new vacuum blanket source

[mooseman]

Recently replaced my vacuum blanket with 1/16 in thick synthetic buna rubber sheet.
Available 36 in wide  x the foot. Cost is under $7.00 / foot before shipping which was free in my case for some reason?.
Source is MSC direct here is a link https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/31939630?rItem=31939630
and I have attached pics for reference.
Also bought some pallet rubber great stuff very soft but a litle thicker than the advertised 1/8 inch but I like it just nice.
here is the link  https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/31934672?rItem=31934672
FYI
mooseman

[mimosatexas]

Can you show pics vacuumed with a frame?

[mooseman]

Yes will post one later today.....stay tuned
mooseman

[RICK STEFANICK]

That is exactly what we buy for the Richmond. works excellent.

[Atownsend]

I just installed a Douthitt blanket on our Amergraph yesterday. A royal pain to because of amergraphs stupid bar latch / vacuum frame BS. Ended up using lots of yellow weatherstrip adhesive. Would have used pilobond but we needed it for production and I didn't want to worry about the crap that goes along with that adhesive. Took waaaaay too long to install properly. But at least I didn't have to install the valves.

Our 23x31 rollers are too big for this unit, but it still gets to 30"/hg. Douthitt says you are supposed to have 5" on each side, but we have maybe 2" if I'm being generous. Need a big vacuum frame something bad.

Curious to see how this one stacks up compared to the buna rubber sheet. This one is way more flexible than neoprene, just hope it lasts.

[Stinkhorn Press]

we have found that the right stuff is ALWAYS worth paying for.

M&R and Action sell platen rubber. the good stuff. it's not cheap. (it can be bought from the place they get it from if you really really really really want to save that price difference and can get someone to tell you where that place is)

Douthitt sells expo unit blankets. (I'm sure others do TOO, but I personally don't know who). the good stuff. it's not cheap. (it can also probably be bought from the place that manufactures it, or from a lesser middleman if saving pennies is your absolute goal.)

THEY WORK FANTASTIC - For the stuff you use daily, BUY THE GOOD crap.

I really enjoy a good DIY workaround, but worrying with finding cheaper basic materials like rubber is to me the epitome of stepping over dollars to pick up pennies. 

/rant

[RICK STEFANICK]

I just installed a Douthitt blanket on our Amergraph yesterday. A royal pain to because of amergraphs stupid bar latch / vacuum frame BS. Ended up using lots of yellow weatherstrip adhesive. Would have used pilobond but we needed it for production and I didn't want to worry about the crap that goes along with that adhesive. Took waaaaay too long to install properly. But at least I didn't have to install the valves.

Our 23x31 rollers are too big for this unit, but it still gets to 30"/hg. Douthitt says you are supposed to have 5" on each side, but we have maybe 2" if I'm being generous. Need a big vacuum frame something bad.

Curious to see how this one stacks up compared to the buna rubber sheet. This one is way more flexible than neoprene, just hope it lasts.




The amerigrapg has the built in edging on ours so we cant use the rubber sheet. The blanket has to come from amerigraph

[mooseman]

OK here are pics of the new blanket doing what blankets do .....one of them is a trick picture see if you can guess which one it is
mooseman

[Atownsend]

Wow! Looks tight!!!

The Douthitt blanket that I rigged up on our amergraph does not look like it is going to pan out unfortunately. RSefanick called it. Amergraph has some kind of hook / channel lock system that I was not aware of before I took the unit apart. I was able to get it to work quite well for about 20 screens before my weatherstrip adhesive decided it was a bad idea. It looks like I am going to have to pay the stupid tax and order one of their proprietary blankets. Bummer.

[RICK STEFANICK]

we have found that the right stuff is ALWAYS worth paying for.

M&R and Action sell platen rubber. the good stuff. it's not cheap. (it can be bought from the place they get it from if you really really really really want to save that price difference and can get someone to tell you where that place is)

Douthitt sells expo unit blankets. (I'm sure others do TOO, but I personally don't know who). the good stuff. it's not cheap. (it can also probably be bought from the place that manufactures it, or from a lesser middleman if saving pennies is your absolute goal.)

THEY WORK FANTASTIC - For the stuff you use daily, BUY THE GOOD crap.

I really enjoy a good DIY workaround, but worrying with finding cheaper basic materials like rubber is to me the epitome of stepping over dollars to pick up pennies. 

/rant

That is a very good point but in this case I its not stepping over dollars to pick up pennys.. quite the opposite .I have been using that rubber for 25 years on many exposure units. but as a example we installed a 79.00 piece on our Richmond that shoots 2-25x36 screens (so its big). 11 months ago. so far to date it has exposed over 13,000 screens and still looks great. I'm sure we will get another 20-30 thousand screens out of it ,possibly even more. just my .02

[tonypep]

What are these things called vacum blankets?