New Tape Saves Webs

by Frank Balentine

A new tape for leading sheets into the press can reduce newsprint waste, press downtime, overtime and circulation-delivery time. This innovation is so simple it's surprising no one thought of it sooner.

Nothing is more frustrating than to start a press and then discover that one or more web leads is in the press incorrectly, and the head and tail registration is out. To fix the problem, the press must be stopped and the correct web lead re-established. The new tape is printed with the exact measurement of your folder cutoff. If your folder has a cutoff of 22-3/4 inches, for example, each mark is 22-3/4 inches apart.

The tape eliminates the need to re-establish a web path. The operator is able to check the web lead prior to walking the sheet into the press. If the lead is in the press incorrectly, the operator can reset the compensator to the correct position very quickly, and then walk the sheet into the folder and continue the run.

The tape has been tested in production conditions. The early results show that if used properly, it can cause printed waste to drop dramatically.

The procedure for establishing the proper press marks follows:

Step 1: Mark the ends of the impression cylinders at the center of the margin between the head and tail of the image. Include all color units, half decks and black units.
Step 2: Rotate the unit until the marks on the ends of the impression cylinders are readily accessible, and then extend the mark across the top of the cylinder outside the area where the webs runs.
Step 3: Change the unit's engage/disengage mark to correspond to the margin mark.
Step 4: With the press on the mark and the correct, compensated image on the formers, predetermine where the head and tail margin marks should go on the formers. Note that on some presses, the marks may have to be moved back an inch to an inch and a half to compensate for web tension. The angle bars, balloons, and bay windows can also be marked using this procedure.
Step 5: When the press is on the mark for makeready, premeasure and compensate the web-lead changes by measuring the distance from the marks on the impression cylinders, angle bars and bay windows to the marks on the formers. The tape must be kept straight on the pipe rollers using the mark where the webs run. By measuring the mark from the impression cylinder to the margin of the next web on the former, the production, or running, break can also be checked for the correct lead before the web is attached to the tape and led into the folder. The press will not have to be on the mark if there is an image on the web on the former.

There is a patent pending on this "web-saver tape," and it will soon be generally available on the market.

Frank Balentine is NAA's press manager. E-mail, naatech@attmail.com; phone, (703) 648-1216.