3/16/07 -- Ink misting and splashing are an irritating problem of today’s high-speed rotary commercial web presses, where web speeds can be in the region of 15 m/sec. Given the increasing use of automated components for plate changing and the reduced access to printing units that this entails, the resulting cleaning work – never popular among operators – demands considerable time and expense in practice. It was with this in mind that Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) and Felix Böttcher GmbH & Co KG got together to develop a revolutionary ink transfer roller whose special surface structure assists emptying of the film roller. This enables the printer to send less ink overall to the film roller, significantly reducing ink splashes. The new development was trialled and refined in practical tests on Compacta web presses. It is already supplied as standard on new double-circumference presses of KBA’s Compacta series and increasingly also installed on single-width Compacta web presses. Both companies have applied for patents for this innovative ink transfer roller. The new SprayLo roller is available to all users of KBA Compacta web offset presses and can also be retrofitted on pre-owned systems at any time. It can be obtained from KBA’s service department or through the Felix Böttcher sales team.