Working with White Ink on the

HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press How-to Guide

Copyright 2010 by Hewlett-Packard Company

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, adaptation, or translation without prior written permission is prohibited, except as allowed under the copyright laws. The information furnished in this document is for informational purposes only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by HP. HP assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this document. The varnishes and coatings discussed and/or recommended in this document are sold and distributed by third-party manufacturers and should be used solely in accordance with their instructions. These products are not manufactured or sold by HP and nothing contained herein should be construed as constituting a representation or warranty of any kind by HP. Except as permitted by HP, nothing herein may be copied, reproduced or distributed in any form or by any medium without the express, written permission of HP. HP, HP Indigo Press, and HP ElectroInk are trademarks or registered trademarks of HP. All other products or name brands are trademarks of their respective holders. Part Number: CA394-04320 November 2010 Revision 02

Working with White Ink on the HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Determining the white ink policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting the white ink policy from the press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting the white ink policy from the prepress DFE. . . . . . . . . . Printing jobs with white ink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enabling double hit printing for white ink. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . White policies per substrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Configuring and troubleshooting white ink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 4 5 5 6 7 8

Working with White Ink on the HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press

Introduction
White ink is used in variety of applications, such as labels, shrink sleeves, and food packaging (with no food contact). In most of the applications, white is used as a solid background for other colors. As a result, there is a demand for white ink to have high opacity. To achieve the required white ink opacity, operators should follow the guidelines in this document to set the white ink style. The white ink styles are part of the job properties, which are reused for each job. (This is different from the HP Indigo press series ws4000, where white ink styles are set at the press configuration level.)

Determining the white ink policy

Depending on the white ink coverage that is required for the job, the operator should select one of the following white ink styles: No drying Medium coverage High coverage Custom The following table describes the different white ink styles:

Table 1: White ink style

Name
No drying

Description
The press uses the default parameters as defined in the Substrate Properties screen, Advanced tab. There are no special settings for white ink. This selection loads the following parameters: Set EH feed fan level to 7 V Set blanket temperature to 1 C 10 Do not add any null cycles This selection loads the following parameters: Set EH feed fan level to 7 V Set blanket temperature to 1 C 10 Add one null cycle at the end This selection loads the following parameters: Set EH feed fan level to 7 V Set blanket temperature to 1 C 10 The operator sets the null cycles

Recommendation
Recommended for less than 100% white coverage

Medium coverage

Recommended for 100% white coverage

High coverage

Recommended for 200% white coverage (printed in two separations)

Custom

Recommended when the operator wants to define the number of null cycles and the number of separations that are needed to achieve the required white ink opacity.

Note Print quality issues

(such as cracks) may occur with more than two separations. See Configuring and troubleshooting white ink on page 8.

Setting the white ink policy from the press

To set the white ink policy from the press:
1. 2. 3. 4. Select Main Menu. Select the specific job. Select Job Properties > Separations tab > Separations tab. From the White ink style drop-down list, select a white ink style:

5.

To access the White Ink Parameters screen, click the icon that is below the White ink style drop-down list:

The No Drying, Medium coverage, and High coverage options are read-only.

The Custom option enables you to set the following: The number of dry cycles if the separation is not last The number of dry cycles if the separation is last

Note To enable double hits, do not select the Hits check box here. Instead, select
the Double hit check box in the Job Properties screen, Separation tab. See Enabling double hit printing for white ink on page 6.

Setting the white ink policy from the prepress DFE

The prepress operator can set up the white ink styles of the job before sending the job to the press. The default prepress option is Medium coverage. The Custom option can only be defined on the press, not on the prepress.

Printing jobs with white ink

For jobs that use white ink, the press automatically updates the white ink parameters that are in the Job Properties screen, Separation tab. This overrides the white ink parameters that are in the Substrate Properties screen, Advanced tab. For example:

The installed substrate is Fasson PE85. The white ink parameters that are in the Substrate Properties screen, Advanced tab are: EH feed fan level = 4 V Blanket temperature = 105 C If you print a job with YMCK and no white, the press settings are not be modified. If you print a job with YMCKW, with white medium coverage, the press settings are modified to: EH feed fan level = 7 V Blanket temperature = 1 10 C

Enabling double hit printing for white ink

For jobs that require higher opacities of white ink, you can increase the number of white ink separations.

To enable double hit printing for white ink:

1. 2. Open the Job Properties screen, Separation tab. Select the Double hit check box for white ink.

3. 4.

From the White ink style drop-down list, select High coverage. Select OK.

White policies per substrate

The following tables show the recommended white ink parameter settings per substrate.

Table 2: Film substrates

Blanket temp. ( C) Material No white
105 105 105 105 105 105

EH feed fan level (V)

Null cycle at end White White 1 hit 2 hits

no no no no no no yes yes yes yes yes yes

White White No 1 hit 2 hits white

1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 8 8 8 6 6 6

White White No 1 hit 2 hits white

7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 no no no no no no

Polyethylene (PE) Polypropylene (PP) Polyester (PET) Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Polystyrene (PS) Other films

Table 3: Label substrates

Blanket temp. ( C) Material No white
105 105 105 105

EH feed fan level (V)

Null cycle at end White White 1 hit 2 hits

no no no no yes yes yes yes

White White No 1 hit 2 hits white

1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 6 6 6 6

White White No 1 hit 2 hits white

7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 no no no no

Polyethylene (PE) Polypropylene (PP) Polyester (PET) Other labels/ constructions

Configuring and troubleshooting white ink

White BID location - For best performance, and to prevent ink from dripping from the BID, use the BID 1 position (closest to the ITM) for white ink. White ink flow rate - Ensure that the white ink flow rate is 1 liter/min. To achieve 1 this flow rate, close the flow screw all of the way to the end, and then reopen it for 17 full rotations. Transparent substrates - Most transparent substrates should be defined as SemiMatte (even though the substrates may look like glossy substrates). From the Substrate Properties screen, clear Non-white substrate. From the Gloss level drop-down list, select Semi-Matte. Select Transparent. Non-white substrates - For non-white substrates that are not transparent (such as colored and metallic substrates), do the following: From the Substrate Properties screen, Color Control tab, select Non-white substrate. If the substrate is metallic and conductive, then from the Substrate Properties screen, Advanced tab, select Conductive. White ink sedimentation - White ink particles are heavy and tend to sink to the bottom of the ink tank when the white ink is not in use. During a cold start, the press raises the ink particles by a "morning puff", which sends compressed air through the bottom air tube of the ink tank. If you start using the white ink in the middle of the day, then manually perform a morning puff. Visually verify the ink particles mix in the ink tank. If the morning puff does not help, then do the following: Remove the white ink tank from the press. Remove the ink pump. Manually stir the ink until no sludge remains on the bottom of the ink tank. Reinstall the ink pump. Reinstall the white ink tank. Image cracks - When you use a high coverage of white (200% or more), cracks may appear on the prints. This is due to image wetness. This can lead to poor image quality and can damage the blanket. To prevent this, do the following: Verify that the cracks are not caused by substrate flexibility. If the cracks are caused by substrate flexibility, then reduce the substrate tension in the Substrate Properties screen, Advanced tab. Verify the ink density and conductivity values: Open the Ink and BID Status screen, Characteristics tab. Verify that the ink density and conductivity values are within range. Test the white ink density with an external density meter (if available), using the cyan channel. If the measured values are similar to the on-screen values, then rebuild the ink with the white ink calibration can. Run the Color Calibration wizard: Test the printed white patches with the X-rite external densitometer, using the cyan channel. Verify that the measured values equal 0.53 +/- 0.02. If not, then run the ILD Calibration wizard. Run the job with one separation of white. If cracks still appear, do one of the following: From the Job Properties screen, Separations tab, change the white ink style to Custom, and add null cycles. From the Job Properties screen, Separations tab, change the white ink style to No drying. Then, from the Substrate Properties screen, Advanced tab, increase the blanket temperature and increase the EH feed fan level.

Copyright 2010 Hewlett-Packard Company This is an HP Indigo digital print. www.hp.com/go/indigo

P/N CA394-04320