Keeping Your Aniloxes Healthy
Nuances of your anilox rolls can help you develop some tricks to maintain the quality of your print jobs.
March 2008 by Chris Mc Loone
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Anilox rolls are at the heart of the flexographic printing process, so it only makes good business sense to try to extend the life of these critical components to protect your investments. Proper care is essential. While the flexographic process essentially is the same on every press, unique characteristics of each print job, each print shop, and each press make anilox roll care methods different for every print shop.
Each anilox roll supplier has its own recommendations for caring for and ultimately extending the lives of its anilox rolls, and you should always start with your supplier. But as package printers run their jobs, operators will no doubt find that nuances of their anilox rolls have helped them develop some tricks to maintain the quality of their jobs without replacing their rolls. packagePRINTING has compiled a few of these tricks as well as supplier recommendations, to help you manage any problems you may have have with your anilox rolls.
Start with your supplier
Your supplier can typically offer the best advice for prolonging the lives of your anilox rolls. The anilox roll manufacturers can train your operators and your trainers to correctly store, maintain, and clean your anilox rolls. “The bottom line is that most longevity issues with ceramic anilox are inadequate or incorrect care, handling, cleaning, and basic maintenance,” says Steve Wilkinson, ARC International. “It is critical, therefore, to be able to extend the life of a roll and maintain it at [its] maximum performance by first ensuring that the operators are fully trained in how to handle, clean, and maintain all types of anilox surfaces.”
David Lanska, midwest regional sales manager, Stork Cellramic, adds that “there are a lot of factors that affect longevity and performance. These can be divided into cleaning, handling/storage, and mechanical issues. Maintaining cell carrying capacity is critical to the performance of the roll, which is why so many printers spend thousands of dollars on anilox cleaning equipment.”
Speaking of cleaning, Pete Mulheran, president of SANI-BLAST, says his company advises its customers “to exercise good housekeeping practices and always clean their aniloxes after use with a daily cleaner. They should deep clean their aniloxes frequently and before storage...to maintain the integrity of the rolls.”
Sean Teufler, technical graphics advisor, Harper Graphic Solutions, a division of Harper Corporation of America recommends the anilox supplier conduct a press area audit focusing on these areas of concern:
Each anilox roll supplier has its own recommendations for caring for and ultimately extending the lives of its anilox rolls, and you should always start with your supplier. But as package printers run their jobs, operators will no doubt find that nuances of their anilox rolls have helped them develop some tricks to maintain the quality of their jobs without replacing their rolls. packagePRINTING has compiled a few of these tricks as well as supplier recommendations, to help you manage any problems you may have have with your anilox rolls.
Start with your supplier
Your supplier can typically offer the best advice for prolonging the lives of your anilox rolls. The anilox roll manufacturers can train your operators and your trainers to correctly store, maintain, and clean your anilox rolls. “The bottom line is that most longevity issues with ceramic anilox are inadequate or incorrect care, handling, cleaning, and basic maintenance,” says Steve Wilkinson, ARC International. “It is critical, therefore, to be able to extend the life of a roll and maintain it at [its] maximum performance by first ensuring that the operators are fully trained in how to handle, clean, and maintain all types of anilox surfaces.”
David Lanska, midwest regional sales manager, Stork Cellramic, adds that “there are a lot of factors that affect longevity and performance. These can be divided into cleaning, handling/storage, and mechanical issues. Maintaining cell carrying capacity is critical to the performance of the roll, which is why so many printers spend thousands of dollars on anilox cleaning equipment.”
Speaking of cleaning, Pete Mulheran, president of SANI-BLAST, says his company advises its customers “to exercise good housekeeping practices and always clean their aniloxes after use with a daily cleaner. They should deep clean their aniloxes frequently and before storage...to maintain the integrity of the rolls.”
Sean Teufler, technical graphics advisor, Harper Graphic Solutions, a division of Harper Corporation of America recommends the anilox supplier conduct a press area audit focusing on these areas of concern:
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