Selective Plating for the Printing Industry

SIFCO ASC has many years’ experience helping the printing industry to eliminate costly downtime.

The primary applications of selective plating for the printing industry include filling damaged or worn areas on stainless steel, iron, web offset or flexographic press cylinders. They also include filling in porous chromium plates or damaged steel blanket cylinders.

Repair wear and damage with the SIFCO Process®

A 2.4m (8′) diameter x 2.4m (8′) long stainless steel web offset impression cylinder was damaged by a wrench. A 76mm (3″) long area was pressed in almost 2mm (0.080″). This defect was dished out and filled with several layers of copper. The copper and adjacent stainless steel surfaces were then plated with nickel and were ground to the required surface finish and size.

Intaglio impression rolls operate at high printing pressures. They are plated with approximately 1.5mm (0.060″) of chromium to get the best possible surface. Isolated pits in the chrome, barely visible to the naked eye, were a cause for rejection. These pits varied from 12microns to 38microns (0.005″ to 0.015″) in diameter. A copper deposit was applied, followed by an overlay of cobalt which matched the chromium.

The SIFCO Process® is suitable for repairing any general in-service wear as well as damaged plate and blanket cylinders and any imperfections in the base material.

Related Resources

SIFCO Applied Surface Concepts is your vital resource for enhancing, repairing or refurbishing critical components through selective electroplating. The SIFCO Process® is the leading method of selective electroplating localized areas on components without the use of an immersion tank. We provide contract services, chemical solutions and equipment for surface enhancement to improve component performance, minimize downtime and reduce manufacturing costs. To learn more, choose from any of these related resources.