Metering size press drying and web handling systems

Today's papermakers face an ever increasing requirement for the production of sophisticated paper products with a variety of functional surface coatings. The move towards these higher value added products and the recent trend towards "on-machine" coating operations has in turn brought with it a requirement for advanced drying configurations and contactless web handling systems. Typically, this requires the addition of supplemental non-contact drying and non-contact web handling equipment. Advances in drying and web handling have also brought forth a myriad of new machine configuration possibilities not thought possible with older generation equipment. These possibilities are still emerging and some new layouts have emerged as a direct result of the new technology. This paper will provide an overview of the current state of the art drying and web handling strategies being employed on metering size press applications. Topics will include the integration of gas IR, air drying and steam cylinder drying following metering size press applications. Other topics will include the application of air turns and web stabilizers in the overall scheme. Each of the drying and web handling systems will be described in terms of the operating principles, process advantages and quality enhancement features. Having a thorough understanding of the drying process, application requirements, drying hardware and some of the quality defects the drying process can induce will be beneficial in selecting the right dryer/web handling combination.