Roll Up Your Sleeves

It might take the trouble of a close examination to determine the best cleaning approach. "Have the proper tools to evaluate your anilox," Temple states. "I would encourage anyone with a large inventory of rolls to invest in a microscope so they can see what's happening."

At the same time, the definition of a clean roll may soon come down to a numerical value. Heffer predicts that new volume testing procedures will allow stricter cleaning method standardizations. This may soon enable printers to achieve volume consistency throughout a monthly cleaning cycle, and from plant to plant.