Flexographic Printing Anilox Roller Scratches

The most critical structure of the flexographic printing process is the contact between the ink scraper and the rotating anilox roller. If there are some hard particles or impurities on the anilox roller, it is easy to cause scratches on the anilox roller. Specifically, during the operation of the anilox roller, some ceramic powder or larger particles caused by the wear of the ink scraper will be produced due to the contact force between the ink scraper and the anilox roller. If these impurities remain in the closed ink chamber or ink pipeline and are not removed in time, it is easy to cause scratches in the circumferential direction of the anilox roller. Some people have suggested that if a plastic ink scraper is used instead, can the problem of anilox roller scratches be reduced? The answer is not entirely. Even if some softer plastic ink scrapers are used, the ink on the anilox roller will clump due to the rapid drying speed of the ink, resulting in scratches during the printing process, which may cause damage to the ink scraper in the long run. In addition, carbon steel ink scrapers are more likely to produce wear particles or metal fragments. These impurities exist in the ink circulation system, which will form friction between the ink scraper and the anilox roller, which is enough to cause the generation of anilox roller scoring lines in severe cases.

In order to minimize the occurrence of anilox roller scratches and increase the service life of the anilox roller, you can try to solve it in the following ways.

01

Choose a suitable scraper and control the pressure within a reasonable range. Accurately control the pressure and contact angle of the scraper to ensure that the ink can be evenly transferred while avoiding damage to the anilox roller.

02

Periodically deep clean the anilox roller to make up for the shortcomings of daily cleaning. Use the correct cleaning method and cleaning agent to ensure that the mesh of the anilox roller is clean to avoid ink drying and impurity accumulation.

03

Optimize the ink properties and adjust the formula of UV ink to reduce its viscosity and thixotropy to reduce the possibility of ink splashing. Use appropriate solvents and slow-drying agents to control the drying speed of the ink to prevent agglomeration caused by too fast drying.