Between Color Dryers

Central Impression (CI) presses dominate the wide web film and paperboard printing industries. The key advantage of the CI press is excellent color-to-color register control by supporting the web with a large rigid impression drum that carries the web past multiple printing decks in a single pass. Between Color Dryers must dry ink sufficiently to resist picking when overprinted by successive printed images. Given the CI press configuration, the short Between Color Dryers are inadequate for the print to resist idler roll picking, or blocking-in-the-roll. CI presses typically integrate a tunnel dryer downstream of the press section. The tunnel dryer evaporates all the ink solvent (including water) and begins the ink curing process allowing the printed surface to contact idlers, chill drums, etc. Multiple layers of lightly dried inks create an added challenge for the tunnel dryer.

Stacked printing presses fundamentally configure the same characteristics of the CI press but without a CI drum. The above dryer considerations generally apply identically.

Between Color Dryers: Key Design Features

• Small dryer profile to fit inside confined spaces
• Minimize induced turbulence to nearby printing plates and anilox rolls
• Easily removable for service to dryers, print decks and CI drum
• Exhaust provisions to remove heavy vapor generation
• Protection from ink spills