Fluid Movements

Schipke says advancements in loading reverse-angle chamber systems to the gravure cylinder now allow a non-oscillating doctor blade to accurately wipe a chrome gravure roll without causing accelerated wear to the surface.

FIT has several reverse-angle doctor blade systems running in gravure, continuous-pattern printing or coating applications, achieving "commercially acceptable quality" at 2,000 fpm, Schipke reports. In packaging, where there may not be a continuous engraved printing pattern around the entire cylinder, he says the main concern is the quality of the reverse angle wipe at extremely high speeds, going from image to non-image areas. To address this and other reverse- angle doctoring issues, FIT has R&D agreements in place with several gravure converters as well as an in-house test unit.