2. Do I have to completely fill my Printex sealed ink cup with ink ?

3. What is the best way to clean my Printex sealed ink up ?

4. Can I use a smaller ink cup than the one which came with my Printex machine ?

1. Question: What is the difference between open ink well versus sealed inking machines ?

Answer : Sealed inking systems employ a hermetically sealed container which acts as the ink supply, flooding and doctoring mechanism all in one. The seal is accomplished using a ceramic ring with a highly polished working edge. Advantages: stability of ink viscosity, long plate life, easier cleanup as opposed to open well systems, cleaner operation, and when using one-component inks, the printer can be left set up over night. Disadvantages: only about 1/3 of the total plate area is available for the image. Open ink well systems feature a trough for the ink supply, located behind the printing plate. a floodbar pushes a curtain of ink over the plate, then a doctor blade removes the excess ink. Advantages: much more of the plate is useable for image area versus sealed inking systems. Disadvantages: the ink supply is exposed the air and must be frequently thinned due to out-gassing of solvents, VOC emissions are much higher than with sealed inking systems, Open inking is messier; the inking system must be completely cleaned at the end of each production day.

2. Question: Do I have to completely fill my Printex sealed ink cup with ink ?

Answer : in most cases, yes. In any case, we do not recommend that you fill the cup less than half-way. Due to inertia, the ink inside the cup takes on a wave action as the cup moves back and forth. For example, as the cup moves forward, the ink in the cup tends to pile up against the back side of the cup, leaving the front edge "dry". When the cup comes to rest for several seconds, the ink settles down again. If your machine is running quickly (most machines are), the ink may never fully recover from each "wave". In this case, if the ink level is too low (because you did not fill the cup adequately to begin with), regions of the engraved image will always be in the "dry" zone. As you probably know, if the engraved image does not get completely flooded with ink, you will get voids in the printed image.

3. Question: What is the best way to clean my Printex sealed ink up ?

Answer :

Step 1 : the ink cup should be carefully emptied. If the ink is a one part ink, it needs to be placed into a holding container and prepared for proper disposal as a flammable material. Otherwise, a single component ink can be stored in a separate airtight container for later use. If the ink is a two part ink, it can be staged in an open container, until it becomes a solid, at which time it can be safely disposed of in the trash.

Step 2 : the ink cup can then be wiped clean with a shop towel, to remove excess ink, and then placed into a container filled with Printex D-Solv to soak for one hour. After that time, the ink should be emulsified enough for it to be cleaned off easily with a bristle brush, while the ink cup is still immersed in D-Solv.

Step 3 : after you've brushed out all the emulsified ink, and made sure that there is no ink left in the ink cup, take the ink cup out of the container of D-Solv, and rinse it off in tap water. Use forced air to dry the ink cup. After the ink cup is dry, it is ready for use.

4. Question: Can I use a smaller ink cup than the one which came with my Printex machine ?

Answer : yes. Printex sealed inking pad printers can accept any of our standard ink cups, up to the size which is provided with the machine. When printing a relatively small image, a smaller cup can be used to reduce the amount of ink needed. Please note that a smaller plate can not be used; the machine is only designed to accept its designated plate size.