WEB OFFSET REPORT -- Make Ready for Change
The process is enabled by use of a special ink vehicle, which a number of ink manufacturers have licensed, according to the print expert. Sheetfed ink formulations already have been released, and the findings in that segment are "all good," he adds.
A very different approach to tackling the same issue—energy demands in drying—has been suggested in the past. In this case, electrostatic energy is employed to create turbulence in the "laminar" boundary layer that forms above the substrate as it is being dried. Since the technology (known as E-field supported drying) has found some interest in the gravure world, Eltex Elektrostatik GmbH in Weil am Rhein, Germany, undertook proof of concept testing with a manufacturer of heatset web drying equipment.
