useing aluminum printing plates

[wingrydr57]

LOL hmmm well we print cartons for Nestle Rasinets and Goobers..Or Home run Inn Pizza....Ahhhh I think I will use the back side of the plates. Nice thought though. PLus the back side is shiny and the front side is dull ;o(

Clear skies, steve W.

[Rusty O'Toole]

A good way to fasten sheets together is by bending a 1/2" flange on a brake and crimping the sheets together the way they make sheet metal duct work. I'm sure if you do a web search you will find instructions on how to do it, basically bend a flange on both pieces, hook them together and flatten the seam.

Couple of tips: if you do not have a brake, a piece of angle iron clamped to your workbench, and a second piece of angle iron clamped on top, makes a good substitute. Bend the flange over with a hammer.

Next tip: to make a smooth bend, work along the bend 3 or 4 times bending a little way each time, next time bend farther and farther. This makes a straight bend, if you bend too far at once you stretch the metal and make it bow.

Tip # 3: Use a rubber mallet to bend the metal over, it will not dent the metal like a steel hammer will.

You could use the same technique to make bends every 3 or 4 inches like the trailer siding they used in the fifties.

Here is an article on how to do this.

http://serroscottycamperenthusiasts.com ... gfinal.pdf

The only change I would suggest, instead of using a putty knife put a strip of metal in before you flatten out the siding, then pull the strip out afterward. Use a strip of the siding metal folded double, or some material thicker than what you are working with. This will make it easy to fit the pieces together.

There are also special adhesives made specifically for gluing metal panels together. Auto body supply places sell them. If you do not like the idea of having your car held together by glue, all the car companies use this method at the factory. Ford started gluing their pickup truck boxes together 15 or 20 years ago.

These adhesives are incredibly strong if used correctly.

By the way... if you can somehow get them to etch you a panel you could add a name or logo to your trailer, or some other feature. Interesting possibilities if you think about it.

Do you think someone who is not a printer could get some of this material by buying it from a printer? What kind of print shop uses these plates?

[Treeview]

Hi Steve,

Over the years I've read about people like you who have access to aluminum printing sheeting...for free! Lucky you! Is this an employee perk? How would I go about finding them...for free here in Austin? With the price of any metal these days I can't imagine a company keeping a sharp eye on the old sheets and making sure that they get them to a scrap yard for some cash.

A friend of mine who is a weldor used them to skin the inside of his garage/shop. He overlapped the sheets and screwed them to the sheetrock. Cheap and it made the shop brighter too!

Tom

[wingrydr57]

Hi Steve,

Over the years I've read about people like you who have access to aluminum printing sheeting...for free! Lucky you! Is this an employee perk? How would I go about finding them...for free here in Austin? With the price of any metal these days I can't imagine a company keeping a sharp eye on the old sheets and making sure that they get them to a scrap yard for some cash.

A friend of mine who is a weldor used them to skin the inside of his garage/shop. He overlapped the sheets and screwed them to the sheetrock. Cheap and it made the shop brighter too!

Tom

Yes I am pretty lucky, they do watch the scrap pile pretty close but they will let me take a few when I need them. These plates are pretty big and you would have to find a printer in your area that prints folding cartons they tend to have the larger format printing presses.

[Colemancooler]

I do architectural sheet metal for a living, and the idea rusty posted was exactly what the doctor ordered, for joining 2 flat sheets and keeping water out

[Forrest747]

What is a printing plate.

[parnold]

What is a printing plate.

A printing plate is a plate of aluminum that is chemically treated on one side. That side is then exposed to extremely bright light with a negative placed over it to expose it. A chemical is then used to wash away the portion that was not exposed to the light. Ink will stick to the exposed section, but will not stick to the unexposed section.

These sheets, at least the ones I used, were wrapped around drums which spun as the paper was pulled underneath. Each revolution re-inked the plate.

[wingrydr57]

What is a printing plate.

It has an image on it that transfers ink to a rubber blanket then to a sheet of paper The non image parts of the plate are kept "open" with a fountain solution . I run a 7 color printing press each unit has a different color making the finnished picture, or what ever we are printing that day.

[Forrest747]

Ok interesting. I assumed that but wasn't too sure. How large are these plates. Any scrap we had in manufacturing aircraft was carefully collected and recycled. At my current job we have security issues with guy trying to acquire it during the bnights to sell.

[parnold]

Wow.. it's been that long. I had forgotten about the rubber pad. It's been 30 years. The presses I ran were single color, and at the time I think they were old. We used water for the fountain solution.

[wingrydr57]

Wow.. it's been that long. I had forgotten about the rubber pad. It's been 30 years. The presses I ran were single color, and at the time I think they were old. We used water for the fountain solution.

Yes Paul lots of changes for sure, I remember running an old Royal Zenith and at 6000 sheets an hour you were really sailing!! Heck now I run a Man Roland 7 color 55 inch press sometimes at 13000 sheets an hour! Funny thing though I think upper managment thinks its just a big zerox machine! NOT lol

[parnold]

I think upper managment thinks its just a big zerox machine! NOT lol

I have to admit, running a press was rewarding. I enjoyed doing a good job. I ran a Chief 15, Chief 17, and I'm embarrassed to say and AB Dick.

[Forrest747]

Ok I may be off base but it woulkd be cool to get printing plates from like super bowl wins or world series Olympic hockey games and the light just hits the trailer right. Or am I smoking crack again

[parnold]

I don't think you're smoking crack.

[wingrydr57]

I think upper managment thinks its just a big zerox machine! NOT lol

I have to admit, running a press was rewarding. I enjoyed doing a good job. I ran a Chief 15, Chief 17, and I'm embarrassed to say and AB Dick.

I have heard of an AB Dick but never ran one. Yes it is rewarding running a press, for a hobby , I turn pens, do wood burning art, and have sold a couple oil paintings but could never really make a living on my art, but running a press you can make a good living making stuff!

Clear skies, Steve