Honeycomb pallets with Rubber tops

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Rich you are talking about the rubber separating from the pallet correct? not the actual honeycomb pallet coming apart? I was thinking the pallet because of the heat they would retain, but just wanted to make sure I understood what you were saying.
~Ryan

The glue that holds the honeycomb pallet together will soften over time when you apply rubber as the rubber will retain the heat more so than the aluminum. I have replaced a few thousand under warranty and will no longer build them. If they work for others great.

[RichN]

I'm rehashing an old post, but has anyone put the rubber tops on honeycomb boards? Its crossed my mine to try and see if it makes any sort of difference or noticeable difference in print quality or flash times or anything worth while. I'm not sure I want to invest in a pallet just to see if there is someone in screen print world that has actually done it and has some feedback on it?
Thanks

We have manufactured 1000's of honeycomb aluminum and soft top rubber pallets and shipped them around the world for over twenty years. Some of the best known and largest printers in the world prefer the honeycomb with a soft top rubber. As well, we provide honeycomb and soft top rubber pallets directly to a number of machine makers around the world.  There are many advantages to using soft top rubber as a printing surface. It will improve your print quality, your control, & your flash times are reduced. Planar agreement between your pallet, your screen, and the squeegee vector is critical to all aspects of setup, production, and the quality of your screen printing. The slightly compressive quality of the rubber mitigates inaccuracies in your machines setup. Additionally, the rubber is a thermal insulator and reflects the heat thereby focusing the heat on the print and gelling the ink quicker.

The only disadvantage to it is that it's not free and adds to the cost of your pallets. These positive qualities are the reasons the number one selling machine manufacturer uses it. Many other machinery manufacturers around the world and here also use this material.

I've never heard from anyone that there was an issue with the materials not staying together. I can't remember ever disagreeing with Rich before. However, on this I can say with certainty that we've not experienced delamination issues. I think many of you would be surprised to know how much effort is required to make honeycomb pallets. When we make them with rubber, we add the material about half way through the manufacturing process. This is one of the ways we are able to do it so well. Additionally, we have developed process, expertise, and custom machinery to accomplish the quality that we do.

I have heard from the very best printers around the world for most of my life that they prefer it. I trust these guys’ expertise and therefore believe in the benefits of the material also. However, I do know that there are many accomplished printers who do incredible work on pallets without it. I say go with the rubber.

Now I'm really confused. Besides M&R what other #1 manufacturer is sending their presses out with rubber coated honeycomb pallets? Enlighten me [please.