Splish Splash, I was Takin' a Bath ...

In addition to plugged cells, anilox rolls may also lose their wettability due to a build-up of additives that are in the ink. Lloyd Dreger, technical director at Laserlife, explains that additives, such as polyethylene waxes, silicones, and Teflon suspensions, are added to inks in order to improve gloss, mar resistance, and other properties. "But when these particles become embedded into a print cell surface, that part of the surface becomes hydrophobic (water-hating) and thus won't attract anymore ink to it." The ink will begin to bead up on the surface and print quality will become blotchy.