Study Printing Process with Micro Scope

Regardless of time spent in Printing, detail study of component parts of printing process with Micro Scope explains many mysteries hidden before your eyes.

A handy 30x pocket micro scope costing less than $20.00 is a great investment if you want to see and learn how physical components of the printing process are structured and compliment the chemistry of the printing process.

Blankets; A smooth compressible blanket is less wearing on a pressure sensitive Polyester Laser Plate image than a ground surface, and the lens of a micro scope shows you the difference between blanket surface finishes. You can also see defects and contaminated areas where paper sizing glaze rejects ink.

Rubber Rollers; Have tiny hills and valleys (grind marks) developed by design that provide the grip that holds a uniform ink film, and a close look at a clean roller will determine if the rollers has paper sizing or ink pigment glaze.

A consistent roller surface finish is critical to today’s continuous dampening systems. If a dampener roller is too smooth it runs dry, to course and it runs too wet. With a micro scope you can ‘see’ the surface and determine paper or ink glaze, without guessing.

Paper; comes in varying weights and surface textures. With a micro scope you can see its surface in detail, and when it’s inked, you can see how ‘well’ so as to analyze print quality from the paper up.

Laser Plates; A close look at the imaged surface of a laser plate will give you a better understanding of why an image prints or doesn’t print before you put it on the press. Solids that look good to the eye can still be void of toner and carry too much water and less ink. And, the infamous toner scatter can be readily seen like never before with a microscope.

You can find this handy poscket microscope on this site under Stick-N-Strip Spot Blankets.