THE BUSINESS OF VISCOSITY BLOG

Someone recently asked me which applications are the most challenging for us when implementing viscosity and temperature control systems. When I thought about it for a second, it came to me. Dealing with viscosity and temperature variation is easy. We have been doing it for over thirty years. Installing, implementing and optimizing our systems is very straightforward. Making the decision on whether you should install one of our systems is the challenging part.

Your Line is on Hold, Now What? 

We had an interesting thing happen a couple of years ago. A major Tier 1 Automotive Supplier, (we’ll refer to as T1), contacted us to see if we could help. Their customer, a top selling luxury car manufacturer, was raising the specifications on their paint finish and T1 was being asked to match. T1 told us that they could meet the new specifications but not consistently. They were hoping we could help. Fortunately, we had a champion at the T1 plant that was familiar with us and with work we had done in other finishing operations.

We are fortunate to get the opportunity to tour many manufacturing plants and review a large variety of dispensing processes. One thing that really stands out is that most companies do a good job dispensing. Whether it’s a manual dispensing operation with skilled and experienced operators or an automated dispense with highly repeatable motions, in general, the companies we see are already doing a good job.
When we’re out there, we often hear that either the booth or the plant are already temperature controlled. Often, this is said as if it eliminates the requirement for material temperature control. While definitely an improvement over no control, simply controlling the temperature of your booth and your plant, may not be enough to accomplish your quality and cost objectives.

From recycling, to solar roofs, to electric cars, environmental sustainability has become a trend that means big business.

It’s no secret that the packaging and label printing industries have recently been paying more attention to digital printing.

When it comes to flexographic printing, maintaining consistent quality is paramount to the success of your operation — and profitability.

Yet riding that thin line of consistency is easier said than done, as any number of issues can crop up in your process.

However, every issue has a solution.

Here are four common problems that can occur with your ink, including known causes and how you can potentially correct each one.

Norcross has been in the viscosity control business for over 80 years. During that time we have seen “best practices” in the industry come and go. Some have become the standard and some have been displaced by new practices or technologies.

Even in the best circumstances, (new gearless high speed presses, highly trained and attentive pressmen, atmospherically controlled environments, great ink suppliers, etc.), you can still have print issues.

Many of those issues may be related to ineffective viscosity measurement and control.