Precision Makes Perfect February 28, 2008
Were always trying to come up with inventive ways to get a tight registration on multi color jobs. I find it quite annoying to be constantly adjusting my gauge pins, moving the plate, taking apart the chase, adjusting furniture etc, etc, (you all know the drill). The closest way I found was using transparencies which I wrote about in an earlier post Multicolor Registration, but we have something in the works that might be alot easier when using photopolymer plates.
We are using something called a translation stage which consist of a base and a platform and the platform moves in extremely small and precise increments, I’m talking microns. What we came up with is to mount a piece of .25 inch aluminum to the platform of a translation stage, thus making it ”type high” when a sticky back photopolymer plate is added. You can actually take the whole translation stage and lock that up in your chase. When you need to make fine adjustments you need to turn the dial on the translation stage and you can move the platform right to left without ever adjusting your gauge pins.
When we finalize the details to this, I will be sure to share it with everyone. In the meantime, if you have no idea what a translation stage is or what I’m talking about, here is a picture for your reference. For those who have an idea of what I’m talking about, I would love to hear your ideas on this. If anyone is interested in this please contact us at contact@dolcepress.com.
Hi, Alexandra! I love your blog and check for new posts all the time! Also, thank you for the link to my blog! I am interested in the translation stage - is it in lieu of the Boxcar base? Is it comparable to the deep relief base? How big is it? How much does it cost? Thanks. Gracie
Comment by Gracie — March 6, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Hi Gracie,
I’m glad to know that you find the blog helpful, if you every have any questions or suggestions please feel free to let me know.
This isn’t something that you would typically find in a print shop. The translation stage is something we are cooking up at dolce press to aid in precise registration. The translation stage is something you might find in a research lab because it allows for precise (micron or finer) movement of instruments like in a microscope.
We are still working out all of the details but it will function exactly like any base (either metallic or wood) in that it will be a flat surface with which you can attach plates of all different sizes. By twisting the dial at the end of the stage the plate will translate in precise increments in one dimension. It is also possible to modify the stage with different bases (i.e. magnetic base) so that you can use plastic or metal backed plates.
Once we have all of our ducks in a row and do some tests we will be sure to post about it. If there is enough interest in it, we could even make a few additional ones to send out for others to try.
If you’re interested drop us a quick note.
Thanks,
Alex
Comment by Alexandra — March 7, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Sounds brilliant! I must admit I continue to use the Vandercook for 2 color registration because I get so frustrated with Gauge Pins. I would buy it!
Comment by dana — March 18, 2008 at 8:37 pm