When adjusting the height of inking rollers on a Universal I where in the bed of the press should the carriage be? And, should the press be in trip or print position?
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A proof press resource
A proof press resource
When adjusting the height of inking rollers on a Universal I where in the bed of the press should the carriage be? And, should the press be in trip or print position?
I have two lollipops gauges. Where do you get the tissue paper? My rollers were knew about 8 years ago. I am not a heavy user of my press but I am concerned they are uneven—heavier on the outside ends. Any idea on how long rollers last? They are rubber. Thanks for your detailed answer.
I would suggest putting the press on print, moving the carriage so the inking rollers are just past the deadline, and beginning to do your setting/testing there. I use a method that doesn’t require inking the press up for the intial adjustment, but allows the press to be pretty close to the setting it may need. Because it’s so easy to tweak the knobs on the universal series, once you ink the press up for a job you’ll be able to decide if you want more/less contact.
My procedure is to set the rollers with a 2″x.918″(type high) disc, such as those used to calibrate type high plate-gauges. Failing being in posession of a disc such as this, a .918 ‘lollipop’ will do the trick.
I test for tension VIA a long sheet of 2-thousands thick tissue paper beneath it. If your rollers are freshly ground like mine just were, this procedure might work for you too because you need rollers that are pretty level across.
First, I raise both the rollers to above type high utmost position.
-I place the disc, and the paper beneath it, on the bed of the press close to the edge of the operator side, just past the deadline.
-I Move the carriage so the rear roller- the one that has a gear and drives the inking system as the carriage moves- is over the disc and lower this side of the roller until it contacts the disc, making certain it is engaging the disc by tugging on the tissue now and then until it contacts.
-I then move the disc to the front form roller, repeat, then the other side, repeat, until all four corners are engaged.
Then I move the disc along the middle portion of each form roller, continuing to test systematically across the length to be sure the same amount of friction is present. If your rollers were just re-ground, this may not be necessary, but I like to know whether they’re level or not.
It’s important to check the inking system along the length of the bed, especially if you have an adjustable bed. They shouldn’t be able to go out of level, but wear and tear dictates otherwise. My Uni-II has one corner that seems to be a bit lower and I have to compensate by underlaying .0020″ tissue under about 8 square inches of the bed in one corner.
I’ve never had a problem inking the press right up after this ‘slip test’ and printing type-high forms with reasonable results. Once you’ve set it like this, minor adjustment ‘to taste’ is all that should be required.