It has been over two years since one of Australia’s largest chemical manufacturer and graphic arts suppliers, DS Chemport (Australia) Pty Ltd, has been appointed exclusive distributor for Vulcan^® printing blankets for the Oceania region. “The blanket business has grown in every area we have been involved in despite the impact of the economic slowdown just after we became engaged in the blanket business” comments Ken Rendell, DS Chemport’s Associate Director – Commercial. We are fortunate to be the regional exclusive distributor giving us access to patented technologies and dedicated support from Trelleborg’s global resources. The comprehensive product range and consistent quality has been extremely valuable in our efforts to develop this agency to become a vital part of DS Chemport’s product portfolio.

DS Chemport’s head office and manufacturing facility in Melbourne

One area of particular focus has been the single-width web printing segment, where DS Chemport has enjoyed long-standing relationships built around its very well-known range of press chemistry and competent technical service. With almost all recent installations or press expansions being four-high print units of various makes, DS Chemport has had great success with Vulcan^® Mytho, a three-ply blanket with a neutral-feed carcass construction.

“The neutral feed characteristics combined with extremely durable carcass construction has provided great benefits to all our customers using this blanket now” says Andreas Rau, DS Chemport’s Product Manager.

Amongst the users are well-known and award-winning printing companies. The list includes Newsprinters Shepparton, Latrobe Valley Express and East Gippsland Newspapers (using Vulcan Mytho in conjunction with UV curing technology). Other Victorian operators, who decided to run Vulcan Mytho on their four-high towers include North East Newspapers in Wangaratta and Sunraysia Printing and Publishing based in Mildura.

Spot Press in New South Wales, Horton Media in Queensland plus South Australian print companies Murray Bridge Printing, Cadillac Printing and Yorke Peninsula Country Times, are all using Vulcan^® Mytho on their single-width presses.

“Since we set up our in-house converting facility two years ago, the introduction of Vulcan^® Mytho to the single-width market has been one of our success stories” comments Andreas Rau. It combines all a printer expects from a blanket. The top face is made from the most chemical resistant rubber compounds whilst the backing material uses Trelleborg’s WSP technology. This means the cotton material is chemically impregnated to make it water and solvent resistant. Both of these technologies combined with Trelleborg’s patented thermal tape technology used to apply the bars ensure that Vulcan^® Mytho blankets withstand even the harshest press conditions to the maximum.

DS Chemport’s state-of-the-art blanket converting facility

Of course all our blankets are edge-sealed to avoid solvent penetration on the non-barred edges – another measure to ensure that the operators get the most from their blankets.

Vulcan^® Mytho’s main characteristic however is the neutral feed property or Feed0^® as Trelleborg calls it.

Neutral feeding blankets are a necessity on four-high print units. It provides printers with ultimate web control and significantly reduced web tension. Net results are easier register control combined with a reduction in start-up waste. Lower web tension also reduces the likelihood of web breaks – these are the real savings that can be achieved when switching to neutral feeding blankets.

DS Chemport is represented in all major centres with its chemical production and blanket converting facilities located in Melbourne. Its recently re-launched website gives a taste of what types of products and services are on offer. Just visit http://www.dschemport.com.au and have a browse. Alternatively, call one of the offices for friendly and competent advice.