Successful ECG Printing Begins With Anilox Quality Control
In the world of flexography, expanded color gamut (ECG) printing has emerged as a game-changer. With its unmatched efficiency and profitability, ECG converters can print more with less waste and downtime. However, achieving successful print performance with ECG requires a higher level of anilox quality control.
At MicroDynamics, we understand how anilox variables impact your print and how these variables are amplified due to the tight tolerances of ECG printing. Anilox quality control with Veritas™ and MicroScan3™ is crucial to maintaining profitable ECG printing processes.
ECG printing builds on the traditional CMYK color model by adding additional ink colors – traditionally Orange, Green, and Violet. This expanded color palette allows printers to achieve more accurate color reproduction, smoother gradients, and enhanced vibrancy in materials. Even more, ECG printing allows the aniloxes and inks to remain on press, changing only the printing plates from job to job. This significantly reduces changeover downtime and increases profitability for the printer.
However, the success of this print process hinges on maintaining consistent ink transfer and color density across all printed materials. An incorrect anilox volume caused by a worn, plugged, or improperly-engraved anilox roll will lead to a color matching nightmare. This is often the reason many printers revert back to spot color printing, avoiding the waste of unsuccessful ECG. Anilox quality control is vital to success in this demanding application.
Maintaining high quality standards for ECG printing demands a comprehensive approach to quality control. Key processes to consider for quality control enhancements are:
Color Management. Implement robust color management practices to ensure accurate color builds across different substrates and printing conditions.
Ink Consistency: Monitor ink viscosity and color density to maintain uniformity and prevent color shifts during printing.
Plate and Registration Accuracy: Ensure precise registration and plate-to-plate consistency to avoid misalignment and color registration errors.
Substrate Control: Controlling substrate characteristics such as porosity and surface tension to optimize ink adhesion and color vibrancy.
Anilox Roll Inspection: Regular in-house inspection of anilox rolls to assess surface profiles, cell volume, and cleanliness is crucial for consistent ink transfer and print quality. The anilox is the heart of the press, and if the anilox isn’t right, all else is for naught.
Anilox cell shape, volume, screen count, depth, screen angle and more are all responsible for the level of ink transferred to the printing plate. Any deviations in surface profile or cell volume can lead to color variations in your final printed product.
Incorporating in-house anilox quality inspections into your printing process eliminates the uncertainty of how the roll will perform in the next run. With measurements guiding your anilox inventory decisions, your ECG printing efforts will be more profitable.
To begin incorporating anilox inspection into your ECG workflow, we recommend:
MicroDynamics’ state-of-the-art anilox inspection systems are equipped with white light interferometry technology, enabling high-precision measurement of anilox roll surface profiles. Our software provides comprehensive analysis tools to assess anilox health over time, allowing printers to identify potential issues before they impact print quality. By incorporating in-house anilox inspections into their ECG printing process, printers can:
Ensure Consistent Ink Transfer: By measuring anilox roll volume and other parameters, printers can maintain consistent ink transfer rates, minimizing variations in color density and print quality.
Prevent Print Defects: Early detection of anilox issues like worn, clogged, or damaged cells helps prevent print defects such as pinholing, mottling, streaking, and more.
Optimize Production Efficiency: By proactively identifying and addressing anilox-related issues before placing the roll on press, printers can minimize downtime and improve production efficiency.
In the demanding process of ECG printing, achieving consistent and high-quality results requires a proactive approach to quality control. Integrating in-house anilox inspections into the printing process is a critical step toward ensuring optimal ink transfer and print quality. MicroDynamics is proud to offer the FTA Innovation Award-winning Veritas™ and MicroScan3™ inspection system to assist printers with their anilox quality control processes. With these QC innovations, printers can get measurements in less than eight seconds, monitor roll performance over time, and set cleaning and maintenance thresholds for informed anilox care processes.
At MicroDynamics, we are committed to empowering printers with innovative tools and solutions to achieve excellence in ECG printing. For more information about our anilox inspection microscopes and software solutions, visit our website or contact our team of experts today. Let us help you elevate your ECG printing process to new heights of precision and efficiency!
At MicroDynamics, we understand how anilox variables impact your print and how these variables are amplified due to the tight tolerances of ECG printing. Anilox quality control with Veritas™ and MicroScan3™ is crucial to maintaining profitable ECG printing processes.
Understanding ECG Printing
ECG printing builds on the traditional CMYK color model by adding additional ink colors – traditionally Orange, Green, and Violet. This expanded color palette allows printers to achieve more accurate color reproduction, smoother gradients, and enhanced vibrancy in materials. Even more, ECG printing allows the aniloxes and inks to remain on press, changing only the printing plates from job to job. This significantly reduces changeover downtime and increases profitability for the printer.
However, the success of this print process hinges on maintaining consistent ink transfer and color density across all printed materials. An incorrect anilox volume caused by a worn, plugged, or improperly-engraved anilox roll will lead to a color matching nightmare. This is often the reason many printers revert back to spot color printing, avoiding the waste of unsuccessful ECG. Anilox quality control is vital to success in this demanding application.
Quality Control in ECG Printing
Maintaining high quality standards for ECG printing demands a comprehensive approach to quality control. Key processes to consider for quality control enhancements are:
Color Management. Implement robust color management practices to ensure accurate color builds across different substrates and printing conditions.
Ink Consistency: Monitor ink viscosity and color density to maintain uniformity and prevent color shifts during printing.
Plate and Registration Accuracy: Ensure precise registration and plate-to-plate consistency to avoid misalignment and color registration errors.
Substrate Control: Controlling substrate characteristics such as porosity and surface tension to optimize ink adhesion and color vibrancy.
Anilox Roll Inspection: Regular in-house inspection of anilox rolls to assess surface profiles, cell volume, and cleanliness is crucial for consistent ink transfer and print quality. The anilox is the heart of the press, and if the anilox isn’t right, all else is for naught.
Incorporating Anilox Quality Inspections
Anilox cell shape, volume, screen count, depth, screen angle and more are all responsible for the level of ink transferred to the printing plate. Any deviations in surface profile or cell volume can lead to color variations in your final printed product.
Incorporating in-house anilox quality inspections into your printing process eliminates the uncertainty of how the roll will perform in the next run. With measurements guiding your anilox inventory decisions, your ECG printing efforts will be more profitable.
To begin incorporating anilox inspection into your ECG workflow, we recommend:
Utilize the MicroScan3™ anilox inventory tracking system and measurements provided by your Veritas™ inspection system. Note any differences in parameters such as anilox volume, cell opening, wall width, and depth, which will vary across aniloxes with the same specifications.- Measure the anilox when it is first received from your supplier to verify the accuracy and quality of the roll compared to its specifications.
- When taking the anilox off press, clean the anilox and measure again before placing it back on press or into storage. This will give you the opportunity to assess if the anilox is properly cleaned and ready for the next print run or if it is defective and needs to be sent for maintenance or re-engraving. The changeover anilox measurements take only a minute or two to complete and will save you the time, waste, and frustration of trying to color match with defective aniloxes.
Utilize the MicroScan3™ anilox inventory tracking system and measurements provided by your Veritas™ inspection system. Note any differences in parameters such as anilox volume, cell opening, wall width, and depth, which will vary across aniloxes with the same specifications.MicroDynamics’ state-of-the-art anilox inspection systems are equipped with white light interferometry technology, enabling high-precision measurement of anilox roll surface profiles. Our software provides comprehensive analysis tools to assess anilox health over time, allowing printers to identify potential issues before they impact print quality. By incorporating in-house anilox inspections into their ECG printing process, printers can:
Ensure Consistent Ink Transfer: By measuring anilox roll volume and other parameters, printers can maintain consistent ink transfer rates, minimizing variations in color density and print quality.
Prevent Print Defects: Early detection of anilox issues like worn, clogged, or damaged cells helps prevent print defects such as pinholing, mottling, streaking, and more.
Optimize Production Efficiency: By proactively identifying and addressing anilox-related issues before placing the roll on press, printers can minimize downtime and improve production efficiency.
Inspect. Save. Repeat. With MicroDynamics
In the demanding process of ECG printing, achieving consistent and high-quality results requires a proactive approach to quality control. Integrating in-house anilox inspections into the printing process is a critical step toward ensuring optimal ink transfer and print quality. MicroDynamics is proud to offer the FTA Innovation Award-winning Veritas™ and MicroScan3™ inspection system to assist printers with their anilox quality control processes. With these QC innovations, printers can get measurements in less than eight seconds, monitor roll performance over time, and set cleaning and maintenance thresholds for informed anilox care processes.At MicroDynamics, we are committed to empowering printers with innovative tools and solutions to achieve excellence in ECG printing. For more information about our anilox inspection microscopes and software solutions, visit our website or contact our team of experts today. Let us help you elevate your ECG printing process to new heights of precision and efficiency!
