Virtual AkeBoose showroom

drupa 2020 has been rescheduled for next year, but we're still having an online version of the exhibition!

 Akeboose virtual drupa booth

Day #11 - June 26, 2020 - NOVA Compact chamber doctor blade system

Cost-efficient and precision ink transfer

NOVA Compact is a compact chamber doctor blade system offering excellent ink transfer and doctoring performance. Based on an anodized aluminum profile, the slim design can be fitted to anilox roller diameters ranging from 70 to 150 mm. Up to a printing width of 1000 mm, the system is self-supporting. For larger printing widths, the chamber is supported by a solid beam.

Benefits of using a Nova Compact chamber:

  • Efficient and clean doctoring
    thanks to the asymmetric chamber design
  • Superior blade life
    because of low contact pressure between doctor blade and anilox roller
  • 100% leak-proof set up
    if the chamber is equipped with the optional return tray
  • Ideal option for narrow assembly situations
    thanks to the slim design and space-saving suspension system
  • Quick and easy blade and seal changes
  • With the patented vibration-free AkeBoose blade holder
  • Easy access for service work
    The chamber can be easily taken out of/tilted in the suspension system for blade and seal changes or cleaning

 

The Nova Compact offers an excellent price-performance ratio for narrow web to medium web flexo printing applications. It can be used with all ink types and is very light-weight with just 5.5 kg per meter.

If you are interested a cost-efficient and easy to handle chamber system, then contact the AkeBoose team!

Day #10 - June 25, 2020 - End seal development

Presented by our sister company Agergaard Graphic Supplies GmbH:

Application-specific end seals for optimal performance

The exciting thing about end seals is that though they might not look spectacular, they play a crucial part for an effective and smooth function of the printing deck or coating unit. That small end seal unites a lot of know-how about how the respective printing application works, about materials science and about suitable production methods to make a high-performance seal.

Our ambition is to provide our customers with end-seal solutions that offer the best performance for their individual requirement. The goal might be to extend the seal lifetime as much as possible, in other cases the seal might need to withstand special chemicals or should be able to cope with varying pressure.

Accordingly, we design a suitable end seal concept in close dialogue with the customer, drawing upon a well-proven pool of high-quality materials and extensive best practice knowledge from the industry. Our materials and production technology are subject to constant reviews to identify potential for improving performance. On our in-house test unit, we make endurance tests and check new developments thoroughly before they are released for further testing on the market.

We support a number of press manufacturers with our end-seal technology. Likewise, special developments on a smaller scale are also possible: for instance, we have designed and produced a small batch of vulcanized rubber seals for an offline-coater, for which the machine manufacturer no longer offered the spare parts supply.

Are you interested in a special seal for your printing application? Contact the Agergaard team!

Day #9 - June 24, 2020 - EPQ 200 pump system

Easy to handle pumping unit for optimal ink circulation

The EPQ 200 pump system is the perfect match for not only AkeBoose chamber systems. The system features two pneumatic membrane pumps. The dedicated supply pump including pulsation damper transports the ink with a steady flow to the chamber, which allows a uniform print result. The return pump transports the ink back to the ink container. The advantage of a return pump over gravity return is that the chamber does not get over-pressurized. Both pumps have a speed controller to make sure that the ink circulation is balanced. To support a quick and easy cleaning of the chamber system, the supply pump can be inverted, so that the chamber can be evacuated quickly and completely through both supply pump and return pump.

The handling of the EPQ system in daily operations is very easy: The three operation modes Inking, Standby and Evacuation are selected with a hand lever. The pump system can simply be cleaned together with the chamber by circulating washing detergent instead of ink.

For use with solvent based inks, the EPQ 200 system can optionally be equipped with ATEX-certified pumps. In case very aggressive inks and/or detergents are used, the system can also be equipped with an extra robust and wear-resistant check valve and diaphragm.

Day #8 - June 23, 2020 - Plastic blades

Presented by our sister company Agergaard Graphic Supplies GmbH:

While traditionally a steel doctor blade has been the first choice in flexo printing, plastic doctor blades are becoming more and more popular. Why is that?

  • Plastic blades are corrosion-free by nature. 

They can be used for all ink types. That makes the stock keeping and daily operations easier because the operators do not need to put in different blade materials for different ink types

  • Plastic is extremely wear resistant.

With increasing printing speeds and need for efficiency to remain competitive, blade lifetime is a very important factor. Plastic blades have better anti-frictional properties towards the anilox roller than long life steel options like for example ceramic-coated steel blades, which is also beneficial for the lifespan of the anilox roller.

  • Plastic doctor blades are safer to handle.

A used steel doctor blade is razor sharp and has already caused many injuries in the pressroom. Especially with wide web applications, the blade handling gets more delicate. A plastic blade does not develop such sharp edges as a steel blade, so it is beneficial for work safety to use plastic doctor blades.

For a number of applications, plastic blades are an ideal choice:

In general, plastic blades are perfect for printing applications with simple to medium quality print images.

  • Corrugated Post Print
  • Line Printing
  • Full surface printing or coating
  • For use as containment blade in any printing press with chambered doctor blades

Agergaard offers a range of different plastic doctor blades. Our polyBLADE series includes materials such as polyester and UHMW, our fiberBLADE series are fiber reinforced doctor blades. Since we produce the blades in-house on an order-related basis, we can accommodate individual requirements such as varying bevel angels with short lead times.

At the same time, we put much effort into further developing our products. We are for example looking into new blade tip characteristics and material formulas in order to better accommodate the needs of high resolution halftone printing. Prototypes have to pass strict tests on our in-house testing unit before they go into beta-testing in the field.

Day #7 - June 22, 2020 - Doctor blade holders for gravure printing

Precision doctoring with reduced operating costs

The doctor blade is at the heart of the rotogravure printing process. It wipes excessive ink directly from the printing cylinder from where the ink is transferred to the substrate. Traditionally, a 40 mm or wider doctor blade with a lamella profile is required to achieve the necessary ink metering precision. Given a typical printing speed of 15 m per second, a printing width of usually more than one meter and frequently 10 printing decks, the doctor blade consumption accounts for a considerable proportion of the running expenses.

AkeBoose’s patented blade holders systems offer the chance to cut down the blade costs significantly without compromising the print quality. The blade holder is integrated in the existing blade clamping system in the gravure press, so no technical conversion measures need to be taken. The blade system features a very thin metering blade between 0.065 mm and 0.152 mm thickness to accommodate different print quality degrees. The necessary stability to withstand the contact pressure against the cylinder is achieved by a back up blade. Only the very inexpensive 10 mm wide metering blade needs to be changed regularly, while it offers up to 50% more service life than the “normal” gravure doctor blade.

Besides the well-known and long-established strip blade holder system, AkeBoose has also invented the vibration-free NewEdge blade holder, where doctor blades can be clamped perfectly straight without any tools and which is very easy to clean.

The unique sensitivity and straightness of the AkeBoose blade holder system reduces the doctor blade pressure, resulting in fewer blade changes, less downtime and substantially prolonged cylinder life.

Do you want to cut down costs AND achieve high quality print results? Then contact the AkeBoose Team.

Day #6 - June 21, 2020 - Performance boost with customized seals & blades

Presented by our sister company Agergaard Graphic Supplies GmbH:

More productivity and less cleaning

The purpose of end seals is to seal the outer ends of the chamber doctor blade system in a printing deck or coating unit. For optimal sealing function and long lifetime, it is important to adapt the seal shape to the chamber geometry and the seal material to the printing parameters such as ink type, printing speed, substrate, etc.

Agergaard end seals, traded under the name coatSEAL, are manufactured from high performance materials such as technical foams and felts as well as wear-resistant rubber and plastic types. The end seal range comprises more than 4000 different end seal designs, covering a large number of printing press brands and models. Special developments are also possible, since we have an in-house R&D department and a flexible production set up.

Doctor blades wipe excessive ink from the anilox roller that transfers the ink to the printing plate. To make sure that the ink is transferred evenly and consistently, the material and the working edge design of the blade should fit to the respective printing application.

The Agergaard doctor blades range includes high grade steel and wear-resistant plastic materials. The steel types, traded under the name steelBLADE, include carbon steel, stainless steel and tooling steel which can be additionally surface-treated to increase the lifetime and anti-frictional properties of the blade. The plastic doctor blades, traded under the names polyBLADE and fiberBLADE are often used in corrugated or tissue production. Due to the material flexibility, plastic blades are also ideal for use as sealing blade along the ink chamber.

The equation is easy: application specific end seals + blades = more printing output thanks to reduced service requirement

Video: Performance boost for your printing press with customized end seals and doctor blades

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Day #5 - June 20, 2020 - NOVA XLS chamber doctor blade system

Inking excellence with Nova XLS

An asymmetric chamber design, in combination with the low-pressure doctoring, is one of the secrets to achieve the highest possible productivity and economy in the printing house. Much longer blade life, no back doctoring and no scoring of screen rollers are immediate paybacks.

Optimized blade angles for both working and sealing blade eliminate problems with back doctoring and ink spitting, reducing ink losses and downtime for cleaning significantly. The low-pressure doctoring principle reduces wear of doctor blades and end seals considerably.

The mechanically locked position of the chamber also allows the use of thinner, round edge doctor blades resulting in very low running expenses, even at high speed printing in flexible packaging.
The patented and user-friendly blade clamping system requires no special tools, levers, compressed air or special maintenance. Only an open blade slit, with ease of access, to keep clean!

The advantages of the Nova XLS system briefly summarized:

  1. Corrosion-safe stainless steel technology
    more rigid than carbon fiber chambers
  2. Light as carbon fiber chambers
    with just 6 - 8 kg per meter
  3. No back doctoring or ink spitting
    thanks to optimized blade angles
  4. Versatile integration options
    to match anilox roller diameters from 104 - 312 mm
  5. Longer blade life
    thanks to low pressure doctoring
  6. Rapid blade changes
    with the patented vibration-free and tool-free clamping system
  7. Easy cleaning
    thanks to the smooth interior design

Day #4 - June 19, 2020 - Anti-spit doctor blades for UV printing

Presented by our sister company Agergaard Graphic Supplies GmbH:

Overcoming ink spitting issues with optimized blades

An appealing product packaging has always played an important role in the buying decision process. With technological advances also comes increasing demand for high-definition print images to catch the eye of the consumer. UV inks are a popular ink type in packaging and label printing, amongst other reasons because they dry quickly, which allows high printing speeds, and because printing results can be reproduced perfectly more easily than with other ink types.

However, there is one phenomenon with UV inks that keeps causing printers trouble: Ink spitting. It not only soils the press but also appears on the web in the form of very fine drops showing on the print image. A lot of research has been undertaken to solve this issue. A variety of parameters in the process can be optimized to tackle ink spitting, e.g. a different anilox engraving, ink temperature control and an improved doctor blade set up.

When it comes to doctor blades, we look at two areas: The blade geometry and the blade material.

Steel blades are commonly perceived as the best choice for high quality graphics, since they have a very fine contact zone with the anilox roller to wipe the ink. Typically, the blade thickness is 0.15 or 0.20 mm. When metering high viscosity UV ink, it can happen that the flexible blade bends too much under the pressure coming from the thick ink. As a result, the blade meters unevenly, allowing small amounts of ink to build up on the back. This excess ink then spits into the press and onto the web due to vibration. The vibration gets worse with higher printing speeds.

The Agergaard steelBLADE CAS blades are specially designed to minimize ink spitting because they combine rigidity with flexibility. The blade has thicker base material, which makes the blade less sensitive to vibration. To make sure that the fine contact zone between blade tip and anilox roller remains for precision doctoring, we grind a special profile at the blade tip.

Another option is to adopt a plastic blade material. Plastic has a different material elasticity than steel, being less sensitive to vibration. While there are admittedly limits as to the line count on the anilox roller that can be metered precisely with a plastic blade, it can be an interesting option for many UV based print applications. The Agergaard polyBLADE P series is a very wear-resistant thermoplastic doctor blade with a beveled blade tip.

Day #3 - June 18, 2020 - EPZ pumping unit

Pulsation free ink supply with continuous flow control

The EPZ pumping units are composed of a stainless steel ink container with lid and a centrifugal pump with integrated bypass. The ink containers are made of 2 mm stainless steel which is stable and easy to clean. The sloped bottom of the container makes sure that the ink can circulate perfectly even at a low filling level.  The centrifugal pump with integrated bypass allows for a continuous ink flow from 1 to 25 liters per minute without pulsation.

The pumping unit set up is designed for maximum flexibility: different ink container sizes from 25 to 55 liters can be used with the same pump and bypass.

Would you like to benefit from a smart and economical pumping unit? Contact the AkeBoose Team for more info!

Day #2 - June 17, 2020 - High speed end seals

Presented by our sister company Agergaard Graphic Supplies GmbH:

Sealing chambers effectively for longer

Today's high-tech printing technology allows increased printing speeds, frequently far beyond 600 m/min in wide web printing. Such printing speeds demand a great deal of end seals, given the increased friction and heat evolving in the process. Agergaard has specialized in the production of high-performance end seals for many years and is putting much focus on developing reliable end seal concepts that keep the chamber tight while offering an advanced lifetime even in challenging printing environments.

The road to success requires taking into account the respective printing parameters and choosing an appropriate end seal concept. For high speed printing, we recommend three sealing solutions with enhanced anti-frictional properties from the Agergaard portfolio:

coatSEAL NW 2.5D for UV
A stable foam seal with a beveled seal top and an optimized contact zone between the seal and anilox roller, ideal for UV inks.

 

coatSEAL AIR80-PTFE solvent
A memory-effect rubber foam seal with a coated seal top, ideal for solvent based inks.

 

coatSEAL Universal for all inks
An extremely wear resistant and versatile molded rubber seal that fits to all ink and coating types.

Day #1 - June 16, 2020 - NOVA RS chamber system

The AkeBoose Nova RS chamber systems have an ink reservoir, which means they can be used without an external ink pump. Just a small volume of ink is required for the system to run. The slim chamber geometry has fluent outlines, cutting down cleaning efforts considerably. It is nearly impossible for ink to remain in the chamber when being evacuated, since the chamber has no corners or edges.

Like all AkeBoose chamber systems, the RS chambers are equipped with the patented tool-free blade clamping, allowing for quick and easy changes of doctor blades and end seals and assuring a secure and straight fit of the blades in the chamber. The "Kiss Impression" doctoring with little pressure of the chamber towards the anilox roller makes sure that the blades wipe the ink on the anilox roller effectively and evenly, while still being smooth to the ceramic coating of the anilox roller. Also, the low-pressure principle is beneficial for the blade and seal lifetime.

The Nova RS chambers are ideal for use in UV based narrow web printing. They can be integrated with existing suspension systems in the label printing press-

The first plug-and-play Nova RS chambers have already been installed at printers with Nilpeter FA presses.

We cannot wait to meet you in person again!

In the meantime, we must mostly stick to digital communication- please do not hesitate to contact us!

We will be happy to schedule a video or phone call to discuss your requirements in detail.

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