Properly caring for anilox rolls will maximize your investment

By Chris Mc Loone

More on anilox handling

Printers make a significant investment when purchasing an anilox roll or sleeve. At the very least, it should be regarded as a premium roll product. It makes sense to offer a means of protecting the anilox from the rigors of the pressroom environment. A range of options are available to the printer. Some printers will simply cover their rolls in cardboard. However, this offers little impact resistance for the anilox. Others will use a rubber or vinyl wrap. However, this can be cumbersome to attach and detach, causing operators to remove the wrap before the anilox is placed in the press and/or not cover the anilox as it is coming out of the press. The installation or removal of the anilox from the press is the most likely time when damage will occur. Therefore, it is imperative to have the anilox protected during that time. Covers that do not require ties or straps for securing are more user friendly and can result in more consistent use on and off press. The image above is an example of such a cover, one which snaps in place when mounted and remains secure due to the hoop stress built into the cover that then grips the anilox.—Mike Smoot, business manager, Xymid Print Sleeves (www.xymidllc.com)

With anilox rolls being a main artery of the flexographic printing process, you would be foolish not to maximize their value. Not to sound trite, but the United States economy is hurting at the moment, and it’s not easy getting the most bang for your buck these days. Consider this: statistics show that 80 to 85 percent of all rolls are damaged prior to being worn out, according to Mike Huey, technical graphics manager at Western Division, Harper GraphicSolutions (www.harperimage.com). “Routine cleaning, inspection, and storage all play a large factor in providing optimum care for these delicate instruments,” he says. “Identifying root causes of damage and enacting measures to protect against future damage is critical to prolonged anilox life.” There are also other ways to get the most out of your anilox rolls, including resurfacing existing rolls and working with your suppliers to enter into buying programs.

Handle with care

Considering Huey’s comments, a good way to start getting the most out of your anilox rolls or sleeves is to take care of them. “Better housekeeping, care, and handling of your sleeves and anilox rolls is the key to getting the most bang for your buck,” says Ashley Foran, marketing director, ARC International (www.arcinternational.com). “It all sounds so simple, but in truth, very few printers take the time to allow for cleaning of their anilox rolls and sleeves.”

There are a number of things printers can do to optimize the lives of ceramic anilox rolls, according to Mark Hahn, vice president of sales and marketing, AAA Press International, Inc. (www.aaapress.com). These include proper setting of steel doctor blades to shear ink from the face of the roll; use of ink magnets or filters to remove larger metal particles present in some fluorescent and standard ink colors; proper use of ultrasonic anilox cleaning systems; proper use of ultrasonic anilox cleaner (using the 90-10, no more than 5 rule); regularly cleaning the cleaning solution when it dips below the recommended pH; and experimenting with press side cleaning pastes, which remove 95 percent of impacted and dried ink without the use of abrasive cleaning methods.

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