Abstract

Product end use dictates the materials used to produce a printed piece. If flexographic printers are purchasing ink for a packaging carton job, they don't choose a scuff prone ink. The same should be true for printers producing letterheads for subsequent use in electrophotographic equipment . Electrophotography is an image transfer process that uses the principles of electrostatics. An Ektaprint 200 copier/duplicator charges the surface of a sheet exposing an image area, develops that image, affixes toner to that image and then mechanically traps the toner to the surface of the substrate using heat and/or pressure. When a litho graphically printed letterhead is subject to the heat of a fuser roller, it can cause the ink to resoften and subsequently transfer to the next sheets passing through the copier, an undesirable effect. This experiment tested various ink/paper/drying combinations to determine whether or not specific print conditions affect the transfer of lithographic ink during electrophotographic imprinting. A test form was designed to include all the images typically printed on a letterhead. Each test sample was first printed under controlled conditions and then run through an Ektaprint 200 copier/duplicator. Visual assessment was used to evaluate test samples. The presence 2 or absence of image transfer determined whether or not the null' hypothesis was rejected. A Wilcoxon sign test was used to determine whether or not a test sample could be evaluated. A level of .05 significance was obtained in two cases. These samples were excluded from the results. Densitometric readings were taken to determine the severity of the lithographic image transfer. Various ink and paper characteristics were evaluated using descriptive statistics . Twenty-one print conditions exhibited no visual image transfer when processed in the Ektaprint 200. These ink/ paper/drying conditions could guide printers of letter- heads which are to be subsequently processed in electrophotographic equipment.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Xerography--Testing--Analysis; Paper--Printing properties--Testing--Analysis; Printing ink--Testing--Analysis; Printing ink--Drying--Testing--Analysis; Electrostatic printing--Testing--Analysis

Publication Date

11-1-1989

Document Type

Thesis

Department, Program, or Center

School of Print Media (CIAS)

Advisor

Brown, Joseph

Comments

Note: imported from RIT’s Digital Media Library running on DSpace to RIT Scholar Works. Physical copy available through RIT's The Wallace Library at: TR1045 .R457 1989

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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