Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-86).

This diploma thesis deals with the optimized design solution and support housing proposal for a flexographic printing deck including the printing and anilox units. The support housing must be appropriately dimensioned to counteract the shock loads that occur during the printing process. At first, the thesis analyzes the impact load and the resulting size of loading forces. The support housing proposal is designed to resist these forces then.

<p>Flexographic printing is a common printing method in the packaging field. The printing method is characterized primarily by the flexible printing plate and the low viscosity inks which make it suitable for use on almost any substrate. The object of this study was to obtain further knowledge of the some important mechanisms of flexographic printing and how they influence the print quality. The thesis deals with printing primarily on board and liner but also on newsprint with water-borne ink using a full-scale flexographic central impression (CI) printing press. Several printing trials have been performed with a focus on the chemical interaction between the ink and substrate and the physical contact between the ink-covered printing plate and the substrate.</p><p>Multicolour printing exposes the substrate to water from the water-containing ink. The emphasis was to investigate the relation between print quality and water-uptake of the paper surface with heat and water. Printing trials was carried out on substrates possessing a hydrophobic, and also a rather hydrophilic surface using a regular commercial water-borne ink. The favorable effect which water or surfactant solution had on the hydrophobic substrate with regard to print mottle could depend on its surface compressibility in combination with the hydrophobic nature of its surface that could affect the wetting properties.</p><p>Conventional printing involves physical contact between plate and ink and between ink and substrate. A method for measuring the dynamic nip pressure using thin load cells is presented. Print quality was influenced by the plate material. A correction procedure taking into account the size of the sensor was developed in order to estimate the maximum dynamic pressure in the printing nip. An attempt was made to identify essential mechanical and chemical parameters, and also geometrical properties of the plate that affected print quality. Laboratory printing trials were carried out and a multivariate analysis was applied for evaluation of print quality data. The impact of the plate properties on print quality was evident. The essential properties of the plate that influence print quality were the small-scale roughness and long-scale roughness.</p>

Flexographic printing is a common printing method in the packaging field. The printing method is characterized primarily by the flexible printing plate and the low viscosity inks which make it suitable for use on almost any substrate. The object of this study was to obtain further knowledge of the some important mechanisms of flexographic printing and how they influence the print quality. The thesis deals with printing primarily on board and liner but also on newsprint with water-borne ink using a full-scale flexographic central impression (CI) printing press. Several printing trials have been performed with a focus on the chemical interaction between the ink and substrate and the physical contact between the ink-covered printing plate and the substrate. Multicolour printing exposes the substrate to water from the water-containing ink. The emphasis was to investigate the relation between print quality and water-uptake of the paper surface with heat and water. Printing trials was carried out on substrates possessing a hydrophobic, and also a rather hydrophilic surface using a regular commercial water-borne ink. The favorable effect which water or surfactant solution had on the hydrophobic substrate with regard to print mottle could depend on its surface compressibility in combination with the hydrophobic nature of its surface that could affect the wetting properties. Conventional printing involves physical contact between plate and ink and between ink and substrate. A method for measuring the dynamic nip pressure using thin load cells is presented. Print quality was influenced by the plate material. A correction procedure taking into account the size of the sensor was developed in order to estimate the maximum dynamic pressure in the printing nip. An attempt was made to identify essential mechanical and chemical parameters, and also geometrical properties of the plate that affected print quality. Laboratory printing trials were carried out and a multivariate analysis was applied for evaluation of print quality data. The impact of the plate properties on print quality was evident. The essential properties of the plate that influence print quality were the small-scale roughness and long-scale roughness.

Les piles à combustibles sont une alternative à l’utilisation de ressources fossiles. Cependant, l’énergie qu’elles produisent reste chère et les procédés de fabrication actuels ne sont pas adaptés à des productions à grande échelle. Une piles de type PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell) essont un système constitué de cinq couches dans lequel la membrane et les deux couches de diffusion peuvent être considértestées comme support d’impression et les deux couches actives peuvent être imprimées par des procédés continus.Ce travail démontrea la pertinence du procédé d’impression appelé flexographiquee dans la fabrication de composants de PEMFC. La flexographieCe procédé offre permet de produire de grandes surfaces de production avec peu de perte de matière fonctionnelle. Malgré la faible imprimabilité des supports choisis, elle permit la fabrication des couches actives aux performances similaires à celles fabriquéesites par procédés conventionnels ont pu être réalisées grâce à la flexogaphie. / In a context of fossil fuel shortage and hydrocarbon emission reduction, fuel cells are a promising solution for energy production. However, the cost of the energy they produce remains too expensive to be competitive and the conventional manufacturing processes used limit the scaling up of the production. The core of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) is a stack composed of five constituents, in which the proton exchange membrane and the two gas diffusion layers have potential for being can be considered as used a a printing substrates, and the two catalyst layers can be printed by continuous printing processes.This work demonstrated the relevance of the printing process called flexography for manufacturing fuel cell components. It offers allows larger production with low waste of expensive elements. Despite of the poor printability of the both chosen substrates, the achieved catalyst layers printed by flexography reached similar electrochemical properties than those made by conventional processes.

In the printing industry quality is key, this is because a product is printed for a better appearance or to convey information. If the packaging for a product looks bad customers will get a bad first impression of the product. The quality of the print can be affected by many different factors. The material properties of the paperboard such as stiffness, surface roughness, and thickness. It could also be affected by the coating of the paperboard, the properties of the ink, the material properties of the printing form, etc.  In this thesis, the effect of the contact time and the maximum pressure in the nip of a flexographic printing press was studied. To separate these variables six different desirable pressure pulses were decided upon. Three of them where the contact time remains constant while the maximum pressure changes, and three other pulses where the maximum pressure is constant while the contact time changes. The printing was done in an IGT F1 laboratory printing press. The different pressure pulses were achieved by using three different printing forms and varying the force settings in the printing press. The mottle results from the mottle analysis do not show a clear reliance on the contact time or maximum pressure. Instead, the stiffness of the printing forms influences the results to such an extent that it overshadows any effect that the contact time or maximum pressure has. In the case of dot gain, it can be determined that a larger impression leads to more dot gain. However here the stiffness of the printing plays a large role, and no clear conclusions can be drawn when strictly comparing contact time or maximum pressure. / Inom den grafiska industrin är kvalitet avgörande, detta eftersom en produkt trycks för att se bra ut eller för att förmedla ett budskap. Om förpackningen för en produkt ser dålig ut så får kunderna ett dåligt första intryck av produkten. Kvaliteten på trycket kan påverkas av många olika faktorer. Kartongens materialegenskaper såsom styvhet, ytjämnhet och tjocklek. Det kan också påverkas av kartongens beläggning, bläckets egenskaper, tryckplåtens materialegenskaper etcetera. I denna uppsats undersöktes effekten av kontakttiden och det maximala trycket i trycknypet i en flexografisk tryckpress. För att separera dessa variabler bestämdes sex olika önskvärda tryckpulser. Tre av dem var pulser med konstant kontakttid medan det maximala trycket justeras, och tre andra pulser där det maximala trycket hölls konstant medan kontakttiden justerades. Experimenten genomfördes i en IGT F1 laboratorietryckpress. De olika tryckpulserna uppnåddes genom att använda tre olika tryckplåtar och variera kraftinställningarna i tryckpressen. Analysen av provens flammighet visar inte ett tydligt beroende av kontakttiden eller maximalt tryck. Det är i stället tryckplåtarnas styvhet som påverkar resultaten mest, de påverkar resultaten i en sådan stor utsträckning att det inte går att dra några slutsatser om kontakttiden och det maximala tryckets påverkan på resultatet. Från resultaten av punktförstoring kan slutsatsen dras att högre intryckning ger mer punktförstoring. Men även i detta fall så spelar styvheten för tryckplåtarna väldigt stor roll och inga slutsatser kan dras för vare sig kontakttid eller maximalt tryck.

Variable data will play a decisive role in the future of packaging and product promotion. Variable data printing (VDP) is a technique whereby certain information can be altered in an otherwise static layout with the help of a digital printing system, and in the packaging industry a wide range of applications is possible. Inkjet printing, due to its non-impact printing (NIP) principle, is the most suitable technology to use when applying variable data on packaging and to offer customized and even personalized prints for the industry and the end-consumer (van Daele, 2005). The aim of the work described in this thesis was to evaluate the practicability of attaining high quality variable data print (VDP) at high speed. The thesis is divided into three major parts. Part one focussed on the surface topography of corrugated board and applicable analytical methods to describe the printability of the substrate. In the second part the performance of inkjet on corrugated board liners printed at high speed was investigated and how to achieve maximum printing resolution. The final part of the thesis is devoted to a market survey of variable data printing on the North American and European markets. Part 1 concentrated on corrugated board as substrate and its pre-conditions regarding surface topography before the printing operation. Most critical for the quality are print defects such as mottling, gloss and stripiness, all of which occur in the printing of corrugated board. Stripiness is especially critical because it is one of the most disturbing print defects on corrugated board since it is periodical and more easily perceived than random print defects (Netz, 1996). Part 1 revealed that there is a difference in surface micro-roughness between the regions on the peak line of the fluting and the regions in the valley between two peaks of the corrugation which leads to glossy lines on the peak areas. The aim of the second part was to assess the practicability of attaining high quality VDP at high speed on a variety of liners for corrugated board production. The trial was conducted on a Kodak Versamark DP5240 press in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, in cooperation with the Mid-Sweden University - Digital Printing Centre (DPC). Nine different substrates were printed at speeds between 0.5 and 5 m/s. The results revealed that the paper type rather than the printing speed has the greatest influence on the print quality. Speed, however, is the most important technical factor for inline implementation of inkjet. To obtain a picture of the industries’ view of variable data print on fibre-based packaging, a market survey was initiated and was addressed to people in the development, marketing and decision-making sectors of the packaging and printing industry, including manufacturers of machinery, producers of packaging and prints, and print buyers. The goal was to draw an overview map covering the people’s view of their market, trends in their fields and how they envision the future of VDP on fibre-based packaging. The conclusion was that inkjet technology has to prove itself first and to increase its technical capability, and the printing industry will then start investing more in this technology and in applications such as VDP. / QC 20101206

Every year, millions of tons of paper are diverted from landfills and recycled. Newspaper constitutes a large portion of total paper recycled, providing a cheap source of raw material for the paper industry and helping sustainable forestry. The recycling of newsprint paper involves the separation of ink from the newsprint, which is done either by flotation or washing. Conventional flotation processes for separating ink are not adequate for newsprint printed using flexography printing technique and with water-based ink. The removal of these flexographic water-based inks by washing is a better alternative. However, one drawback of washing is that it has lower yield. In addition, the subsequent wash filtrate is difficult and costly to decontaminate. The overall goal is to develop a combination of processes that can remove ink from a feedstock that contains up to 100% flexographic ink newsprint; in the context of process variables with known effects. In the present work the objectives are to (1) demonstrate that incorporating an electric field into a conventional deinking process improves deinking efficiency, (2) propose a mechanism of how incorporating an electric field helps to improve deinking efficiency, (3) demonstrate that an electric field can decontaminate water containing flexographic inks and identify the mechanism behind electric field clarification of water, and (4) demonstrate that by incorporating electric fields into both the flotation deinking stage and water decontamination, the target deinking efficiency can be achieved.

<p>U disertaciji je izvršena karakterizacija sliv nosioca flekso<br />štamparskih formi i predstavljena su istraživanja uticaja promene<br />mehaničkih i adhezivnih svojstava slivova na parametre kvaliteta<br />štampe kartonske ambalaže. Korišćene su dve grupe samolepljivih<br />slivova (potpuno novi i slivovi korišćeni za štampu 5.000.000 m<br />materijala). Ciljevi istraživanja su povećanje predvidivosti i<br />konstantnosti kvaliteta štampanog proizvoda i procesa proizvodnje<br />kartonske ambalaže, formiranje preporuka za upotrebu slivova<br />različitih svojstava i nivoa eksploatisanosti i otkrivanje u kojim<br />fazama i kojim procesima dolazi do promena svojstava slivova.</p> / <p>Research presented in this dissertation includes characterization of<br />flexographic sleeves and the study of the influence of the changes in<br />mechanical and adhesive properties of the sleeves on print quality<br />parameters of the cardboard packaging. Two groups of self-adhesive sleeves<br />were used (entirely new and sleeves used for printing of 5.000.000 m of<br />material). Aims of the research are the increase in predictability and stability<br />of the printed product quality and the production process of cardboard<br />packaging, forming of the recommendations for the use of sleeves with<br />different properties and levels of exploitation, as well as defining the phases<br />and processes responsible for the changes in sleeve properties.</p>

Tesis por compendio / [ES] La integración de electrónica en los tejidos para obtener nuevas funcionalidades es una de las apuestas de futuro de la industria textil y de la moda. Al estar compuestos parcialmente por tejido, los textiles electrónicos proporcionan a los usuarios un mayor confort, durabilidad y ligereza que otros dispositivos, manteniendo al mismo tiempo las propiedades electrónicas. No obstante, conseguir estas nuevas funcionalidades, a un coste asequible y asegurando la flexibilidad y ligereza propias de los tejidos, sigue siendo un reto para el sector. El área de la electrónica impresa ha permitido el desarrollo de una electrónica flexible combinando métodos de impresión tradicionales con el uso de tintas electrónicas. La técnica de impresión flexográfica destaca entre las demás por ofrecer altas velocidades de fabricación, calidad y alta productividad a bajo coste. En el ámbito textil, sin embargo, su incorporación es todavía muy reciente y no hay suficientes estudios para su aplicación. En este contexto, esta tesis doctoral tiene como objetivo fundamental estudiar la novedosa aplicación de la técnica de la flexografía sobre materiales textiles. Para ello, se ha tomado como base los actuales conocimientos de la autora en el área de la electrónica impresa textil empleando la tecnología serigráfica. Con este fin, durante el desarrollo de la tesis se realiza, en primer lugar, el estudio de los parámetros necesarios para la aplicación de dicha tecnología en diferentes substratos. Del estudio se obtienen diferentes valores adecuados para la impresión mediante flexografía según si el sustrato se trata de un tejido, un no-tejido, un sustrato polimérico o un papel siliconado. En segundo lugar, se definen los protocolos que permiten la integración de tintas con características eléctricas en las telas empleando la tecnología flexográfica. Por un lado, se estudia el impacto de los parámetros estructurales de un tejido de calada en la conductividad de la tinta impresa y, por otro lado, la influencia del material de la trama en la conductividad de elementos conductores-resistivos. Para ello, se realiza una impresión controlada sobre tejidos de calada utilizando la misma tinta conductora de plata y se analizan las propiedades físicas y eléctricas de las muestras resultantes. Se concluye que, cuanto mayor sea la densidad del textil, menor es la conductividad final de la impresión, y que el algodón es el material menos recomendable para la impresión electrónica mediante la técnica de la flexografía. Finalmente, se trabaja en el objetivo de desarrollar un sistema de medición de temperatura continuo mediante impresión electrónica sobre sustratos flexibles y elásticos mediante serigrafía para su traslación a flexografía. Se consigue desarrollar con éxito un sistema robusto, de bajo consumo y confortable para los pacientes que permite la adquisición de los datos de temperatura de forma continua. / [CAT] La integració d'electrònica en els teixits per a obtenir noves funcionalitats és una de les apostes de futur de la indústria tèxtil i de la moda. A l'estar compostos parcialment per teixit, els tèxtils electrònics proporcionen als usuaris un major confort, durabilitat i lleugeresa que altres dispositius, mentre mantenen les mateixes propietats electròniques. No obstant això, aconseguir aquestes noves funcionalitats, a un cost assequible i mantenint la flexibilitat i lleugeresa pròpies dels teixits, continua sent un repte per al sector. L'àrea de l'electrònica impresa ha permès el desenvolupament d'una electrònica flexible combinant mètodes d'impressió tradicionals amb l'ús de tintes electròniques. La tècnica d'impressió flexogràfica destaca entre les altres per oferir altes velocitats de fabricació, qualitat i alta productivitat a baix cost. En l'àmbit tèxtil, no obstant això, la seua incorporació és encara molt recent i no hi ha suficients estudis per a la seua aplicació. En este context, esta tesi doctoral té com a objectiu fonamental estudiar la nova aplicació de la tècnica de la flexografia sobre materials tèxtils. Per a això, s'ha pres com a base els actuals coneixements de l'autora en l'àrea de l'electrònica impresa tèxtil emprant la tecnologia serigràfica. Amb este fi, durant el desenrotllament de la tesi es realitza, en primer lloc, l'estudi dels paràmetres necessaris per a l'aplicació de la dita tecnologia en diferents substrats. De l'estudi s'obtenen diferents valors adequats per a la impressió per mitjà de flexografia segons si el substrat es tracta d'un teixit, un no-teixit, un substrat polimèric o un paper siliconat. En segon lloc, es defineixen els protocols que permeten la integració de tintes amb característiques elèctriques en les te les emprant la tecnologia flexogràfica. D'una banda, s'estudia l'impacte dels paràmetres estructurals d'un teixit de calada en la conductivitat de la tinta impresa i, d'altra banda, la influència del material de la trama en la conductivitat d'elements conductors-resistius. Per a això, es realitza una impressió controlada sobre teixits de calada utilitzant la mateixa tinta conductora de plata i s'analitzen les propietats físiques i elèctriques de les mostres resultants. Es conclou que, quant major siga la densitat del tèxtil, menor és la conductivitat final de la impressió, i que el cotó és el material menys recomanable per a la impressió electrònica per mitjà de la tècnica de la flexografia. Finalment, es treballa en l'objectiu de desenrotllar un sistema de mesurament de temperatura continu per mitjà d'impressió electrònica sobre substrats flexibles i elàstics per mitjà de serigrafia per a la seua translació a flexografia. S'aconsegueix desenrotllar amb èxit un sistema robust, de baix consum i confortable per als pacients que permet l'adquisició de les dades de temperatura de forma contínua. / [EN] Electronics' integration into textiles to obtain new functionalities is one of the bets for the future of the textile and fashion industry. Electronic textiles provide users greater comfort, durability, and lightness than other devices as they are partially made of fabric, while maintaining the same electronic properties. However, achieving these new functionalities, maintaining the flexibility and flexibility typical of the fabrics with at affordable cost, continues to be a challenge for the sector. The area of printed electronics has allowed the development of flexible electronics by combining traditional printing methods with the use of electronic inks. The flexographic printing technique stands out among the others for offering high manufacturing speeds, quality, and high productivity at low cost. In the textile field, however, its incorporation is still very recent and there are not enough studies for its application. In this context, this doctoral thesis fundamental objective is to study the novel application of the flexography technique on textile materials. For this, the current knowledge of the author about printed textile electronics using serigraphic technology has been taken as a basis. To this end, for the development of the thesis, in the first place the study of the necessary parameters for the application of this technology in different substrates has been carried out. Different suitable values for flexographic printing have been obtained from the study regarding whether the substrate is a fabric, a non-woven, a polymeric substrate or a silicone-coated paper. Secondly, the protocols that allow the integration of electrical inks with fabrics using flexographic technology have been defined. On the one hand, the impact of the structural parameters of a woven fabric on the conductivity of the printed ink has been studied. On the other hand, also the influence of the weft material on the conductivity of conductive-resistive elements was also studied. To do this, a controlled impression has been made on woven fabrics using the same conductive silver ink. Then both physical and electrical properties of the resulting samples have been analysed. It has been concluded that the higher the density of the textile, the lower final conductivity of the print is. Also, it has been defined that cotton is the least recommended material for electronic printing when using the flexography technique. Finally, towards the objective of developing a continuous temperature measurement system by electronic printing on flexible and elastic substrates, work has been carried out using screen printing for its translation into flexography. It has been possible to successfully develop a robust, low-consumption and comfortable system for patients that allows the continuous acquisition of temperature data. / Rodes Carbonell, AM. (2022). Dispositivos electrónicos impresos sobre sustratos textiles mediante la técnica de flexografía [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/189164 / Compendio