Anthony Foley

While not a headline-catching subject, doctoring systems have a big impact on printing quality and overall production costs. ALTHOUGH NOT A particularly glamorous topic, package printers know that doctoring systems represent a complex challenge. The selection, operation, and maintenance of these systems can have a major impact on consistent print quality, along with longer term cost issues when it comes to roll maintenance and life. When selecting the right doctor blade for your application, there are any number of places to begin and approaches that can be taken. For starters, Perry Lichon, president of Retroflex, lists blade material composition, tip design, thickness, and

Suppliers trace popular and pending doctor blade usage trends. By Susan Friedman The smooth, even business of ink metering isn't without its grayer areas. Yes, flexo printers have long been heavily loyal to doctor blades, particularly chambered systems...but metering roll applications still remain. And yes, gravure printers still favor trailing blade configurations...but reverse angle's potential hasn't faded away. Here, suppliers explore the sometimes uneven ink metering terrain. Flexo: chamber-made? For many flexo printers, the decision to use doctor blades instead of a two-roll metering system has been pretty, well, cut and dry. "There are not many scenarios where a two roll system will out-perform