Triboelectrification of paper in the offset printing process

In offset printing, the printouts experience various complicated processes and operations before the final product is ready to be sent forward. In addition to the actual printing, these unit operations involve cutting, folding, stacking, labelling and various other operations which all include some kind of frictional contact either between the printed sheets themselves, or between the sheets and the machinery. In these contacts, charge exchange takes place which often leads to problems in the handling of lightweight prints. Machine speeds are ever increasing which has increased the importance of electrostatic problems. In this study, we present various measurements which have been performed on coating powders and coated papers both in a laboratory and in a pilot-scale facility.