Innventia has recently invested in a Print Simulation Tester (PST) from FIBRO System. In cases when other topography methods are insufficient, there is a good chance that the PST will succeed in predicting print quality.
With this instrument, it is possible to study the surface structure of samples during compression, which occurs in contact printing. If the contact between paper and printing cylinder is poor, the ink will not transfer correctly which, for example, can cause print quality problems, such as missing dots in rotogravure or uncovered areas in flexography printing.
"In the PST, the sample is clamped between a rubber blanket and a glass prism. The cavities that are not flattened by the nip pressure will be identified and divided into classes depending on their size. The nip load and the compression time can be adjusted depending on the substrate and printing technique that are being studied," says Sofia Thorman. "We believe this instrument will bring new important information for print quality predictions and would be happy to assist you with measurements."
