Electrostatic charging of material webs in gravure printing presses

This paper deals with the electrostatic charging of material webs in production machines. Measurements were made with a special measurement setup inside a gravure printing press and the results were analyzed and interpreted. In order to gather as much information as possible, the electric field strength of a free-spanning web was monitored at different positions inside the machine and under different production conditions. The measurement results confirmed theoretical principles and practical experience, such as the fact that the type of material, printing inks, coatings, machine speed, web tension, printing process and corona pretreatment have a significant effect on the level and polarity of the electrostatic charging. During the series of experiments, peak field strengths of up to 300 kV/m resulting from the charge on the web were measured and changes in the sign were detected within a very short period of time. • Electrostatic charging of material webs detected with electric field meter. • Peak field strengths up to 300 kV/m can occur on material webs in printing machines. • Charge peaks and sudden polarity changes within very short time periods possible. • Electrostatic charging in printing machines is affected by multiple influencing factors.