Commercial Printing Production Blunder: Ink Picking

When you’re in the market for a good print job, you will likely wind up doing a  research through consumer magazines, products reviews, websites and opinions of associates.  Yes, you want to use the internet  to get the best deal on your printing but not sacrifice the quality. Knowing what to look for in the highest and lowest quality lithography will make your choice a lot easier.

An Explanation of Picking on the Press

  1. Drawing showing how the coating is picked from the surface of the paper.

    Spots and Dots in your Printing is Known as Picking

    Spots and Dots in your Printing is Known as Picking

  2. Coating pick
  3. Coating pick which is concentrated at the tail of the image.

Coating Pick also referred to as “pepper picking” is the result of the tack of the ink exceeding the cohesive or binding strength of the coating materials. (Figure 1)In both sheet fed and web printing, the tack of the ink on the paper goes up as the sheet passes through the multiple units on the press.

The coating can break apart, or pick off onto the blanket, if the initial tack of the ink is too high, if the paper coating is poorly bound, or if the setting speed of the ink and paper combination is too fast.Coating pick normally occurs throughout the image area (Figure 2), but can be more concentrated at the tail of the image. (Figure 3)

4. Tail pick in the color bars as seen through a loupe.

5. A drawing simulating how the image will adhere to the blanket before it is stripped away.

Tail Pick, also known in the industry as trailing-edge pick, is the result of the high printing forces which are generated at the end of an image area where it ultimately releases from the blanket. Much like cracking a whip, the sheet bends conforming to the blanket cylinder and, when it is pulled by the grippers or proceeds to the next printing unit, the sheet snaps away and the high force will pick the coating just at the end, or tail of the image. This snapping can be clearly heard in the pressroom.

The color bars as seen through a printer's loupe

The color bars as seen through a printer's loupe

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Getting less than we expected happens to most everyone from time to time, so it’s nothing to get angry about. The most important part of the buying process is to learn from mistakes. Be sure to learn from any mistake that is made in your business, whether you are buying or selling.

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