A Tacky Subject

The caliper of the plates should be checked with a table micrometer, he said. The plates should be matched to the artwork, and checked for color separation, graphics, locator marks, and eye marks to make sure all the plates are available for the print job.

Powell also emphasized the importance of inspecting the cylinders and/or sleeves before mounting the plates. "Over the years, I have seen and continue to see printers mount a nice new set of plates on a bad cylinder or sleeve, and send it out to the press only to have a bad print job. The plate mounting department is then blamed for a bad mounting job because nothing registers," said Powell.