Resources
There are a multitude of resources available to you. To access individual documents, simply click on the document name. Can’t find the information you are looking for? Contact Us.
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
Quick Start Guide
Operating Manuals
Maintenance Manuals
Drivers
Batch Printing – All printed product dedicated to a single SKU with no variations.
Case Dimensions – Dimensions taken directly from a flat RSC case to be transferred over to the software to define the case in the print field. These would include the overall length, the height of the side panel and the location of the fold line or glue flap that separate the major and minor panels.
Contact Printing – Any print method that requires contact with the substrate to allow the transfer of ink.
Film Life – Will vary but you can expect 5,000 prints per stencil.
Fold Line or Glue Flap – The fold line is where the open RSC blank has been folded in half to create the RSC case. The glue flap is where the two opposing ends are glued together. Both landmarks define the the major and minor panels on their respective side of the case.
Generic Printing – Places SKU specific print on a blank or universally printed case, bag, tray or die cut that fits several SKU’s into the same common case size.
Image – Any printing element in a print layout. (Bar codes, text, graphics)
Imager – The thermal imager is used to burn through the Mylar print film to create stencils.
Leading Edge – The first edge of the substrate through the printing process.
Loading Core – The kraft core used to roll up stencils for application to the print cylinder.
Magazine – The accumulation area for print media to be presented to the feeders and driven through the print process.
Pre-Print – Printing done in advance, out of plant prior to production that contains all generic and SKU specific print for each individual SKU. Requires warehousing for each individual SKU.
Print Field – The 32” x 11” print area for horizontal formats or the 11” x 32” print area for vertical formats.
Print Film – The film used to create stencils for the Iconotech process consisting of a Mylar face sheet mounted to a non-woven fiber backer.
Print Media – The type of item to be printed, gusset bags, valve bags, RSC cases, die cuts and trays.
Print Nip Point – The point in the print process where the tangents of the print cylinder and the impression roller come together to nip the substrate and produce print contact.
Stencil – A print film that has been processed by the imager to burn off the Mylar film in the image areas to expose the non-woven fiber backer. Ink will pass through the fiber but not through the Mylar, creating a stencil.
Stencil Fingers – The clamping fingers on the print cylinder that hold the stencil in place.
Stencil Loading Device – A removable assembly that assures the application of the stencil to the print cylinder is correct.
Substrate – The surface of any given print media.
Trailing Edge – The last edge through the printing process
Running Out of Film While Printing
Overview:
When the imager runs out of film in the middle of a print job, a red light alarm condition will occur along with a chattering noise. (Fig. 1)
This tutorial will show you how to fix this condition.
Remove the empty roll. The stencil material may still be attached to the core with a single piece of tape in the center of the core. It is best to try to pull the stencil back through the imager.
- Begin by cutting off the excess stencil hanging out of the imager. (Fig. 2)
- Rotate the core from the bottom clockwise to retract the remaining stencil back onto the core. (Fig. 3)
- Remove the stencil core and media carrier, (Fig. 4) and load a new roll of film into the imager and close the door. The imager will start immediately and continue where it left off, processing the rest of the original print job. Once complete, discard the partial stencil and resend your print job to the imager to create a complete stencil.
It is also possible that the tape did not hold and the stencil came all the way out. In that case, just remove the media carrier and old core.
In really rare cases, the tape can stick to the impression roller, which can be either orange or grey . Using your fingers, rotate the impression roller, (Fig. 5) from the bottom clockwise until you see the tape. Tear the tape off of the stencil and pull the stencil back trough the imager.
Carefully remove the tape from the impression roller and remove any residual adhesive with a q-tip and isopropyl alcohol.
Panels 1 and 4 fold and join on the opposite side of panels 2 and 3
Panel 1
Panel 2
Panel 3
Panel 4
Panel 4
Panel 1
Panels 1 and 4 joined together, show the major panel leading, minor panel trailing. The layout is based on this side.
When the case is rotated by flipping the case from the right side to the left, panels 2 and 3 take the same orientation as panels 1 and 4.
Panel 2
Panel 3
Because the orientation is the same, the two sides can share the same layout/stencil, provided that the print message is the same on both sides of the case.