Blanket piling is a major source of waste and lost production for all presses. The build up of lint, paper fibers and coating residue are a direct cause of halftone plugging and “Hickeys”. This piling greatly reduces quality, causes more frequent blanket washes, shortens blanket life and puts additional wear and tear on the press. Mounting the unique TurboCleaner prior to the first print station can alleviate these problems and increase press productivity.
Unlike other “contact brush” cleaners, the TurboCleaner utilizes a proprietary soft cotton buff rotating at over 3400 RPM, similar to a jewelry-polishing wheel. The rotating buffs generate high velocity air currents, which create a low-
pressure area at the web surface, producing very high energy levels. This high energy penetrates the boundary layer on the web and lifts all the debris off. These contaminants are lifted off the surface and swept into the vacuum system. An integral “beater” bar is utilized to continuously clean the buffs and prevent recontamination of the web.
The system is designed to penetrate the surface barrier of the web to remove slitter dust, loose coating and other debris. It will significantly reduce the number of required blanket washes and significantly increase, if not double, the numbers of impressions run between required blanket washes.
With this newly cleaned web, print quality is enhanced, more consistent color is obtained and contamination is reduced in the ink trains, dampers and blankets.
This clean printing surface will significantly reduce the number of blanket washes required. Customers have successfully shown that the TurboCleaner can easily double the number of impressions between washes.
The system consists of a cleaning head assembly, with pneumatic lifters, to clean both sides of the web, dust collector, motor starters, control panel, and appropriate hoses and mounting brackets. Installation requires only electrical connections, press interlock signal and a small amount of compressed air for lifter actuation.
