From Static Jams to London Fog: Missouri State University's Quest for Perfect Humidity
Steve Townsend, pressroom technician, stands with one of the new Ultrasonic humidifiers at Missouri State University Printing and Postal Services.
Humidity levels can drop pretty low in the winter months, especially in the Midwest. At Missouri State University, in Springfield, levels below 15% are common, with a very noticeable static buildup on sheets, creating jams and affecting the quality of folds and scores.
For a decade, the in-plant’s humidification system worked fine, but last year it died, leaving Mark McCarty, manager of Printing and Postal Services, to start looking into a replacement system. The university’s Planning Design and Construction department hired a consultant who came back with a price tag of over $100,000 – too high for the in-plant to afford. So, McCarty did some research of his own and found a pair of portable Ultrasonic humidifiers from Global Industries with a total price, including delivery and installation, of less than $4,000.
“We can hook them up to a water source, so we don’t have to keep filling the tanks,” says McCarty. The humidifiers have a 5-micron water filter that can be changed out, and an automatic tank float that shuts the water supply off so the tanks don’t overfill. The two units can provide humidification for the shop’s entire 4,500 sq. ft., he says, ensuring that paper runs smoothly through the equipment, which includes a Xerox Iridesse and a Duplo iSaddle with a 10-bin tower collator.
“Our digital press likes the higher humidity. It prints cleaner and runs better when RH levels are above 20%,” McCarty says.
The shop has had its growing pains with the new humidifiers. Initially, the mist didn’t travel far from the machines and puddled up on the floor around them, so the in-plant added tubes to act as chimneys and disburse the mist high in the air. This has worked much better.
“We did have an interesting first day with them last week,” McCarty relates. “We set them up and turned them to 70%. After about five hours of running, the shop looked like London fog. Too much too fast. It set off the fire alarms, and we had to evacuate the entire building. Seems the smoke detectors check density of the air, not just for smoke. We shut them off and came in the next day, and everything was clear and dry.”
Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 170 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.
