provide (v): cung cấp

theoretical (adj): lý thuyết

basis : nền tảng
manipulation (n): sự vận hành
elastic hydrodynamic
lubrication (EHL): bôi trơn
đàn hồi động lực học
numerical (adj): (thuộc về) số
universal (adj): phổ thông, Study on the Operational Characteristics
phổ biến
obtain (v): thu được of Offset Press
maneuverability (n): sự dễ
dàng thay đổi khi đang
chuyển động, vận hành

utilize (v): dùng Peng Liu(&), Zhuofei Xu, and Heping Hou
phobic : hậu tố này ám chỉ
tính kỵ chất lỏng School of Printing Packaging and Digital Media, Xi’an University of
phibic : hậu tố này ám chỉ có
thể thấm chất lỏng Technology, Xi’an, China
liupeng@[Link]

Abstract. The operational characteristic of offset press is studied to provide the

theoretical basis for the design and manipulation of the offset press. The theo-
retical model between blanket cylinder and impression cylinder is built based on
elastic hydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) theory. Then numerical calculation
method is applied to solve the theoretical model. Results: The universal char-
acteristic curve of the offset press is obtained, which demonstrates the changed
rule of the thickness of the ink film under the common influence of the printing
load and the printing speed. And the rule is significant to the design and
manipulation on the offset press. When the printing load of the offset press is
limited to a specific range, the offset press has the best maneuverability. This
means that the thickness of the ink film is less sensitive to the change of printing
speed.

Keywords: Offset press
Operational characteristics
EHL
Universal

characteristics

1 Introduction

The offset printing is currently the most widely used and leads printing method in the
printing field. In the global printing market, the offset printing method occupies 65–
70% of market share [1]. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the offset printing
press. In offset printing, the graphic-text part and the blank part on the plate are almost
on the same plane. Offset printing plate utilizes the principle of “oil-water mutual
exclusion” to form the layout. The image area is oily and hydrophobic, and the blank
area is hydrophilic and lip phobic. The thin plate is wrapped and installed on the plate
cylinder, and the blanket cylinder is covered with a printed rubber blanket. In printing,
the dampening unit transfers the fountain solution to the printing plate first, makes the
blank region form ink repellent film. Then the inking unit passes the ink to the plate,
and the region of graphic and text captures the ink, thus forming the printing sheet
plate. The plate cylinder passes the ink to the blanket cylinder through the cylinder
contact. When the paper passes between the blanket cylinder and the impression
cylinder, the ink is transferred to the surface of the paper from the blanket cylinder
under the contact pressure between the two cylinders [2].

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019

P. Zhao et al. (eds.), Advances in Graphic Communication, Printing
and Packaging, Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering 543,
[Link]
588 P. Liu et al.

Inking unit

Dampening unit

Plate cylinder

Paper
Blanket
cylinder

Printed image Impression

cylinder

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of offset press

Although the offset press is considered as highly automated device, it must be

operated by an experienced operator. When the equipment is printing, the operator
needs to constantly extract the printed products, observe the printing quality and adjust
the ink supply. In particular, when the printing speed is changed, the offset press cannot
change the amount of ink automatically. It is necessary to observe and adjust the input
of the ink constantly by the operator until a relatively stable state is reached. Such
operation mode not only produces a lot of waste products, increases cost, but also
affects printing efficiency. Although several leading printing equipment manufacturers
have made some progress in the “speed tracking curve”, they used the experimental
fitting method to obtain the relationship of the ink amount and the equipment speed in a
type of the offset press [3]. This method is indeed a similar approach because of not
involving accurate model. As far as “speed tracking curve”, there are still some severe
drawbacks, such as poor precision and still need manual intervention.
At present, there are two kinds of research methods for the mechanism of roll
printing: one is facing to ink system. They use graph theory to simulate the ink flow
distribution, ink transfer, ink route optimization and other problems. However, the
exact theoretical contact model is not involved [4]. Another method is to study the dry
contact problem of two rollers. The contact mechanics model does not involve fluid
ink. For example, Wang and Knothe used a numerical algorithm to analyze the stress
distribution of two viscoelastic roller contacts [5]. Elsharkawy proposed a numerical
algorithm for dry contact of two viscoelastic rollers [6]. Some scholars have also
studied the roll contact problem of roller with viscoelastic surface cladding. Brant and
Kalker demonstrated the use of theoretical calculation and experimental analysis to
 Study on the Operational Characteristics of Offset Press 589

study the dry contact problem of two rollers [7]. Goryacbeva and Sadeghi have studied
the problem of rolling contact and sliding contact between an elastic roller and an
elastic plane bonded with viscoelastic rubber [8].
The first method does not incorporate the precise theoretical contact model, so it
cannot consider the key factors such as contact pressure, material properties, material
deformation, and ink flow splitting position. The second method does not get the
mechanical behavior of ink because of no ink considered in the contact model.
Therefore, the ink transfer mechanism of offset press is still in the stage of qualitative
description at present, and the precise model of roller rolling contact is not established,
and the accurate prediction of the amount of ink on the printed material cannot be
made.
The thickness of the printing ink layer is one of the core objectives for the printing
machine control. There are many factors affecting the thickness of the printing ink layer
such as printing load (printing pressure), printing speed, ink property, and ambient
temperature. However, the ink property can be determined by choice of specific ink,
and the stable environmental temperature can also be achieved by a workshop with
central air conditioning. From the view of the equipment, the printing load and printing
speed are more important factors for they are routine control action of operators. The
change law of ink thickness under the common influence of the printing load and the
printing speed has been a puzzle to machine study and machine operation.
Based on the elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication theory (EHL), the rolling contact
model of offset press is set up in this paper. The operating characteristics of offset press
are studied by numerical calculation, and the changed law of ink thickness under the
common influence of printing load and printing speed is obtained.

2 Theoretical Analysis

Elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication theory is an important field of tribology research. The

object of EHL is classified into two types: line contact and point contact. Most of the
research objects of EHL are heavy load lubrication such as the tooth surface of the gear,
the rolling body of the rolling bearing, and the high strength contact of the cam. With
the development of this theory, low load lubrication between high elastic contacts is
studied, which is called soft elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication (SEHL).
The contact form of offset printing ink transfer belongs to linear contact in rolling
form. The rotation of cylinders in the offset press is driven by gears. But the rotary
movement of ink rollers is transmitted by friction. As the adhesion of the ink is high, it
can be considered as a rolling form on the whole. As an example of the offset press for
sheet size 570  840 mm, the length of the ink rollers and cylinders of the offset press
is about 1000 mm, and the contact width is usually 2–5 mm, so the contact length is
2–3 orders of magnitude higher than the contact width, which is a typical line contact.
In the printing ink transfer process of offset press, the ink is attached to the ink roller,
the ink is passed through the rolling contact area between the two ink rollers, the ink
roller and the plate cylinder, the plate cylinder and the blanket cylinder or the blanket
cylinder and impression cylinder, and the two contact surfaces are separated from the
ink, so it belongs to the EHL research category.
590 P. Liu et al.

The solution result of EHL theory is the lubrication film thickness and pressure
distribution in the lubrication contact area. The solution means of EHL is to equip the
contact object as an equivalent elastic cylinder and an equivalent rigid plane.
On the basis of hypothesis conditions, Reynolds equation, deformation equation,
load equation, film thickness equations and so on are established. Then the intensity of
pressure is calculated according to the assumed deformation function. And the defor-
mation is calculated after the intensity of pressure is obtained. Then the intensity of
pressure is calculated according to the modified deformation function. So the thickness
distribution of the film is obtained until the satisfactory precision is obtained.
There are many researches on EHL, which are of some reference value to the ink
transfer mechanism of the offset press. Ge Peiqi gave the line contact Reynolds
equation under the four parameter non Newtonian rheological model, and used the
multi-grid method to get the complete numerical solution on the isotherm contact of
EHL [9]. Mongkol studied the transient contact analysis of non-Newtonian lubricants
in parallel rolling of two rollers [10]. Stakenborg and others analyzed the contact
pressure of the radial lip seal and the lubricating oil, the deformation of the radial lip
seal and the thickness of the oil film when the radial lip seal is in contact with the shaft
[11, 12].

3 Theoretical Modeling

On the basis of elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication theory, the roller contact model of ink
transfer is established based on the roller contact between the blanket cylinder and the
impression cylinder. The necessary idealization assumption is made assuming that the
ink is Newton fluid, only making laminar movement and no turbulent flow; in an
isothermal condition (ink’s temperature is working environment temperature). The
Reynolds equation of the contact model is established as follows


d qh3 dp d ðqhÞ

¼ 12U ; ð1Þ
dx g dx dx

where p represents ink film pressure, h represents ink film thickness, x is the coordinate
of contact area, η represents fluid viscosity, q represents fluid density, U is constant
[13].
The load balance equation of the contact model is established as follows

Zxout
w¼ pdx ; ð2Þ
xin

where xin and xout are the horizontal ordinate of the inlet and outlet position of the ink
flow in the rolling contact area respectively.
The ink film thickness equation is set up as follows
 Study on the Operational Characteristics of Offset Press 591

Zxout
x2 2
h ¼ h0 þ  0 pð xÞlnðx  sÞ2 ds; ð3Þ
2R pE
1

where h0 is the initial clearance of the two cylinders, R is the equivalent radius of the
cylinder, and the E 0 is the equivalent elastic modulus of the cylinder [14].
Under the condition of isothermal condition, the ink density equation is as follows

q Ap
¼ 1þ ; ð4Þ
q0 1 þ Bp

where q0 is the environment density, A and B both are constants.

The ink viscosity equation was established as follows
n h Z io
g ¼ g0 exp ðln g0 þ 9:67Þ 1 þ 5:1  109 p 1 ð5Þ

where g0 is environmental viscosity, and z is pressure-viscosity coefficient [15].

4 Numerical Calculations and Analysis

The offset press for sheet size 570  840 mm is selected as example to demonstrate.
The viscosity value of offset ink at room temperature is taken as the calculation
parameter, which is 35 Pa s [16], and the change of printing speed is set in the range of
(0–6) m/s, and the change of printing unit length load is set in the range of
(0–6)  104 N/m. All the relevant calculation parameters are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Calculation parameters

Parameter name Value
Radius of blanket cylinder R1 = 0.15 m
Radius of impression cylinder R2 = 0.15 m
Elastic modulus/Poisson’s ratio of rubber blanket E1 = 1.8  106 Pa/l1 = 0.47
Elastic modulus/Poisson’s ratio of impression cylinder E2 = 7.5  1010 Pa/l2 = 0.3
Temperature T = 293.15 K (20 °C)
Ink viscosity at room temperature η0 = 35 Pa s
Pressure-viscosity coefficient a = 2.2  10−8 m2/N
Unit length load w = (0–6)  104 N/m
Printing speed (roller rotation speed) v = (0–6) m/s

In the process of solving the equations, the equations are written into dimensionless
form, and then the multi-grid method is used to discretize the models and solve them
numerically. The 3D view of outlet ink thickness of the offset press is shown in Fig. 2,
592 P. Liu et al.

that is, the curved surface of ink thickness under the common influence of printing load
and printing speed.

Ink film thickness h μm

Unit length load W N/m Printing speed

Fig. 2. 3D view of outlet ink thickness under the printing load and printing speed

In order to facilitate to analyze the problem, we get the universal characteristic

curve of the offset press by changing the exhibition form of the data. The contour map
of ink film thickness at the outlet of contact region is shown in Fig. 3: the printing
speed is used as the horizontal coordinate; the printing unit length load is used as the
ordinate.
Unit length load W N/m

Printing speed U(m/s) Inking system

Fig. 3. Contour map of ink film thickness at the outlet of contact region
 Study on the Operational Characteristics of Offset Press 593

Figure 3 shows that the thickness of the outlet ink under the combined action of
load and speed is a series of turning arcs. It is self-evident that the ideal offset printing
ink thickness curve is a straight line with a smaller slope or a slowly changing curve. In
order to control the ink layer thickness of the offset press effectively, the printing load
must be limited to a certain range (the ideal load range), such as the area in the
rectangle frame marked in red color in Fig. 3. If the printing pressure is in the ideal load
range, the thickness variation of ink layer is relatively small when the printing speed
changes. If the printing pressure is out of the ideal load range, the thickness variation of
ink layer will be severer and less controlled when the printing speed is changed. Under
the same working conditions, the influence of the lower load on the ink layer thickness
is more intense than that of the higher load, and the manipulation is poor. This is the
inspiration from the universal characteristic curve of offset presses.

5 Conclusions

Based on the elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication theory, the ink transfer rolling model of
the offset press is established. The changed law of the thickness of the ink layer under
the common influence of load and speed is studied by numerical calculation. Moreover
the universal characteristic curve of the offset press is obtained, and the offset press
puzzle that have been solved theoretically.
The results show that the thickness of the outlet ink under the common influence of
printing load and printing speed is a series of arc lines. For the specific kind offset
press, as long as the ideal load range is determined, the thickness of the printing ink
layer is less sensitive to the change of printing speed, so the difficulty of equipment
operation will become easier. The manipulation effectiveness of offset press can also be
greatly improved.

Acknowledgements. The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Natural Science
Basic Research Program of Shaanxi (Grant No. 2018JM5014) and the Scientific Research
Program of Education Department of Shaanxi province (Grant No. 14JK1528).

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