The Impact of Changing Fountain Solution Chemistry and Press Consumables on the Runnability of a Web Offset Press

by Dr. Mark Bohan, PIA/GATF

Need for standardized fountain solution with types of paper, inks, presses and printers (well.. of course)

The project evaluated impact of process variables on a web press when fountain solution chemistry changes.
They used a traditional NA fountain solution and made variations of it.

Well.... there were 42 press trials 'successfully' completed. The results are pretty much broad and hard to sum up here.
One I retained was that stochastic screening takes more time to stabilize. Water levels change throughout the press run, but do so rather consistently. The chemistry of fountain solution affects the performance of the press run and can be optimized per process.