’s supply of end seals with the press. A sample of the end seal was given to a supplier who had the end seal drawn up and some samples made. Maybe the drawing were off just a bit, maybe the radius changed ever so slightly, or the shoulders were made a tiny bit longer. After a few years, you gave a different supplier an end seal to match- up, the same minute changes were made by mistake and so on and so on. If your seals have bolt clearance holes, it is possible the hole centers have changed over time.

Take a few minutes with your current supplier to look at your current end seal(s) to make sure you have a proper fit. Have a chamber cleaned up and set up on a table and then install new end seals. Check to make sure it is a snug fit on both sides and on the bottom. You shouldn’t have the seal so tight that it distorts when it is put in. Check to make sure the face the seal fits squarely against the chamber. After years of use and cleaning a chamber with a metal putty knife, the side of a chamber that provides the sealing surface can become less that a 90° surface for the seal to butt up against. If you have a side plate that you bolt up to keep the seal in, that plate should not distort the shape of the seal when tightened down. A firm hold is all that is needed.

Install your Dr. Blade. The Dr. Blade needs to have some upward pressure from the seal against it to ensure an adequate seal is made between the shoulder of the end seal and the underside of the blade. A very slight rise in the Dr. Blade is OK. The firmer the end seal, the more prominent the rise will be. It should not rise so much that it will take extra loading pressure to get the Dr. Blades to wipe the center of the anilox clean when loading the chamber. Work with your supplier on this. End seals are available with different durometers or compression ratios to help with this.

Make sure the doctor blade comes up to the apex of the seal but does not extend beyond the apex of the seal. If the Dr. Blade does not come up all of the way, then the end seals can actually hold the chamber off of the anilox so the Dr. Blade does not wipe correctly. If the Dr. Blade overhangs the apex of the seal, the Dr. Blade might flex enough to create a small gap between the underside of the blade and the shoulder of the end seal when loading the chamber. Both of these scenarios are generally remedied by the operator by using extra loading pressure to help seal the chamber.

After you have the chamber all set up, set it on squarely on top of an anilox roller. Take a flashlight and closely inspect the end seal to make sure the radius of the end seal and the radius of the roller match up perfectly. If they don’t, there is a good chance that your press operators have had to add extra loading pressure to the chamber just to close that gap. Check to make sure the dead bands on the roller line up with the end seals. If they don’t line up, you will need to address this with your anilox supplier. If your end seal is running on engraved cells, there is ink being supplied to the radius of that end seal. This will cause an ink build up in a short amount of running time and will likely cause that seal to fail prematurely.

Check your ends seals for the proper radius.

Check your chambers to make sure the end seal slots are in good shape. As I mentioned above, after years of cleaning with metal tools, the slots can become chipped and damaged enough that an end seal just can’t seal up as it’s intended to.

Now that you hopefully have the proper size end seal, it’s time to take a look at what the end seal is up against; the anilox roller. The most common harmful issue here is chips on the ends of the rollers. Rollers get dinged while changing, cleaning, storing, moving, or just by sitting innocently on a cart and having something else banged up against them. (I strongly recommend roll covers; they can pay for themselves so quickly). These dings not only carry ink up to the end seal causing build ups, they can physically tear up an end seal rather quickly. The good news is that most small chips, and sometimes bigger chips, can be repaired without having to have the roller recovered. Your Dr. Blade company and some anilox roller suppliers should have an epoxy repair kit made for ceramic available to help you with this. There is an art to using the epoxy and certain materials are needed when smoothing it down to make sure you end up with a perfect radius. Again, check with your supplier. He or she can be a valuable resource.

Now let’s touch on the different materials used for end seals. The proper material for the specific type of inks used is a good start. Most end seal material will work enough to get by for just about all different types of inks but getting by is not what we are looking for. Foams generally are the cheapest material and for some printers they can be a good fit. Long runs, higher press speeds and solvent inks can be better suited for felt, neoprene or rubber seals. This is an area where you need to work with your supplier. I have observed an end seal fail using one type of ink where another company will have the exact same press and similar inks and the same seal works great. Another important thing to note is that different densities of the same material are often available to you. Sometimes a super-firm seal does a great job. Sometimes a seal that is more collapsible and conforms to the chamber is better suited for the job. Once again, work with that valuable resource; your supplier.

Lubrication is a key area that many printers don’t pay enough attention to. The proper type and amount of a lubricating agent can extend the life of the seal by obviously reducing the friction between the roller and seal but also by helping to repel the ink so that harmful build-ups don’t occur. Most felt seals will come pre-soaked with petroleum jelly. It is still a good idea to keep some jars of this available in case more lubricate is needed. I have seen a food- grade lubricant used with solvent inks with good success. Since they can be water-based, the solvent does not break them down as quickly. In most cases, all seals should have a lubricant applied to them before use.

It may take several attempts for you and your supplier to find the proper end seal for your application. It will take follow up and good communication and some patience and diligence on your part. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to modifying an end seal. Drawings have to be made. New dies might have to be fabricated. Material in the proper thickness and density has to be ordered. I can assure you that the effort put forth by all involved can have big payoffs. For example, I recently worked with a customer to modify their old Kidder chambers from the old plastic pieces used to seal the chambers to a proper neoprene end seal. With a few changes here and there, they were able to increase their press speeds noticeably, and just about double their Dr. Blade life while saving some money on parts. An extra bonus was much cleaner presses. All of this took some effort from both parties but it was worth it. Hang in there with your supplier.

Kidder Chamber end seal retro-fit

For something as simple as an end seal, we covered a lot of different areas in this article. Take a walk around your pressroom and look at your presses. If you track downtime, take a look to see if what you just read above is an area that needs attention and can have a good payback for your company. If so, then talk with you supplier to see what can be done. You noticed that I mentioned working with your supplier several times in this article. What I said was true; he or she can be a valuable resource. By the way, in most cases, they are a valuable, free resource.

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