Bottcher Australia managing director Mitch Mulligan called the new concept a clever combination of blanket and underpacking.

A smash occurs when a dog-eared sheet passes through, causing unproductive delays in the print run. The fabric layer beneath conventional blankets is prone to damage and the blanket is far thinner and more vulnerable.

Traditionally, printers buy their blankets and underpacking separately, then cut and match the two for the press, but a little thinking outside the square between Bottcher and Italian underpacking manufacturer Finito has resulted in a pre-packaged combination.

Mullligan said that by integrating the underpacking material into the blanket, there is far less risk of running out of adequate underpacking material, no time wasted changing the underpacking material, no underpacking creep, and improved smash resistance during press operation.

“In ordinary situations, press operators have to change the underpacking every time they change the blankets, but it can be fiddly and the underpacking is not always installed properly.

“Finito, a well-known manufacturer of smash-resistant underpacking, has collaborated with Bottcher to produce a combined blanket. It withstands lots of smashes and also lots of substrate changes,” he said.

“There’s fewer blanket replacements and longer life and a greater guarantee of a perfect dot because of the increased consistency.”

[Related: More PacPrint news]

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