Multi-layer Printing Blanket for Conical Container Offset Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Printing blankets used for conical or cylindrical containers face high mechanical stress and wear, leading to suboptimal print quality and surface degradation due to grinding structures, which limits their suitability for smooth or embossed surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A multi-layer fabric with a top layer containing 40-80 phr butadiene rubber and 20-60 phr butyl rubber, and a bottom layer with 80-100 phr butyl rubber, combined with a reinforcement layer of specific textile materials, ensures optimal ink transfer, wear resistance, and a smooth surface structure, while avoiding permanent deformation under dynamic loads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a ground offset printing blanket is used for printing on conical or cylindrical containers, then the mechanical stress resistance is improved, but the print quality deteriorates due to grinding texture on the surface
Solution Approach 1:
The printing blanket is divided into multiple layers with distinct functions: a top printing layer (5-15 mm thick) providing smooth print surface, and a bottom reinforcing layer (3-10 mm thick) providing mechanical strength. This segmentation allows each layer to optimize for its specific function without compromise.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the printing blanket have different properties tailored to their specific functions. The top layer has smooth, uniform density for high-quality printing, while the bottom layer has higher mechanical strength for stress resistance. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between print quality and mechanical durability.
2Manufacturing precision
If the printing blanket surface is made smooth or embossed for better print quality, then the print quality is improved, but the wear resistance deteriorates under high mechanical stress
Solution Approach 1:
The blanket structure separates the smooth printing surface function from the wear-resistant reinforcing function into distinct top and bottom layers. The top layer maintains smoothness for quality printing while the bottom layer provides abrasion resistance, eliminating the need to compromise either property.
Solution Approach 2:
The printing blanket uses composite construction with a top layer of polymeric material (polyurethane, polyesters, acrylics) for smooth printing surface and a bottom layer of textile material (polyester, polyoxadiazole, aramid) for mechanical strength and wear resistance. This composite structure combines the benefits of both material types.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The multi-layer fabric design enhances print quality and wear resistance, allowing for smooth ink transfer and preventing surface damage, thereby improving the performance of printing blankets for conical and cylindrical containers.
Implementation Method 1
BR exhibits very high elasticity, allowing the surface of the printing blanket to deform elastically upon contact with the printing blanket surface. The residual deformation of the upper layer of the printing layer is also so minimal that permanent deformation, particularly from the partially present cup edges, is avoided.
Implementation Method 2
The IIR component ensures optimal bonding to the substrate.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a multilayered sheet structure 10 in the form of a printing blanket or printing plate, particularly for printing on conical or cylindrical containers made of, for example, plastic, polystyrene, cardboard, metal, etc., with a multilayered printing layer 1, 2 made of at least one polymeric material and at least one further layer 3, 4, wherein the individual layers form a non-destructively separable adhesive bond with one another. The upper layer 1 of the printing layer, which faces the object to be printed during the printing process, contains 40 to 80 phr of butadiene rubber (BR) and 20 to 60 phr of butyl rubber (IIR), and the lower layer 2, which faces away from the object to be printed during the printing process, contains 80 to 100 phr of butyl rubber (IIR).