Flexo vs.

Offset
for
Newspaper Printing
Presented by:
Frank Anthony, Vice President/Operations
Chattanooga Times Free Press
 Disclaimers
 Who am I?
 What do we think about ourselves?
 Do you know what a newspaper is?
 “Why did I choose Flexo?”
 The Short Answer is:
• The ever increasing pressure and demands from our customers,
advertisers and subscribers, call for Flexo

 The Longer Answer is:

• When replacing our 30-year-old Goss newspaper letterpress, we
identified the goals we would like to accomplish.
ƒ Flexibility
ƒ High Speed
ƒ Improved printing quality
ƒ Ease of operation
ƒ Lower costs
ƒ To be the best-printed newspaper in the country, not just average.
• Flexo meets the demands
 Advantages Flexo
brings to Newspaper Printing
 Keyless inking / Anilox roller
 Single fluid printing
 Photographers take responsibility for picture quality
 Flexo printing has fewer mechanical press parts
 Conventional Offset Anilox Offset Printing Flexo Printing
Printing
12 10
1
11 8
17 9
7
15 16 11
8 9 2
14 10 6 12
7 13
3
13 6 14
5 5 5
15 4
3 4 3
4
2 6
1
2
Web
Web Web
1

1 Ink duct 1 Ink pump 1 Impression cylinder

2 Ink-duct roller 2 Ink trough 2 Plate cylinder
3 Film roller 3 Doctor-blade holder 3 Ink chamber
4 Ink transfer roller 4 Ink chambers 4 Doctor-blade holder
5 Oscillating ink drum 5 Anilox screen roller 5 Anilox roller
6 Ink transfer roller 6 Ink form roller 6 Drain pan
7 Oscillating ink drum 7 Rider roller
8 Ink form roller 8 Ink form roller
9 Ink form roller 9 Plate cylinder
10 Overrider 10 Blanket cylinder
11 Plate cylinder 11 Dampening form roller
12 Blanket cylinder 12 Dampening roller
13 Spray dampener 13 Dampening roller
14 Chrome roller 14 Chrome roller
15 PVC roller 15 Spray bar
16 Intermediate roller
17 Dampening form roller
 Newspaper Judging
 IFRA Mechanical Defects, Objective
1. Folder Related 18. Blinding
2. Former/Pipe Roller Ink Build-Up 19. Finger Prints
3. Incomplete Vacuum 20. Ghosting / Starvation
4. Ink System Related 21. Hickeys or Picking
5. Miscellaneous 22. Linting / Piling
6. Moire 23. Plate Line
7. Mottling 24. Plate Ware
8. Newsprint Changes Color 25. Roller Bounce
9. Pin Holes in Image Area
26. Rub Off
10. Plate Related
27. Set Off
11. Scratch on Plate or Negative
12. Scumming Tonen (Smutting) 28. Show Through
13. Smashed Blanket / Low Spot 29. Slurring / Doubling
14. Streaking, Ink/Water Problem 30. Tinting / Toning
(Doctor blades streaking) 31. Trolley Nip Marks
15. Uneven Margins 32. Water Marks
16. Void (Part of Image Missing) 33. Wavy Lines in inked Areas
17. Wrinkles
 Things that can go wrong
Flexo
PLATES
Exposure errors..........................................1
Developing problems..................................1
Polymer problems ......................................1
FILM NEGATIVES
Exposure errors..........................................1
Developing problems..................................1
Film densities .............................................1
CUSHION (BLANKET) PROBLEMS
Ware...........................................................1
Rebound issues..........................................1
Smashed or damage ..................................1
ANILOX ROLLS
Ware...........................................................1
Dirt..............................................................1
Damage......................................................1
INK CHAMBER
Doctor Blade
Worn .....................................................2
Too much pressure ...............................2
Too little pressure .................................2
Bimba Valve
Plugging ................................................1
IMPRESSION CYLINDER
Damage......................................................1
ROLLER IMPRESSION SETTING (± .001)
Anilox to Plate ............................................1
Plate to impression cylinder .......................1
ROLLER OUT OF TRAM
Anilox .........................................................1
Plate cylinder..............................................1
Impression cylinder ....................................1
INK SETTING
Density by viscosity ....................................1
TOTAL ....................26
Offset
PLATES
Exposure errors............................................... 1
Developing problems....................................... 1
Photosensitive surface problems..................... 1
FILM NEGATIVES
Exposure errors............................................... 1
Developing problems....................................... 1
Film densities .................................................. 1
BLANKETS (CUSHION) PROBLEMS (Multiply by 2)
Ware ............................................................... 2
Rebound issues .............................................. 2
Smashed or damage ....................................... 2
INK ROLLER TRAIN (Problems multiplied by 10 rollers)
Rubber Ware................................................. 10
Damaged ...................................................... 10
Hardening ..................................................... 10
INK KEYS (32 across the cylinder)
Page Packs
Worn parts............................................... 32
Sticking valves......................................... 32
Fountain blade........................................... 1
WATER DAMPENING SYSTEM
Water condition ............................................... 1
Warn parts....................................................... 1
PLATE CYLINDER
Damage .......................................................... 1
BLANKET CYLINDER
Damage .......................................................... 1
IMPRESSION CYLINDER
Damage .......................................................... 1
ROLLER IMPRESSION SETTING
Ink train (± 3/16 stripe Multiply by 10 rollers) ...... 10
Plate to blanket (± .008) ................................... 1
Blanket to impression (± .008) .......................... 1
ROLLER OUT OF TRAM
Ink train (Multiply by 10 rollers)...................... 10
Plate cylinder................................................... 1
Blanket cylinder ............................................... 1
INK SETTING
Density & Consistency across the cylinder
Ink volume ............................................... 32
Water volume ........................................... 1
Total ................... 169
 Advantages Flexo
brings to the Newspaper
 Keyless inking / Anilox roller
 Single fluid printing
 Photographers take responsibility for picture quality
 Flexo printing has fewer mechanical press parts
 Photopolymer plate
 Improved print quality over cold web offset
 Dot Gain
Offset Black Screen Dots

4% 8% 10% 20%

Flexo Black Screen Dots

 Dot Gain
Offset Black Screen Dots

40% 50% 60% 70%

Flexo Black Screen Dots

 Dot Gain
Offset Black Screen Dots

80% 85% 90% 92%

Flexo Black Screen Dots

 Advantages Flexo
brings to the Newspaper
 Keyless inking / Anilox roller
 Single fluid printing
 Photographers take responsibility for picture quality
 Flexo printing has fewer mechanical press parts
 Photopolymer plate
 Improved print quality over cold web offset
 Color that is better than any cold web offset could produce
 Totally recyclable ink
 Narrow latitude vs. Wide latitude
 Most of all, it offered the “holy grail” of newspaper, rub free ink
 Lower cost of operation
 “Thinking out of the box”
“Since it is unlikely that even the best ideas of an organization or
industry are the best available, benchmarking programs benefit
from the inclusion of multiple organizations and, where possible,
multiple industries.”
NAA/IFRA Benchmarking Newspaper Operations 2002
 “Thinking out of the box”
“Including more than one industry helps to avoid industry-specific
paradigms.”
NAA/IFRA Benchmarking Newspaper Operations 2002
 “Thinking out of the box”
So it could also be said that when seeking new, innovative ideas,
spanning more than one industry/organization reduces the potential
for organization-specific practices that will limit your results.

In the commercial printing world, Flexo is the fastest growing

printing process in the world, outpacing gravure and offset. They
must know something that we don’t.

Frank Anthony, Chattanooga Times Free Press

 Why would you not choose it?
 Meets the demands of advertisers and subscribers
 Meets demands of the workforce and workplace
 Meets my demands
• Best printed newspaper in the USA
 Challenges
 Single plate supplier
 High tech ink & ink system
 Low number of Flexo newspapers
 Print quality issues
 Closing
 Why should you choose Flexo as your printing process?
• Keyless printing
• Single fluid printing
• Bright colors and solid blacks
• Clear pictures with natural tones
• Improved print quality for advertisers and subscribers
• No EPA or VOC issues
• No ink rub
• Easier / simpler printing process
• Lower operating expense