Superior Cleaning With Laser Precision

A DAETWYLER-LASERCLEAN SUCCESS STORY.

THE CLIENT:

A large international printing company that also happens to be an industry leader in the production of flexible packaging in North America.

The company also specializes in advanced coatings, lamination, and publishing for a wide variety of market segments.

As such, their presses – and anilox rollers – are expected to perform at peak conditions over and over again, across thousands of runs.

THE NEED:

Due to the types of projects this print company typically produces, anilox rollers were often exposed to crosslinked ink.

Operators found this to be particularly difficult to clean with caustic spray systems in a single cleaning cycle, resulting in excessive down-time to either disassemble rollers and soak in caustic washing solutions, or a decline in print quality due to ink traces left in bottoms of cells from incomplete cleaning.

While effective, the caustic washer presented challenges with keeping the solution hot (and the energy of doing so).

The environmental and safety hazard concerns of handling the solution and waste was another that added more expense to each cleaning event.

THE ANSWER: LASERCLEAN 2100

Because the LaserClean system targets inks and other coatings without reacting to anilox roller surfaces, thorough deep cleaning can happen effectively across almost all ink, coating, and adhesive types. LaserClean’s beam is directed at the roller and passes from side to side while the roller rotates until all surfaces have been cleaned.

The LaserClean beam vaporizes residues to dust, which is easily vacuumed and removed without personnel coming in contact with any hazardous chemicals. The LaserClean beam also penetrates beyond the outer surface of the roller to remove even resistant build-up from deep within cells.

Upon initial use, cell volume specs before cleaning were 5.07 BCM.

The original cell volume specification per the manufacturer was 6.5 BCM.

After cleaning with LaserClean, cell volume was measured at 6.51 BCM — a complete gain of cell volume.

In another cleaning, cell volume was measured at 4.4 BCM for a roller with an original cell volume specified by the manufacturer as 5.0 BCM. Once again, LaserClean outperformed expectations with a final cell volume measurement of 4.98 BCM, again a near-complete gain of cell volume.

CONCLUSION

With thorough deep cleaning now a simple part of everyday maintenance and press set-up, the print company is enjoying better opacity and better ink lay down on every run. They have found that LaserClean works equally well with UV inks, LED inks, White, crosslinked, and all other colors with the same superior results. As well, teams are able to complete the entire cleaning in 35-40 minutes, without any additional time for disassembly/ reassembly, and no exposure to caustic chemicals or waste.

Other benefits include reduced costs associated with solvent/caustic chemical disposal fees, chemistry costs, and heating costs.

With Daetwyler standing by to guide them through the initial usage, the results are visibly clear not only on materials coming off press, but even on a microscopic evaluation of the anilox roller itself.

ROI ANALYSIS

Caustic Washer

Daetwyler Laserclean

Savings up to $19,000.00 per month.

Side-by-side comparison of LaserClean and caustic washer cleaning results. Not only is the anilox visibly restored by the LaserClean process, but the print quality, ink laydown, and color intensity are enhanced as well.