Original technical drawings of Super Blue nets from 1980s
It's now 35 years since the first patent for Super Blue was published on 6th September 1983. The woven anti-marking net has been adopted by printers in 150 countries worldwide since it's invention by the late Howard DeMoore - founder of Printing Research Inc (PRI).
Mr. DeMoore was a veteran printer with an eye for innovation. Not satisfied with smearing on the inked surface of a printed sheet, he sought out a solution and filed his to-be-legendary patent in March 1981. At the time on sheetfed presses, it was common for a 'skeleton wheel,' a wheel with a toothed edge, to have sole responsibility for the transfer of the printed sheet to the next unit or the delivery. The logic behind this is clear, to reduce the surface area that makes contact with the inked sheet. The difficulty here was that the wheel created indentations and dimpling on the substrate, which is bad news for the printer.
Other solutions, that would later become glass beaded anti-marking films, were not yet ready. This took the logic of 'less-contact' and turned it on its head by suggesting that an even layer of ink repellent coating on a smooth cylinder would do the job - and a Teflon coating was thought to be the answer. Yet the problem here was that these cylinders required washing far too frequently, and the cylinder lacked the cushioning and support of conventional techniques.
Bluprint UK Managing Director, Robb Harman (left) with Super Blue inventor Mr. DeMoore (right) at PRI HQ, Dallas, TX
It was from this place that, an 'unexpected' solution was born: Super Blue. Mr DeMoore discovered that when covered with a 'relatively loose woven fabric' the skeleton wheel accommodated for slight movement between the sheeted cylinder without marking the freshly inked sheet. A further benefit of the new system was its ease of use. The fabric covering could be easily replaced as there was no need for the net to be perfectly tight or stretched and it could be as simple as attaching it to velcro. This made the lightweight material a dream new product for reducing cleaning and down time - as well as maintaining a consistent print quality.
The Super Blue system was immediately seen for what it was, an excellent and timely product. PRI scooped up the Intertech Technology Award (1985) in recognition of the fact and Heidelberg were quick to establish a global distributor agreement.
At Drupa 2004, Bluprint UK joined the Super Blue story and were proud to become European Distributors for Super Blue anti-marking systems. We have gladly served printers, engineers and dealers for 15 years with a real quality product.
Super Blue Nets are still used by printers around the world and yet are largely unchanged for over three decades. When something is crafted with care and detail, it's usually built to last.
Bluprint UK would like to thank PRI for their continued support and innovation.
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