Nipson Varypress 200 Quick reference guide

MAGNETIC PRINTER
VARYPRESS 200
Paper guide
22 A6 09NS REV0

MAGNETIC PRINTER
VARYPRESS 200
Paper guide
MATERIEL
Document release:
Sept. 2005. Creation.
22 A6 09NS REV0
NIPSON SAS
28, rue E. Thierry-Mieg - BP 257 - 90005 Belfort Cedex - France
Tel.: [phone] - Fax: [phone]
http:/www.nipson.com - e-mail: [e-mail]

© NIPSON 2005
All rights reserved
We will be pleased to receive any suggestions concerning the form and content of this manual.
A sheet on which to write your remarks is provided at the end of this manual.
This document is for information purposes only. NIPSON cannot be held responsible for any damage caused by applying
instructions contained within it. Corrections or modifications to the content of this document may be made without notice;
they may be communicated to recipients in later updates.
22 A6 09NS REV0 ii

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Table of contents
1. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 NIPSON SERVICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 ALLOWED FORMATS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. PAPER CHARACTERISTICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2.1 COMPOSITION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2.1.1. Paper pulps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2.1.2. Paper additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2.2 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.3 PAPER SPECIFICATIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. SELF-ADHESIVE LABELS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
3.1 CHARACTERISTICS / SPECIFICATIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
3.1.1. Backing sheet material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
3.1.2. Adhesive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
3.1.3. Front face characteristics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3.2 LABEL-SPECIFIC FINISHING REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
4. SPECIAL SUBSTRATE TYPES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
4.1 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
4.2 PREPRINTED SUBSTRATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
4.3 PREGLUED SUBSTRATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
4.4 PLASTIC CARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
4.5 LAMINATES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4.6 WINDOWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4.7 CARBONLESS SELF-COPY PAPER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

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5. GENERAL FINISHING / TRANSFORMATION REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
5.1 ENVIRONMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
5.2 SHEET DIMENSIONAL TOLERANCES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
5.3 PERFORATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
5.3.1. Sheet edges at fold perforations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
5.3.2. Fold perforation tensile strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
5.3.3. Fanfold beak set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
5.3.4. Internal Perforations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
5.3.5. Other perforations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
6. PACKAGING AND STORAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
6.1 PACKAGING REQUIREMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
6.2 SHIPPING CONDITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
6.3 STORAGE REQUIREMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

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1. Introduction
The performance of a printing substrate is determined by its material characteristics and by the
quality of its transformation, or finishing. The nature of the substrate directly affects print quality and
printer reliability.
This guide is intended to advise the printer user how to select a suitable substrate for a given
application. The great variety of materials and finishing methods available makes it impossible to
give a complete treatment of every substrate type that can be run on the printer, or to anticipate
every problem that may be encountered when using a variant of a substrate type which can
normally be recommended.
The user is thus strongly advised, after consulting this guide, to test any unfamiliar substrate type on
the printer before buying in quantity, and to test far enough in advance of actual need to be able to
arrange any necessary modifications with the substrate suppliers.
1.1 NIPSON SERVICE
NIPSON provides for its customers:
-Advice on substrate-related subjects not fully covered in this guide;
-Analysis of substrate types under consideration for customer use, or of those which do not
give satisfaction;
-Recommendation of substrate types which perform well on the printer;
-Addresses of recommended suppliers.

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1.2 ALLOWED FORMATS
-*This height can be increased to 24" after test and if required the addition of the
multi-loop option.
Machine Mini.
length
Maxi. length Mini.
width
Maxi.
width
600 dpi 480 dpi 300 dpi 240 dpi
Simplex
Pinfeed
3"
76 mm
24" (610 mm)
36" (915 mm)
with RIP4
32"
812 mm
24" (610 mm)
36" (915 mm)
with RIP4
36"
914 mm
6,5"
165 mm
20,5"
520 mm
Simplex
Pinless
6"
152 mm
24"
610 mm
24"
610 mm
24"
610 mm
24"
610 mm
6,5"
165 mm
20,5"
520 mm
TED
Pinless &
Pinfeed
6"
152 mm
18" *
457 mm
18" *
457 mm
18" *
457 mm
18" *
457 mm
6,5"
165 mm
20,5"
520 mm
SED 6"
152 mm
18"
457 mm
18"
457 mm
18"
457 mm
18"
457 mm
7,5"
190 mm
9,9"
251 mm
with ST20 6"
152 mm
17"
432 mm
17"
432 mm
17"
432 mm
17"
432 mm
6,5"
165 mm
20,5"
520 mm

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2. Paper characteristics
2.1 COMPOSITION
2.1.1. Paper pulps
Mechanical pulps
Made from mechanically-separated wood fibers. Their medium whiteness, limited mechanical
strength, and tendency to yellow with time restrict their range of applications.
Chemical pulps
Contain cellulose fibers which have been chemically separated from other wood constituents.
These are used in all high-quality writing and printing papers.
Recycled pulps
Give paper with a greyish color which tends to restrict their use.
Kraft pulps
Give brown-colored paper or cardboard having high mechanical strength.
NOTA : NIPSON recommends using a 100% chemical-pulp paper. Paper using mechanical or
recycled pulp may, however, give good results for certain applications.
2.1.2. Paper additives
Blueing agent
Fluorescent substance which increases paper whiteness. Very high levels tend to decrease
printing density.
Filler
Substances such as clay, chalk, or marble used to increase opacity and uniformity.
Internal sizing
Increases strength and binds additives to the paper fibers (reducing dusting).
Surface sizing
Starch applied to the paper surface to reduce absorbancy.
Surface coatings
Clay or chalk applied to paper to give a smoother surface.

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2.2 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
These characteristics affect directly the print quality and paper passage in the printer.
Paper weight
Is a basic characteristic which has an influence on mechanical behavior. It is given in terms of
either the mass per square meter of paper (g/m2), or the weight in pounds of 500 sheets of
paper cut to 17" x 22".
1 lb. basis weight -> about 3.759 g/m2(ex.: 20 lb. paper -> 75 g/m2)
Moisture content
Affects directly the electrical resistivity of the paper. It is expressed as the weight percentage
of water contained in the paper.
Electrical resistivity
Affects the electrostatic transfer of the toner to the paper, thus affecting printing density.
Relative humidity in the paper stack
Is an easily-measurable parameter related to moisture content.
Roughness (or smoothness)
Defines the surface aspect of the paper. A paper which is too rough will give poor image
quality.
Opacity
Describes the paper's ability to block transmitted light. Sufficient opacity is required to allow
detection by optical sensors, and to prevent print show-through.
Stiffness
Affects paper folding ability as well as paper passage through transfer.
Fiber orientation
Affects paper mechanical properties; the dominant fiber direction must be parallel to the
machine direction (orientation = 0º) to prevent fold orthogonality defects which can cause
paper stack lean for fanfold paper.
Tensile strength
Indicates resistance to tearing at perforations.
Tearing resistance
Indicates resistance to tearing at tractor feed pins.

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2.3 PAPER SPECIFICATIONS
Paper weight: from 64 g/m2to 160 g/m2.
Moisture Content: From 2.5% to 7%.
Relative Humidity: From 15% to 60%.
(stabilized at 23ºC)
Surface resistivity: From 1010 to 1013 ohms.
Volume resistivity: From 5 x 1010 to 1014 ohms par cm.
Bekk smoothness: More than 10 s.
Dynamic stiffness: More than 0.15 mN x m for 64 g/m2paper;
More than 0.20 mN x m for 80 g/m2paper;
More than 0.50 mN x m for 90 g/m2paper.
Tensile Strength: More than 4 kN/m (machine direction).
Tearing resistance: 450 mN minimum.
Opacity: More than 62%.
Physical/chemical stability: Under 10s exposure to 90ºC, the paper must not emit odor, nor
show any modification in color, surface aspect, or flatness after
returning to ambient temperature.
Flammability temperature: more than 250ºC.
Dust: Less than 20 mg of dust per 2000 sheets.

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3. Self-adhesive labels
3.1 CHARACTERISTICS / SPECIFICATIONS
3.1.1. Backing sheet material
Paper type: Kraft paper is recommended for its high opacity and mechanical
strength.
Paper weight: From 85 to 95 g/m2.
Dynamic rigidity: More than 0.3 mN x m (machine direction).
Tensile strength: More than 4 kN/m (machine direction).
Tearing resistance: 450mN minimum.
Opacity: More than 62%.
Bekk smoothness (back side):Less than 180s.
Silicone coating:On label side only. The coating will cause neither label migration nor
printer contamination (no transfer of silicone to the image drum is
allowed).
3.1.2. Adhesive
Migration:No migration of adhesive to label periphery under allowed storage or
printing conditions.
Solvents:solvent elimination temperature (if solvent present) above 120ºC.
Coating weight:From 20 to 24 g/m2 -- if less, the flexibility of the sandwich will be
insufficient; if more, the fugacity will be too high.
Adhesive build-up:No build-up is allowed around the labels, nor around the tractor holes.
No adhesive residue is allowed on either side of sheets.

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3.1.3. Front face characteristics
Recommended paper weight:80g/m2.
Bekk smoothness:More than 20 seconds.
Opacity:More than 85%.
Moisture content:From 3 to 6,5%.
Surface resistivity:From 1010 to 1013 ohms at 100V.
Stiffness:From 0.10 to 0.20 mN x m
Label separation:No separation of label from backing is allowed under the following
conditions:
a) temperature 30ºC, bending radius 25mm, bending angle 135º, time duration 30s;
b) temperature 55ºC, bending radius 35mm, bending angle 90º, time duration 30s.
3.2 LABEL-SPECIFIC FINISHING REQUIREMENTS
When the sheet stiffness is significantly reduced between label rows due to precutting or trimming,
both sheet handling and image quality are affected; the discontinuity in stiffness leads to false folds
in the stacker and to disruption of the image (puffing) at the leading edge of each label.
The following parameters affect this discontinuity:
Trimming
Advantages
Trimming around labels allows continuous verification of label cut quality;
Trimming around tractor holes and fold perforations avoids adhesive in these areas;
Trimming around fold perforations makes stacking easier.
Disadvantages
Trimming around labels creates the stiffness discontinuity described above.
Recommendations
It is advisable to leave a 2 mm trimmed area at each side of the fold perforations and to trim tractor
strips, the labels remaining joined.
If labels must be trimmed, attention must be paid to the following parameters:
-Label layout: the distance between horizontal rows of labels should be minimized (3mm
maximum).
-Difference in stiffness between label and backing: stiffness of label + backing must not be
significantly greater than that of the backing sheet alone.

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4. Special substrate types
The flash fusing system used allows printing on a wide variety of printing substrates, particularly
plastics or other fragile materials which would be deformed by the heating effect of a radiant oven or
of hot rollers.
The following will describe configurations and material types suitable for printing.
NOTA : It is strongly recommended to test samples of any special substrate type before buying
stock in quantity.
4.1 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
Temperature
The printing substrate must withstand a temperature of 55ºC throughout the substrate material,
as well as a peak temperature of 120ºC at the interfaces between toner and substrate.
Quality of contact with image drum
In the transfer zone, contact must be maintained at all times between the image drum and the
surface being printed. To achieve this, the substrate surface must either be flat or easily
flattened, and must not be able to move freely relative to its support medium.
4.2 PREPRINTED SUBSTRATE
The machine will print on a wide variety of preprinted substrate material. Attention should be given
to the following characteristics.
Curing / drying
Curing of preprinted forms must be completed before delivery.
Intensive heating / drying which result in paper moisture content below levels specified in
section 2.3 “Paper Specifications”.
Stability of preprinting toners
For preprinted substrate at a temperature of < 50ºC, the preprinting toners used must not:
- Transfer to paper or metal through rubbing contact under normal printing conditions
- emit vapors or odors.
For preprinted substrate brought to a temperature of 120ºC for 10 s, the preprinting toners
used must not emit vapors or odors.

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Effect on substrate surface
Preprinting / drying shall not cause irregularities (waviness) in the substrate which prevent
uniform contact between substrate and image drum during the transfer of toner.
Electrical Conductivity
The use of preprinting toners must not result in electrical surface or volume conductivity
outside the range of values specified for paper in section 2.3 “Paper Specifications”.
4.3 PREGLUED SUBSTRATE
Substrates with uniform or localized glue deposits, used in producing folded mailers, can be printed
on the machine provided the following conditions are met.
- The glue must not cause sticking between sheets in stacks or rolls at temperatures ≤50ºC.
- The glue must not transfer to machine parts during normal printer operation.
4.4 PLASTIC CARDS
Base material: PVC
Printable surface coating: matte or glossy PVC, or acrylic varnish, being characterized as
"laser compatible" by the supplier.
Some reduction in the level of image quality is possible due to electrostatic interactions between
substrate and machine environment. Image quality as well as the stability of the toned image
(adhesion to card surface, smearing level, lack of offset to facing sheet) must be verified.
The presence of greases or oils (such as silicone) on the card surface is prohibited.
Thickness:
For cards having standard dimensions (55mm x 85mm):
Maximum overall composite substrate thickness (card + support) allowed: 0.5mm.
NOTA : Printing on a composite thickness between 0.4 and 0.5mm can result in localized
perturbations of the image elsewhere on the page; an examination should be made of the
image quality over the entire page when using substrates in this thickness range.
The allowed thickness range will be reduced for cards which exceed standard dimensions or which
are curved.
Flatness:
For cards which curve toward the support medium (concave down), the force necessary to flatten
card + support medium must not exceed 0.4N (40g weight).
This characteristic can be determined by laying the substrate on a flat surface, placing a 40g weight
at the point of maximum card curvature, and checking for contact between the back of the substrate
and the flat surface.

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Cards which curve away from the support medium (concave up) are not acceptable.
4.5 LAMINATES
Laminated substrates up to 160g/m2can easily be run on the printer.
These include:
1) plastic-coated paper cards mounted on a paper support, and
2) substrates with "embedded" cards which are themselves plastic/paper laminations,only one
example of which is shown below:
4.6 WINDOWS
The machine can print on certain transparent plastic window materials which are glued over
openings in a paper support (application: self-contained mailers). The following restrictions are
necessary to reduce electrostatic effects:
1. Anti-static surface (surface resistivity between 1010 and 1013 ohms, matte finish).
2. Good contact must be maintained between the window material and the image drum at
transfer (absence of wrinkles or flutter) in order to maintain good image quality.
card (curved concave down)
support medium
≤0.4N
embedded, detachable card
with plastic backing
detachable perforations
paper
support
plastic film backing glued to card
and paper support
plastic film (stays with support)

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3. The adhesive holding the window to its support must extend to within < 3mm from the edges
of the plastic window material in order to avoid the window material sticking electrostatically to
the image drum.
Some reduction in the level of image quality is possible due to variations in the electrostatic
interaction between substrate and machine environment.
The placement of the window within the sheet must not interfere with end-of-paper detection (see
section 5.3.5. “Other perforations”).
4.7 CARBONLESS SELF-COPY PAPER
Best results in regard to image blackness are obtained using an organic-resin-based CF coating
(example: "NCR" formula).
European formula (CF coating based on reactive clay) can give satisfactory results for many
applications, but the printing blackness is generally lower; higher image blackness can be obtained
by applying a transparent desensitizing toner (during preprinting) to areas to be printed. Tests
should be performed in consultation with the carbonless supplier and NIPSON in order to verify the
level of image quality obtainable.
plastic window adhesive
≤3 mm

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5. General finishing / transformation requirements
5.1 ENVIRONMENT
In order to maintain dimensional stability, forms must be finished in a controlled environment with the
following conditions:
- temperature between 20ºC and 23ºC;
- relative humidity between 40% and 50%.

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5.2 SHEET DIMENSIONAL TOLERANCES
Cumulative tolerance between any two holes on the same side which are distant by 254mm is ±0,3
mm (±0,12 inch).
Parallelism tolerance between any left and right centerlines is ±0,15 mm.
A centerline is defined as the line that connects the centers of any 2 tractor holes which are on the
same side of the form and which are distant by ≤254 mm (10 inches).
6 ±0.7
90°
distance: nominal ± 0.5
width: nominal ± 0.5
fold perforation
0.1 max.
0.1 max.
0.15 max.
12.7 ±0.05
4 ±0,1

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5.3 PERFORATIONS
5.3.1. Sheet edges at fold perforations
To avoid tearing, there must be a tie of width ≥1 mm beginning at a distance of ≤1 mm from sheet
edge.
5.3.2. Fold perforation tensile strength
For fanfold forms, fold perforation tensile strength must be between 800 and 2000 N/m.
For rolls, refer to specifications of pre- and post-processing equipment.
5.3.3. Fanfold beak set
- Hang a segment of 5 to 10 sheets vertically and check that all folding angles are identical.
- Hang a segment of 5 sheets against a vertical flat surface, with the top sheet touching the
surface and the first fold opening away from the surface. The distance between the lowest fold
and the vertical surface must be less than 30mm.
5.3.4. Internal Perforations
Tensile strength of internal vertical perforations must be at least 700N/m.
Tensile strength of horizontal perforations must be between 800 and 2000 N/m.
Authorized internal perforations for fanfold output
Horizontal perforations must be spaced more that 2 in. from fold perforations.
.
* running perforations
Height of form Paper weight
Maximum allowed number of
internal perforations
Horizontal Vertical
6 to 16 inches 64 to 73 g/m212*+0
6 to 16 inches > 73 g/m232*+4