A Tacky Subject

Keep it clean

As with most anything else, it seems the best practice is to start with a clean plate and cylinder/sleeve. But watch out; sometimes what you clean the tooling with can be detrimental to the printing process.

Using any kind of solvent for cleaning plates, cylinder and sleeves, such as acetone or acetate can lead to the ultimate demise of the equipment, which can result in plate lifting problems and downtime, said Prunier. He warns users that even though it looks like the solvents may be completely evaporated, there are still some residues that may remain on the surfaces. He said the best practice is to use a 50/50 mixture of alcohol and water for cleaning.