The Performance of Spray Dampening Systems in Commercial Printing Applications

Data is presented on the performance of web and sheetfed presses, equipped with spray dampeners in commercial applications under both production and test conditions. The press configurations reported on include separate dampening roller trains and ink train dampening. The scope of the data encompasses print quality measurements; quantitative assessments of ghosting; the effects of various fountain solutions, paper, and inks; water consumption vis-e-vis conventional dampeners; and the subjective appraisals of press operators. Other operational parameters addressed include water window and performance when printing on narrow webs and sheets.