Executive Forum: Anilox Roll Engraving

Lessing—Third generation anilox sleeve development is the hot topic here: less weight, less cost, better tolerances, better construction. A fiber composite concept design will cut weight by a factor of five to 10 times, and will maintain its tolerances throughout its life. Conventional anilox sleeve weight is up to 1 lb. per inch and they have a life span of two to four reworks. This new sleeve construction will only have a lifetime of one engraving, as it is designed to be a “throwaway.” This factors in well when you consider that the cost of this new anilox sleeve complete will approach the cost of a typical rework on a conventional anilox sleeve. In other words, inventory costs can be reduced to the cost of a rework, a printer is no longer carrying the cost of a $1,200 to $1,800 sleeve, plus he/she doesn’t send it out for rework—they simply reorder new.