STELLAR PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS:

Printing:

1. Use an oxidizing ink.
2. Use a fountain stimulator as an oxidizing agent to help dry the ink.  Experiment to determine the proper mixture, starting with less than recommended and gradually increasing.
3. Use your finger to tap out a film of ink on the stock about six hours before running.  Check every hour to determine minimum drying time.  Do not add water to the ink for this test.
4. Maintain a good water and ink balance.
5. Always do a make-ready.
6. Conduct pre-press trial by running a minimum load, letting it sit overnight.
7. Wipe the stock on all sides to avoid contamination of the ink by foreign matter.
8. Use a fine spray to cover completely.
9. Run small loads.
10. Be cautious when running large solids.
11. Drop into racks of 50 to 75 sheets.  Do not move until ink is dry.
12. Consult your ink manufacturer for answers to specific questions.

Foiling:

1. When running the foil, use the easier release factor as the area to be foiled increases.
2. Avoid excessive heat to eliminate distortion.
3. When foiling large areas, adhesive gases are allowed to quickly escape by pre-treating the surface of the stock by first running the image with a fine grit sandpaper and the rerunning the foiling material.
4. Consult your foiling material supplier for specific guidelines.

PLASTICS

Selecting the proper ink:

1. Use only specifically formulated inks recommended by your ink supplier.
2. Use only fresh inks.  Never save inks from one plastic job and try to use them on future runs.
3. Keep your ink cans closed at all times.
4. Always test for ink adhesion prior to every run.
5. Run as little ink as possible.
6. Your press set up should be done as quickly as possible.  If a long set up is expected, use standard inks to get the color up and replace them with the plastic ink when the job is ready to run.
7. Avoid solids.  Use half-tones to get solid looks. If you must run solids, be aware of potential gas ghosting on the back side of the sheet.  It may be necessary to clean or to print a clear varnish on the reverse side when printing a two sided job.   Test for ghosting prior to printing.

Selecting the correct fountain solutions:

1. Consult your ink and fountain solution supplier.  They should be agreement as to the proper formulation for each specific job and material.
2. Things like pH level and alcohol % should always be taken up with your suppliers.
3. Important note: Plastics do not absorb water, therefore run as dry as possible just before scumming occurs.  This is a major cause for inks not drying and gas ghosting.

Other important helpful hints:

1. All material should be conditioned to the press room for 2-3 days prior to printing.  ½ inch of material equals 1 hour of   pre-conditioning.  Cut all bands and open all outer packaging.
2. The material should be handled as little as possible both prior to printing and after printing to avoid static, off setting, and scratching.
3. Run as little offset powder as the job permits.
4. Run small lifts about 2-3 inches high.  Under ideal conditions, you can run lifts up to 8 inches tall, (i.e. surface roughness, sheet size, thickness of material, and ink layer).
5. The use of radiant heat to assist in drying is O.K.  Care should be taken to keep temperatures low enough to avoid distorting the material.  U.V. dryers offer a major advantage in the printing of plastics.
6. Press speeds should be around 4500 IPH or less.
7. Static bars and/or de-ionized air should be used at least in the feeding and delivery areas and between printing stations if possible.

Note: The above suggestions for printing on Plastics were compiled from a number of different sources and are true and accurate to the best of our knowledge.  It is solely the users responsibility to determine the suitability of the product and procedure for each specific application.

METALLICS

Printing on Gold and Silver Metallic:

1. Use Van Son's Tough Tex inks manufactured by Van Son Holland Ink Corporation of America.
2. Use Allied Litho Products Fountain Dryer.  Please call (800) 327-8487 for more information.  This goes into the fountain solution.
3. Get as little ink on the paper as possible (just enough to barely cover the solids).   Every 50 sheets, turn the ink off.  You must also powder it excessively to help the drying process.
4. When you have 250 sheets printed, stop and place in little stacks to dry.  Do not stack to many sheets on top of each other or the ink may offset due to the amount of pressure.
5. Let dry for a minimum of 3-4 days.
6. Do not move for 3 - 4 days.  Apply Van Son's High Gloss Overprint Varnish #2174 to complete the drying process.