How important for anilox roller washing during flexo printing?
Forword
Described as the heart of the Flexo printing process, anilox roller are crucial to the business of producing high quality printed packaging materials and point-of-sale displays. Anilox rollers contain literally millions of tiny cells, which dictate the amount of ink to be delivered to the printed product. Plugging of cells can prove to be extremely troublesome in achieving ink density requirements for various print jobs. Perfect printing can not be done if the anilox roller was not cleared, even we have best quality anilox roller.
Generally, there are 4ways to cleaning as below:
1.Manual washing way.
The cleaning agent/Detergent is coated on the surface of anilox roller, chrome plated metal roller adopt copper wire brushes for cleaning; and ceramic anilox roller must use steel wire brush.
This method is more convenient and pollution-free, and the way suitable for Anilox roller with lower liners or not very dirty ones.
2.Automatic anilox roller ultrasonic washing machine for deep cleaning.
It is modernized way that we used ultrasonic to clean anilox roller of printing machine, laminating machine. It works like this:to use the transducer converts electrical signals into mechanical vibration into the cleaning liquid. When the ultrasonic wave propagation in the liquid, cleaning liquid molecules are subjected to compression and expansion, and mechanical forces produced by liquid molecules constantly hit against the roller, then to clean it. Washing time about 15-30minutes (Normally 20min).
3.Strong corrosive chemical cleaning method
The corrosive cleaning agent (general for alkaline solution) evenly coated in anilox roller surface, if necessary,coated with a layer of plastic products to prevent liquid volatilization, roller etch 1 ~ 48 hours until curing ink was fully softened, wash with water or alcohol solution (not usable acetic acid and other acidic solution).
It can give good cleaning for roller, but there is a certain degree of corrosion on the roller, and will cause environmental pollution.
4.Soda Spray cleaning method
Soda softening cleaning medium sprayed to roller surface to break curing ink, in order to achieve the purpose of cleaning. Soda with soluble, non-toxic characters, will not damage anilox roller surface and cells.