Northeim - The printing blanket manufacturer ContiTech Elastomer Coatings is presenting environmentally-friendly solutions for the international newspaper industry at the IFRA Expo in Berlin (hall 1.2, booth 1.2.125), which is taking place from October 7-9, 2013. The spotlight is on the newly developed CONTI-AIR^® STEEL metal printing blankets, which provide excellent printing results with a longer service life. Fabric-based printing blankets will also be presented, such as the CONTI-AIR^® ENTROPIA TR2 blanket and the new ENTROPIA TR2 SAT, which are equipped with innovative Air2 technology.

„Whether metal printing blankets or fabric-based printing blankets, our products are optimized for a wide range of applications and contribute to sustainable and stable print production. This achieves the optimal balance between feeding characteristics and energy consumption. This is a bonus, not least for extremely long service lives with extended washing intervals,“ says Dr. Thomas Perkovi?, head of the Printing Blanket segment at ContiTech. The entire development and production process at ContiTech is designed to help the printing industry save costs. „This is why reducing spoilage is always a priority for us.“

At the IFRA Expo, ContiTech is presenting CONTI-AIR^® STEEL metal printing blankets, which are customized for the precise requirements of each printing application. Thanks to the further development of metal printing blanket carcasses, a neutral transport behavior can be achieved with improved printing. These high-quality metal printing blankets produce less paper dust, meaning fewer wash cycles are needed, which in turn increases the service life of the blankets. The ContiTech metal printing blankets also impress with their excellent smash recovery, low dot gain, and constant quality over the whole service life.

„Especially for rotary printing, each customer receives an individual product from us that has been tailored to its specific application and to the machine in question,“ says Markus Gnass, head of the Metal Printing Blankets business at ContiTech. The application specialists at ContiTech are trained to use the newsprint sector are particularly impressed with the fabric-based printing blanket ENTROPIA TR 2, which is based on Air2 technology and has an additional compressible layer under the cover. There are two versions of this blanket: the ENTROPIA TR 2 SAT which is specially suited to satellite machines with slightly negative transport properties, and the ENTROPIA TR 2, which is specially designed for rubber-rubber machines with neutral transport behavior. 

„The ENTROPIA-TR 2 SAT ensures uniform motor power consumption and guarantees stable production conditions,“ explains Rodolfo Stephanus, CONTI-AIR^® sales manager at ContiTech. Thanks chiefly to its defined low-sink characteristics, the ENTROPIA-TR 2´s unique design with the two compressible layers allows it to exhibit a very high degree of stability on four-high tower units. The new blanket has been designed to dampen the temperature build-up during printing.

„The extremely low running temperatures minimize the problems typically encountered in newspaper printing, like a build-up of paper dust and ink,“ underscores Rodolfo Stephanus. Machines can be perfectly equipped with the ENTROPIA TR 2 SAT and the ENTROPIA TR 2. Both blankets provide uniform motor power consumption in shaftless drive systems and guarantee stable production conditions.