{"id":3374,"date":"2025-10-07T14:45:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T12:45:24","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-03-22T22:11:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T21:11:33","slug":"problems-solutions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/etykietynarolce.eu\/en\/knowledge-zone\/problems-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Problems \/ Solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-638066212e0615519b8b723ca59d637e\">Common offset printing issues and how to reduce them<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:33px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-ef62d54451f3ec3b91d2cb30b6a5879e\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">Even small irregularities in the printing process can slow down production and lower quality. Therefore, it helps to know typical offset printing problems and how to limit them. Below we describe three frequent issues: <strong>set-off of fresh ink<\/strong>, <strong>ink rub-off<\/strong>, and <strong>ink repelling<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-1cc4d76543641b87229fe0fc2258a674\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">1. Set-off of fresh ink (ink transferring in the stack)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-e708c66e65343abf7257bff6f0354cdb\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">Set-off happens when fresh ink transfers onto the next sheets in the pile. In other words, lower sheets \u201cgive\u201d ink to the sheets above them. Moreover, several factors can cause this effect, so it is worth identifying the real source and choosing the right action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"margin-bottom:33px\" class=\"wp-block-list has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-bcacc988bfb88f4b3771128c1a985507\">\n<li><strong>Too much ink on low-absorbency paper<\/strong> \u2013 use standard ink feed, add a suitable additive, and also apply powder spray and adjust sheet piling.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pile too high at delivery<\/strong> \u2013 the weight removes the air cushion between sheets; therefore, print to a lower pile and use powder spray.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Incorrect delivery settings<\/strong> (often with heavy boards) \u2013 reduce the drop height and set the gripper opening timing. In addition, the sheet should fall tightly into the pile.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Poor sheet flatness<\/strong> \u2013 choose higher-quality paper without wavy edges.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Electrostatic charge on sheets<\/strong> \u2013 use smaller, looser piles because this helps maintain print quality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-a4af3d5fe3dbe1a10a1f7f4a33830d22\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">As you can see, set-off may come from different causes, however you can limit it with the right setup and workflow. For more practical tips on offset printing issues, see the other articles on our blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-5a0197b84af64bc9b5c55e0138208a95\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">2. Ink rub-off<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-428420c43026c2f993abe735dacb6297\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">During production, issues can appear that reduce the visual quality of the print. Therefore, it is useful to know how to react to common defects. One of them is ink rub-off. Below are key causes and methods that can reduce this effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-c495eb27c45b655e9214f391c45018a4\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">Over-diluted ink<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-84157c761f81be5976b4593c2cd13ede\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">Ink can rub off when the ink is too diluted. Then the binder soaks into the substrate too quickly, so the pigment does not bond properly on the surface. A practical solution is to bind pigments by overprinting with binder or by using an oil-based printing varnish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-721de24c7f7b66af79e1c01307b2dc19\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">Poorly sized (over-absorbent) paper<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-4d6a94928852922e2737085416929390\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">Another cause is <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paper\" title=\"paper\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">paper<\/mark><\/a> with incorrect sizing and excessive absorbency. Then ink penetrates too strongly and the pigment does not bond with the binder, therefore quality drops. Such stock should be overprinted with an oil-based printing varnish. However, because oxidative drying inks react differently, the underprint can slow absorption. If the run is already completed, binder overprinting, printing paste, or a high-gloss oil-based varnish can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-51fc162da964f38d29d12e9b626acf05\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">Too little binder<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-f758ec2b28d886519cc9ede0f2a995f7\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">Rub-off can also occur when the ink contains too little binder. Then you can add binder to the ink or apply a binder overprint. As a result, the print looks better and readability improves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-3601ea64f8f0a53466fcc61f8bb2329a\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">3. Ink repelling<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-71c44a394f669ba7046ef7a41334c349\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">Many factors can reduce print quality and legibility, yet ink repelling is one of the typical issues. Fortunately, you can limit this defect and avoid an unattractive result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-9a6a7300ae237d539f05a91abf049e0d\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">Causes and ways to reduce it<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-1ed243867addf88f9e98de0b326c2728\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">Ink repelling appears when the first layer dries too much and forms a surface that is too hard to accept the next layer. Most often, this happens due to excessive drier or an overly long gap between the first and second colour. Therefore, choose the method based on the run size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"margin-bottom:33px\" class=\"wp-block-list has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-795c8294b20e3c8993088a63f440c4c7\">\n<li><strong>Small runs<\/strong> \u2013 gently wipe the print surface with cotton.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Large runs<\/strong> \u2013 overprint with printing varnish and print the next colour while the varnish is still drying.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Alternative<\/strong> \u2013 reduce or eliminate the use of drier when possible.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-c3fdf0be6f65828a990cc13e5d57a304\" style=\"margin-bottom:33px\">When you reduce <a href=\"https:\/\/etykietynarolce.eu\/en\/knowledge-zone\/printing-dictionary\/\" title=\"ink\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">ink<\/mark><\/a> repelling, the print looks clean and visually strong. However, correct diagnosis matters, because then you can apply the right method for both small and large runs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Need help with print quality?<\/strong> Write to us and describe the issue\u2014our team will suggest practical next steps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Common offset printing issues and how to reduce them Even small irregularities in the printing process can slow down production and lower quality. Therefore, it helps to know typical offset printing problems and how to limit them. Below we describe three frequent issues: set-off of fresh ink, ink rub-off, and ink repelling. 1. Set-off of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":249,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3374","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/etykietynarolce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/etykietynarolce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/etykietynarolce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etykietynarolce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etykietynarolce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3374"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/etykietynarolce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5197,"href":"https:\/\/etykietynarolce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3374\/revisions\/5197"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etykietynarolce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/etykietynarolce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}