A Tacky Subject

"Closed-cell polyethylene tapes will break down during the press run, creating more press adjustments, slower press speeds, and compromised print quality," said Wilson. "Using an open cell urethane, like R/bak, will provide the most consistent and the highest quality print results on the press."

Joe Prunier, strategic market manager, print industry for tesa tape inc., said if a printer is noticing differences in pinholing or dot gain in the same print job each time they print it, this could mean a problem in the density of the foam of the plate mounting tape. "Every plate mounting tape has a target thickness and a tolerance, and there are two ways of accomplishing this—either extrude the foam to very tight tolerances, or have foam cut or shaved to meet tolerances," Prunier said.