A Tacky Subject
Cutting or shaving the foam can destroy the foam's cell structure, Prunier added, and may create soft and hard spots in the cushioning of the foam. His advice to plate mounters is to look for plate mounting tape with foam that is extruded, not shaved, to reach the desired thickness.
The 3M Co. offers its Cushion-Mount™ Plus Tapes with Easy Mount Adhesive which, according to Gerald L. Vogler, product marketing manager for converter markets at 3M, is designed to reduce air entrapment because of the microchannels built into the tape. The trapped air escapes through the channels on both sides of the tape, so the plate mounter has an easier time of bleeding the bubbles out of the tape between the tape and cylinder or sleeve, and also between the tape and the flexo plate.
