Matters Needing Attention when Using Anilox Sticks and Scrapers

The long-term use of the anilox will cause the bearings at both ends to wear, resulting in incomplete ink on the printed product. 

At this time, the bearings at both ends should be replaced in time. Before the problem is found in the printed matter, the operator can also check, and the dial indicator can be used to test the circular runout of the anilox roller, or it is normal to feel the smoothness by placing the hand on the scraper frame during operation. If there is vibration, replace the bearing in time. In order to ensure the printing accuracy and the quality of the printed products, the runout value of the three spokes of the anilox roller, the printing plate, and the printing spoke shall not exceed ≤0.02mm.

After the scraper is worn, it should be replaced in time.

Usually, pay attention to disassemble and clean the knife holder, and clean the ink in the scraper and the pressure blade. The ink in the knife holder has not been cleaned for a long time. After the scraper is installed, the knife edge will be curved and not straight. The amount of ink scraped from the anilox wheel will form a circumferential ink mark, which is difficult to adjust during printing.

Squeegee material is divided into stainless steel scraper and polyester plastic scraper. 

Plastic scrapers are generally used for solid layout printing, which is better. Due to the high-speed operation of the flexo printing machine, the knife edge wears quickly, which often causes the scraps of the polyester plastic scraper to fall into the ink or be sandwiched between the scraper and the anilox roller, and then transfer to the printing plate, which affects the quality of the printed product. Due to the small wear and tear, the steel scraper is generally installed in the reverse direction for scraping, and the angle is 30°~ 40°. The angle and pres sure of the scraper depends on the adjustment of the scraper spring (air cylinder).

The long-term operation of the flexo printing machine wears the scraper quickly, so the correct installation of the scraper is also particularly important for printing.

When replacing the scraper blade after wear, pay attention to cleaning the ink in the blade holder and the pressure blade. If there is dry ink in the blade holder and the blade, it will cause the blade to be bent and not straight after the blade is installed, which will also cause circumferential ink marks on the anilox spokes, which will be difficult to adjust during printing and affect the quality of the printed product.

After each printing, the squeegee should be cleaned, and the squeegee must be wiped with alcohol to evaporate the water on the squeegee, so as not to rust the blade and affect the uneven squeegee during printing.