How to Distinguish Paper Lint Hickeys from Ink Skin Hickeys
Paper lint hickeys are not round in shape, fibers are often visible in the center, the edges of the white ring are fuzzy, and they mostly come from the paper. Ink skin hickeys are rounder, with a piece of dried ink or ink skin in the center, and their edges are relatively sharp. For paper lint, check the paper and the blanket; for ink skin, check the ink fountain, the ink rollers, and whether dried skin has fallen into the ink.
Paper lint hickeys are not round in shape, fibers are often visible in the center, the edge of the white halo is fuzzy, and they mostly come from the paper. Ink skin hickeys are rounder, the center is a piece of dried ink or ink skin, and the edge is relatively sharp. For paper lint, check the paper and blanket; for ink skin, check the ink fountain, ink rollers, and whether any dried skin has fallen into the ink.
The center under a magnifying glass
When paper lint is pressed into the blanket or plate, the fibers are loose, so the white halo is not round and sometimes has a short tail. If you pick that particle off, you can see that it is paper or coating, not a shiny ink skin. Ink skin is the dried film that forms on the surface of ink, or debris that has fallen into the ink fountain; after being flattened, it is nearly round, and the ink squeezes out a clean white halo around its edge.
Paper lint often appears in clusters when changing paper, when paper edges are fuzzy, or when the blanket has not been washed. Ink skin often appears after stopping and restarting the press, after the edge of the ink fountain has dried, and it is more obvious in the same color while other colors do not have it.
Which side to look on
| Center | Appearance | Check first |
|---|---|---|
| Fiber, coating | Not round, fuzzy edge | Paper edge, blanket |
| Dried ink skin | Round, sharp edge | Ink fountain edge and the ink rollers for this color |
| Unclear | Only one | Pick it off before judging; do not change both at once |
Do this first this round
- Pick off the particle in the center and look at it; do not just look at the white halo.
- If it is fiber, wash the blanket and check the paper edge; do not change the ink.
- If it is ink skin, clean the edge of the ink fountain for this color, and check whether ink skin fell in when the press stopped.
