Problems With Aluminium American-style Mats

[John Nixon]

Hi everyone.

We at http://theprintingmuseum.org.nz have some American-style aluminium mats and we are having issues with getting a constant quality of printing face.
 
Any tips around temperature/speed etc.?

Cheers, John

[KPMartin]

I don't do anything special with the Lanston aluminum mats. The only problem I find with them is that some of them are worn from people polishing their face (the part that contacts the mould), causing them to produce short type.

Both aluminum and brass/copper are good thermal conductors so it is not likely to be an issue with cooling rate.

Can you be more specific on what sort of problems you're running into?

[Dan Jones]

Hi John, it would assist the feedback if you gave more information, which machine, type size, pictures, etc.

One factor that I feel is often overlooked is metal content. As we recycle metal from different sources and skim the machine pot when casting, we are reducing the alloys, especially Tin.

We cannot talk about operating temperatures without knowing the metal content. Example, I am currently casting aluminum Giant Caster mats, 72 pt. Lombardic Initials on the Super Caster with good results.