Secondary roller for fountain solution contact angle pinning

• Main Authors: Ramesh, Palghat S, Plochowietz, Anne, Martini, Joerg, Anderson, Gregory B, Lu, Jengping, Biegelsen, David K
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 17.10.2023
• Subjects: COLOUR PRINTING; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS; i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; LINING MACHINES; MATERIALS FOR SURFACES USED IN PRINTING MACHINES FOR PRINTING,INKING, DAMPING, OR THE LIKE; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PREPARING SUCH SURFACES FOR USE AND CONSERVING THEM; PRINTING; PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES; PRINTING PLATES OR FOILS; PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; PROCESSES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR REPRODUCTION OF PRINTINGSURFACES; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS; STAMPS; TRANSPORTING; TYPEWRITERS

Ink-based digital printing systems useful for ink printing include a secondary roller having a rotatable reimageable surface layer configured to receive fountain solution. The fountain solution layer is patterned on the secondary roller and then partially transferred to an imaging blanket, where the fountain solution image is inked. The resulting ink image may be transferred to a print substrate. To achieve a very high-resolution (e.g., 1200-dpi, over 900-dpi) print with these secondary roller configurations, an equivalent very high-resolution fountain solution image needs to be transferred from the secondary roller onto the imaging blanket. To increase the resolution of the image on the secondary roller, examples include a textured surface layer added to the secondary roller for contact angle pinning the fountain solution on the roll. Approaches to introduce a micro-structure onto the surface layer of the secondary roller, and also superoleophobic surface coatings are described.