When to stop for a gear mark on corrugated preprint
On corrugated preprint, if the gear mark is across the whole sheet, stop and check the gears. Do not treat it as ordinary uneven ink. If it hits a barcode or the large product name, that sheet cannot go. Light and dark bands repeat at a fixed tooth pitch.
On corrugated preprint, if the gear mark is across the whole sheet, stop and check the gears. Do not treat it as ordinary uneven ink. If it hits a barcode or the large product name, that sheet cannot go. Light and dark bands repeat at a fixed tooth pitch.
First see whether it hits a critical spot
Light and dark bands repeat at a fixed tooth pitch. A doctor-blade line does not repeat by tooth pitch. It is one long line. On corrugated preprint, the critical spot is the barcode or the large product name. If the decoration has no hickey chart, do not invent a millimetre number on the spot.
Side by side
| What you see | Call | Do not |
|---|---|---|
| Light and dark bands that repeat at a fixed tooth pitch. | If they cover the whole sheet, stop and check the gears. Do not treat it as ordinary uneven ink. | Add ink or add impression just because you see it |
| It lands on a barcode or the large product name | This one cannot go | Wait for a later station to find it |
| Only on the decoration, and there is no hickey chart | Keep a sample and confirm | Write your own millimetre number |
Do this on this turn
- Confirm it is a gear mark: light and dark bands repeat at a fixed tooth pitch.
- Match the tooth pitch first. Do not change the doctor blade first.
- Log the spacing, the colour unit, and which side the gear is on.
