As run lengths in just about every area of print and packaging production – particularly those with a high proportion of spot colours – get shorter and shorter, printers are faced with the challenge of maintaining productivity levels in the face of more frequent job and colour changes. Böttcher’s ECS „Easy Cleaning System“ was designed with this in mind: Easy-to-clean inking rollers incorporate special polymers and additives in the rubber to reduce the adhesion of the ink to the roller surface, effectively improving ink transfer, while at the same time enhancing the washability of the roller train.

This not only saves time, but allows you to significantly reduce your wash consumption, typically in the range of 30-50%. The ECS rollers are available for all drying technologies and in a range of durometers to accomodate printers‘ and press manufacturers‘ preferences:

• 178 25 and 378 35 ECS for conventional inks.

• 277 30 and 377 38 ECS for mixed mode applications (UV/conventional)

• 718 40 for presses running 100% UV inks.

In addition to the special roller coverings, the ECS system now encompasses dedicated washes with enhanced cleaning power. The first in the new series is the Mistral ECS. To make this product, we took our highest-quality conventional wash and made it even better. New materials not only improve the powerof the product to dissolve and remove ink from rollers and blankets, but increase the proportion of biological components in the wash! The first ever Virtual Drupa is a fitting occasion for the launch of the best wash Böttcher has ever made.

Ask your local Böttcher representative about how best you can benefit from these exciting technologies designed to enhance productivity and profitability in all fields of print and packaging production.

Given the vast diversity of coating materials available and in use in the production of metal packaging, it is very hard for coating line operators to get a real grip on their production planning, as different coatings have different effects on coating cylinder coverings, leading to variation in the time a cylinder can be used before excessive swelling means it hast o be taken out for re-grinding.

With more and more substances (such as BPA) being banned from coatings, particularly on food and beverage cans, operators face more and more uncertainty. This is where Böttcher’s Magicoat rubber and polyurethane compounds come in:

• Magicoat S60: 60 Shore A compound with excellent grinability and resistance to edge marking/cutting.

• Magicoat Plus 50: A softer compound in 50 Shore A with unsurpassed swell resistance.

• Magicoat Plus 60: A (brand new!) harder version of our leading Magicoat Plus 50 compound with even lower swell rates and extended durability.

Böttcher has collaborated with leading coating manufacturers todevelop the Magicoat series of compounds. All Magicoat cylinder coverings reduce the swelling effect of almost all commercially available coating materials, extending roller life by anything up to 500% (customer reports). Even with the most aggressive varnishes, coating line operators see a clear reduction of roller swell, leeping margins open for much longer and significantly imcreasing line up-time and productivity.

To show you just what benefits you can obtain from Böttcher Magicoat coating cylinder coverings, Böttcher will run free-of-charge compatibiity tests with your most problematical coating materials in our labs. You are not entirely sure which materials are causing the biggest headaches? – no problem: give us samples of your most frequently-used varnishes and we will benchmark them for you. Just contact your local Böttcher representative to arrange pick-up of the samples, or ask him or her to send you a couple of our ready-made Media Test Kits to make it easy to send the materials directly to our lab. You will receive a full report which will enable you to get a better handle on coating line performance.

Fed up of having to change inker rollers after only a few weeks in the decorator? It doesn’t have to be that way. In intensive studies of the chemical interaction between roller coverings and decorating inks – conducted in collaboration with the leading ink manufacturers – Böttcher has developed roller coverings which last for months, instead of days or weeks.

The secret is in matching the chemistry of the inks and the rollers to drastically reduce swell during the active life of the rollers. Besides extending the longevity of the rollerst o new levels, the reduced swelling has a number of further beneficial effects:

• The inker runs several degrees cooler than with „normal“ rollers. This maintains the viscosity of the ink in a narrower range, reducing colour variation.

• Dot gain ist significantly reduced, printed texts remain sharper and more open.

• The lower temerature also goes a long way to reducing ink misting (see photos).

• „Exploding“ rollers (the result of the combination of high swell rates and inferior dynamic properties of the roller compound) are a thing of the past!

Böttcher has employed the same scientific approach to the rubber printing blanket. Here again, the improved compatibility of inks and rubber compound removes in many cases the need to change blankets with every label changes. One user, who achieved a maximum of 8 hours‘ use out of his standard blankets, was able to run our BöttcherTop ProCan Extra blanket for 3 days!

Finally, Böttcher’s special compounds for rimcoater rollers and Overvarnish Applicators will also reduce swell and increase the life of these rollers by up to 100%. Ask yoour local Böttcher representative about the new Sleeve System for quick and easy changing of OV Applicators.

To show you just what benefits you can obtain from Böttcher roller coverings, Böttcher will run free-of-charge compatibiity tests with your inks and/or coating materials in our labs. Just contact your local Böttcher representative to arrange pick-up of the samples, or ask him or her to send you a couple of our ready-made Media Test Kits to make it easy to send the materials directly to our lab. You will receive a full report which will enable you to get a better handle on decorator performance.

As in search if ever higher productivity web presses became not only faster, but also wider, carbon fibre composite cores were essential to reduce deflection and facilitate handling at web widths in excess of 2 metres. These new cores represent a significant investment. To ensure that this investment is protected and preserved in the long term, Böttcher has developed  series of technical solutions unique in the industry:

• Böttcher can retrofit a protective layer which prevents further degradation of the core due to repeated re-covering cycles, effectively extending the life of the cores.

• Böttcher’s patented repair technology for bearing seats removes the need for welding when repairing or replacing worn bearing seats and drastically reducing the cost of such repairs.

• Literally „on top“ of these core benefits, Böttcher’s „cool running“ heatset compounds reduce long-term roller shrinkage and ink misting when the press is running.

Ask your local Böttcher representative about how best you can benefit from these exciting technologies designed to enhance productivity and profitability in commercial web offset applications.

CAMBIUM sleeve for plate mounting has been used very successfully for several years. Product properties such as the geometric and mechanical stability, but also the low weight of the sleeves, are valued by independent printers and packaging groups. Now the CAMBIUM sleeve is also available internationally through the Böttcher Group with our worldwide production and sales companies.

The sleeves for plate assembly are part of the BöttcherFlex product series, which includes DLE elastomer sleeves and plates for direct laser engraving. DLE elastomer sleeves enable premium printing quality with the advantages of an endless seamless printing form. The BöttcherFlex portfolio is rounded off by the new washing and care products.

With VELVET for use with water colors and SOLVENTO for solvent and UV inks, you have efficient cleaning products available for daily use. For the special deep cleaning of the anilox rollers, we offer the product CREME, as well as HISONIC for use with high pressure cleaners (High Pressure) or ultrasonic baths (UltraSonic). We will be happy to advise you if you have any questions about BöttcherFlex products.

The trend towards environmental protection and greater sustainability does not stop at printed products and presents printers with new challenges for their production processes. In this context, the use of chemicals and environmental protection sounds like a contradiction in terms, but this is precisely where Böttcher offers balanced printing chemicals that are helpful in achieving the printer's environmentally relevant product and company goals.

Böttcher has always developed its printing chemicals with sustainability in mind and has achieved this by selecting adequate ingredients. The resulting products are characterised by high efficiency combined with low emissions.

• Reduction of wash consumption through QUIX-Emulsion-Technology
  The use of special emulsifier systems in Böttcher washes actively supports the washing effect, enables better absorption of colour residues and reduces detergent consumption by up to 30%. This conserves resources and reduces harmful emissions.

• Reduction or elimination of isopropanol (IPA) with BöttcherFount S-3054
  The challenge in printing without IPA is an increased water setting combined with a reduced working window. By using new additives in BöttcherFount S-3054, it is possible to stabilise the process at normal dampening solution speeds.