Welcome to my new monthly column where I will share best practices for Flexo Wash technology and common flexo challenges. I want to answer your real world questions so be sure to send them to me at: service@flexowashus.com and we will feature them in an upcoming column. As your partner, I look forward to handling all your issues as soon as possible and offer lessons learned. Question: Foam is coming out of my solution tank! Answer: Have you seen foam coming out of the solution tank or...

Last month we talked about how a log book and tag team approach benefits your preventive maintenance program.  This month, we want to share modern practices for maintaining photopolymer plates. Old-fashioned, common cleaning practices for plate cleaning include manually cleaning photopolymer plates.  Shop rags and fibrous towels along with soft nylon or other brushes are often used with different chemistries to scrub plates clean.  Drying time, stacking plates before/after cleaning and other...

In a perfect world, immediately! The majority of inks and coatings are formulated to resist moisture, chemical, rub, scuff . .. you get the idea. The longer an ink or coating has been allowed to dry in the cells, the more difficult the cleaning process. Also, plugged, dirty rolls create surface tension which prevent cells from accepting and releasing the proper ink volume. Good: Clean rolls on a routine maintenance schedule – once a week or once every 7 to 10 days. Better: Clean rolls...

Last month we talked about modern practices for maintaining photopolymer plates.  Today, we are  focused on how the cleaning process can be part of your inspection process. By now you are aware that plugged anilox cells create conditions that reduce the effective volume of the cells, increase surface tension and result in inconsistent print, unnecessary downtime and waste. And that’s why your cleaning process is critical.  But, how do you know if the cleaning process you have invested in,...