What Industrial Feeder Systems Suit Your Collating Line?
September 28, 2026
One detail sits at the heart of every collating line, and that’s how sheets are fed into the process, gathered into sets, and mov...
Col-Tec Overseas
A facilities manager conducting a noise survey across a finishing floor will often find that vacuum pumps register the highest noise levels in the room. The noise does not stay where it starts: it radiates from the casing, travels through the mounting, and builds across the line. Noise reduction in these environments is a question of containing the source, not turning it down.
Without a correctly specified enclosure, the response defaults to hearing protection and compliance reviews, accounting for the noise without resolving it. Our soundproof pump hood covers address both transmission paths that a generic cover cannot reach:
This article explains the acoustic and mechanical principles behind effective pump noise control.
Pump noise in print finishing has two distinct transmission paths, and addressing only one will not achieve meaningful decibel reduction.
The first is airborne sound emission. Suction-feed pumps operate by generating a continuous pressure differential through rotary or piston-driven mechanisms. This produces broadband noise from motor hum, air movement, and cyclic pressure fluctuations, which radiate outward from the pump casing into the surrounding space. In a busy finishing facility, these compounds can be found across multiple machines and can push ambient levels above the thresholds at which employers must act.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance on noise in printing requires employers to reduce daily exposure to at least 85 dB(A), and preferably 80 dB(A) or below, with acoustic enclosures listed as a primary source-reduction measure [1].
For facilities where persistent pump noise has become a recurring maintenance concern, the signs that a collator upgrade is due can extend beyond misfeed rates and worn components. Noise that worsens under sustained load is often a signal that the machine’s mechanical condition is contributing to the problem.
The second transmission path is mechanical. A pump mounted directly to a machine frame or the floor transfers its rotational vibration into the surrounding structure. The structure then re-radiates this as sound from any surface it reaches, be it panels, frames, conveyor beds, even the floor. This is why hearing protection alone, or a basic cover with no mechanical isolation, rarely resolves the problem. The noise source is not just in the air; it is in the building.
An effective pump hood cover reduces noise through three complementary mechanisms, with each addressing a different aspect of the problem:
Where the pump configuration falls outside standard dimensions or the installation presents access constraints, bespoke engineering capability allows the enclosure to be designed around the specific geometry of the equipment rather than adapted from an off-the-shelf format.
Addressing all three mechanisms together is what determines whether an enclosure performs under sustained production conditions. HSE records a 10 dB reduction achieved through acoustic screening applied to industrial pumps and ventilation equipment, representing a perceived halving of loudness [2].
A well-specified pump hood combining acoustic insulation with mechanical isolation can bring ambient levels within reach of the 80 dB(A) target.
Under the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, employers must reduce noise exposure at source before considering hearing protection. Where machinery must remain in the working area, the HSE requires it to be enclosed within a sound-insulating enclosure if possible, with anti-vibration mountings as a supplementary measure, and hearing protection to be reserved for situations where levels still exceed 85 dB(A) after engineering controls have been applied [3].
For finishing operations where machinery generates between 85 and 95 dB(A), a purpose-built enclosure is the most direct engineering control available. For operations where capital expenditure on acoustic equipment requires careful planning, our lease and rental options allow the cost to be spread without deferring the compliance improvement.
A correctly specified pump hood reduces noise at source, reduces the affected area, and creates a verifiable engineering intervention supporting the employer’s legal duty to reduce exposure as far as reasonably practicable. Relying on hearing protection does not satisfy that duty where engineering controls are available.
For a fuller account of the regulatory framework, our guidance on noise regulations at work for collators sets out the obligations in detail.
Without a purpose-built acoustic enclosure, pump noise in a finishing facility remains a managed problem. A correctly specified enclosure changes the situation at source, with ambient levels falling, the structure-borne path interrupted, and a documented engineering intervention on record.
Col-Tec designs and supplies soundproof pump hood covers for the suction-feed pumps used across our collating machine range. With over 50 years of engineering experience in print finishing and a service team holding more than 100 years of collective expertise, our team provides the technical knowledge to specify a solution that meets both production and compliance requirements.
Call +44 (0) 1425 627755 or submit an enquiry to discuss pump noise reduction for your facility.
[1] GOV.UK, Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Noise in Printing: https://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/noise.htm
[2] GOV.UK, Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Flexible Acoustic Screening Material: https://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/casestudies/soundsolutions/acousticscreening.htm
[3] GOV.UK, Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Noise Induced Hearing Loss: https://www.hse.gov.uk/food/occupational-health/noise.htm
Recent Posts
