Gerber Edge registration accuracy issues

[alistair]

Hi All,

Recently I have noticed the registration accuracy between colours has been not as good as it should be?
Does anybody have any suggestions as to what might be the cause?
I have cleaned the sprocket feed wheels and rubber roller.

Thank you in advance
Alistair

 

[Fred Weiss]

Here are a few links to posts that discuss the issue:

Choke & Spread

Gerber Edge registration issue

gerber edge II shifting color

 

[Titch Sanders]

Hi All,

Recently I have noticed the registration accuracy between colours has been not as good as it should be?
Does anybody have any suggestions as to what might be the cause?
I have cleaned the sprocket feed wheels and rubber roller.

Thank you in advance
Alistair

Not uncommon Alistair,
Are you using genuine Gerber foils.. it does make a difference.. but it is a recognised.. quirk.. of the Edge system..
Titch

 

[GlavinID]

I was told a long time ago by a Gerber Tech that it can happen if your foils are old. Not sure if that's correct or not.

 

[alistair]

Just did a job and it was fine this time! I use a mix of genuine Gerber and others, old and new. I guess all you can do is use adequate trapping / choke and hope for the best. I wonder if the ambient temperature has an effect, I have my set up in a spare bedroom which can be pretty cold sometimes?

 

[Fred Weiss]

Omega 4 and later provides a utility to adjust the x-axis position to correct the error.

While age of foils, temperature etc. may have some effect, the primary difference is the relative size ratio of foil of each color between the take up and the supply side. Theoretically, if you start with two brand new, equal length foils, there will be no error.

 

[alistair]

Does the edge fx have a better solution?

 

[Fred Weiss]

No it doesn't. The solution is provided in the software ... not the hardware. These solutions include choke and spread or printing in process rather than spot colors. Also included in later versions of Omega is the Foil Adjust utility program which allows you to adjust the position of each foil on a job by job basis. Here's a link to a video that explains the Foil Adjust utility.

Foil Adjust Video

 

[alistair]

You would think that a cartridge redesign that offwinds the ribbon at a constant tension regardless of quantity of remaining ribbon wouldn’t be beyond today’s design engineers?

 

[Fred Weiss]

Yes you would ... a capstan drive is what would be the solution. The problem is that there is already tens of thousands of units in the field using the existing design and supplies that would not be able to take advantage of a major change in the design. Then there's the question of whether or not a new design with new supplies would sell enough to justify the investment by Gerber to solve a flaw that has existed since inception.