Anilox Roll Repair

Dirty Anilox

In Flexo Factor Blog by Steven

Dirty anilox. Two words that can mean the difference between you being able to print good quality graphics, retain your customer, or even make a profit.

Yet it is these very words that I have heard every day for my entire career and continue to do so which in part is why I formed The Flexo Factor several years ago to provide a “One stop shop” range of products, solutions and technical support to help printers of all sizes overcome this everyday challenge.

What must be realized is that the anilox is “the heart of the press”. Just like your own heart if you don’t look after it at some point in time it will fail and you will suffer ill health. The anilox is no different after all, its entire job is very similar to your heart, but instead of blood its job is to transfer ink to the printing plate.

To do this the anilox surface usually consists of a thin ceramic coating that is laser engraved to create millions of extremely small cells capable of carrying a given volume of ink or coating . While the ceramic itself is very durable it is extremely fragile making it very sensitive to impact damage and the engraved cells being so small are very susceptible to becoming plugged with the dried ink or coating that it is meant to transfer.

This loss of volume from each cell translates into loss of density, color strength, graphic quality etc. all of which brings me back to the start of this article concerning the downside of having dirty anilox.

So I hear you say what is the solution!! No pun intended but using the correct solutions that are environmental, operator and of course product safe is critical and that is where “ The Flexo Factor” comes in.

How can we be so sure we that we have the solution for your particular application? The answer is experience and a lifetime in the Flexo industry.

I can personally guarantee that our products have been tested and proven over many years of testing and all come from world class companies . Please check out our website to view our wide range of cleaning concentrates, ready to use solutions, gels and much more or give us a call and we will be delighted to give you personalized advice.