Consumables
Norways First Quickstart User Gives Thumbs Up to New Trelleborg Blanket
Tuesday 16. November 2010 - Recent trials of Trelleborgs Vulcan Quickstart, undertaken by Rolf Ottesen AS on a four-colour Heidelberg CD 102, have been so successful that the Oslo printer intends to test the new blanket on its Heidelberg eight-colour perfector XL 105. Rolf Ottesen has used Trelleborg blankets for many years and has a close working relationship with Norwegian distributor Luth Gruppen.
“Weve always had excellent service from Luth Gruppen, so we trusted their opinion when they suggested we test the new Vulcan Quickstart, even though we were very happy with the results of the Vulcan brand that we had been using throughout the factory,” says senior printer Geir Haugen. “We decided to run trials on our alcohol-free, Heidelberg CD 102 press, which is used to print a huge variety of stock and jobs.
“Trelleborg has designed Vulcan Quickstart so that the underpacking is an integral part of the blanket. This allows the CD 102 to be operated with less pressure, resulting in sharper dots with improved, cleaner print. Vulcan Quickstart has proved to be highly resistant to smashes. If there is a particularly bad smash then there is no need to replace underpacking as a separate operation, which saves time.
“We run the CD 102 either on a single or double shift and calculate that the extra durability offered by Vulcan Quickstart has reduced blanket usage by around 25per cent. Were now planning to switch to Vulcan Quickstart on our eight-colour Heidleberg XL 105 perfector and anticipate that the savings will be even greater on this press.
“A serious smash on the XL 105 during the night shift could result in downtime of up to two hours, so there are potentially some significant savings to be made by changing to the new Trelleborg blanket,” says Geir Haugen.
Vulcan Quickstart incorporates a polyurethane-based backing that eliminates the need for underpacking on the cylinder, resulting in unrivalled smash resistance and durability. Tests have shown that following a smash of up to 0.8 mm the blanket recovers after only one hundred sheets.
The underpacking offers a high resistance to the chemicals used in normal blanket washes etc, eliminating the risk of delamination, while there is no need to purchase and store separate underpacking. Vulcan Quickstart, which is suitable for use with various makes of sheet-fed press, provides excellent ink transfer and dot gain properties across a wide range of stock types and weights, whether using conventional or UV inks.
Rolf Ottesen has been producing high quality commercial print for more than 40 years and today handles work ranging from posters to periodicals. The company has customers throughout south east Norway.