Is it Time to Bump the Bump Treating
January 2006
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BUMP TREATING IS a way of life in a package printing plant. Re-treating substrate surfaces before going to press helps provide a consistent and predictable print quality. Skipping it can leave a print job littered with pinholes, poor ink adhesion, and other printing blemishes.
Progress made in recent years in surface treating equipment has extended the longevity of treatment applied following extrusion, but printers still rely on bump treatments for successful runs. In fact, according to Ralf Weber, marketing, Erhardt + Leimer Inc., the trend in surface treating leans more toward multiple treatments. This is due to several reasons, Weber said, including:
• Increased printing speeds—More than one pass through a surface treater helps guarantee a high dyne level that will give ink the ability to adhere to the packaging substrate, regardless of press speed;
• Increased print quality requirements—Brand owners expect more from their packaging, which means when a job leaves a print shop, blemishes caused by poor ink adhesion could spell a returned order; and
• The tendency for printers to use less solvent inks—More environmentally-friendly inks require a higher dyne level to make up for the lack of adhesion-inducing elements they contain.
Printers are up against ever-steeper expectations in delivery times and quality. Compounding these expectations is the need for printers to be able to run several different substrates on the equipment they already have. Most printers can handle all kinds of materials due to bump treating. Like a security blanket, re-treating helps printers address the variability in the effective life span of the surface treatment, which differs from substrate to substrate.
There are many factors that influence how long a material holds a dyne level. Taking everything into perspective, if a printer is printing a range of materials for a range of applications, re-treating substrate surfaces is the key to consistency. "More converters use film from several different suppliers and run several different products on each press," said Chuck Ballard, product manager corona treaters, Pillar Technologies. "Given these variables, the only way to ensure a consistent quality is to bump treat the material."
Whether or not re-treating substrates is a necessity for all printing methods and ink types has long been debated, said Mark Plantier, vice president of marketing, Enercon Industries. It is an accepted fact that bump treatment is required for all water-based and UV printing applications. Traditional thinking also dictates that surface treating is not possible and not required for solvent applications, but a closer look at the printing process reveals otherwise, he said.
Progress made in recent years in surface treating equipment has extended the longevity of treatment applied following extrusion, but printers still rely on bump treatments for successful runs. In fact, according to Ralf Weber, marketing, Erhardt + Leimer Inc., the trend in surface treating leans more toward multiple treatments. This is due to several reasons, Weber said, including:
• Increased printing speeds—More than one pass through a surface treater helps guarantee a high dyne level that will give ink the ability to adhere to the packaging substrate, regardless of press speed;
• Increased print quality requirements—Brand owners expect more from their packaging, which means when a job leaves a print shop, blemishes caused by poor ink adhesion could spell a returned order; and
• The tendency for printers to use less solvent inks—More environmentally-friendly inks require a higher dyne level to make up for the lack of adhesion-inducing elements they contain.
Printers are up against ever-steeper expectations in delivery times and quality. Compounding these expectations is the need for printers to be able to run several different substrates on the equipment they already have. Most printers can handle all kinds of materials due to bump treating. Like a security blanket, re-treating helps printers address the variability in the effective life span of the surface treatment, which differs from substrate to substrate.
There are many factors that influence how long a material holds a dyne level. Taking everything into perspective, if a printer is printing a range of materials for a range of applications, re-treating substrate surfaces is the key to consistency. "More converters use film from several different suppliers and run several different products on each press," said Chuck Ballard, product manager corona treaters, Pillar Technologies. "Given these variables, the only way to ensure a consistent quality is to bump treat the material."
Whether or not re-treating substrates is a necessity for all printing methods and ink types has long been debated, said Mark Plantier, vice president of marketing, Enercon Industries. It is an accepted fact that bump treatment is required for all water-based and UV printing applications. Traditional thinking also dictates that surface treating is not possible and not required for solvent applications, but a closer look at the printing process reveals otherwise, he said.
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