Premature wear or swelling of photopolymer plate

There are a number of causes why a photopolymer printing plate can show signs of swelling, cracking & orange peel after only running for a few hours on press

1. Typically a polymer plate will start to show signs of ozone cracking if the printing plant is extruding film &/or ozone levels are very high.( typically in poor ventilated environments where there are many extruder along side the printing presses).

2 - Polymer plate & ink compatibility during press run must be evaluated due to high volumes of acetates being added to ink fountain.( Acetates & co- solvents are added to ink fountains to enable quicker drying during high heat & humidity in printing plants. Typically in the summer months. )

3- Polymer plate & inks are not compatible. Swell test & ink compatibility tests must be done to verify for swell & cracking.Proper selection of High ozone photopolymer plates & modified inks should be tested prior to printing.