Highlights of AkeBoose blade holders for rotogravure

Considerable doctor blade cost savings

Extended doctor blade and gravure cylinder service life

Excellent doctoring precision and process flexibility

Quick and easy doctor blade changes

Process flexibility and blade cost savings in gravure printing

The patented blade AkeBoose blade holder system offers the chance to cut down doctor blade costs considerably while guaranteeing high precision and consistent doctoring results in rotogravure printing. The special geometry of the blade holder systems allows working with less contact pressure, resulting in extended blade life by up to 50% as well as longer service life of gravure cylinders.

How does the blade holder concept work?

The blade holder is used instead of the traditional 40 – 50 mm wide lamella doctor blade in the rotogravure printing press. The blade holder itself serves as an adaptor that is clamped in the machine holder and carries two blades: The actual doctor blade (which is the working blade wiping the ink) and the back-up blade (which gives the doctor blade stability).

Doctor blade and back-up blade together imitate the lamella blade principle: The working blade has a fixed width of 10 mm. By varying the back-up blade width between 8 and 9 mm, different lamella lengths can be created. Additionally, different doctor blade thicknesses can be used to create lamella thicknesses between 0.65 and 0.203 mm, depending on the required print quality. This modular setup is very straightforward to handle and offers great flexibility to accommodate the individual requirements of different print jobs.

AkeBoose blade holder for rotogravure principle

Blade cost savings between 30% and 60%

The 10 mm working blade used in the AkeBoose blade holder is very inexpensive compared to a conventional 50 mm wide doctor blade with lamella. In addition, the low-pressure doctoring principle of the blade holder extends the service life of the doctor blade. This does not only mean remarkably reduced blade cost per printed meter, but also reduces machine down-time and thus overall operational costs.

10 mm doctor blade used in Akeboose blade holders

Quick and easy blade changes directly on-press

The unique blade clamping system of AkeBoose blade holders enables the operator to change the doctor blade in seconds, without the need for special tools. The blade change can be done directly on-press, it is not necessary to uninstall the bulky and heavy machine holder and take it to a service area. That saves a lot of time in the blade changing process, which is again beneficial for press efficiency because the press downtime related to blade changes is reduced to a minimum.

The blade change principle is very straightforward and works the same for both NewEdge® and Strip-Blade blade holder models.

Doctor blade change on AkeBoose blade holders

AKEBOOSE BLADE HOLDER MODELS

Strip-Blade holder

Strip-Blade blade holder for rotogravure

This blade holder model is made of 100% stainless steel, making it universally usable for all ink types.

Doctor blade and back-up blade are fixed in a riveted clamping strip, which ensures extreme straightness of the doctor blade for a clean and thorough ink wipe, even at high printing.

NewEdge® holder

NewEdge® blade holder for rotogravure

The patented new generation New Edge® blade holders offers additional advantages. The blade clamping strip features two rubber profiles which keep the blade straight and absorb possible vibrations coming from the machine. This ensures extremely high doctoring precision, even at high printing speeds and complex print images.

The smooth design of the holder without any edges and corners also makes the cleaning process even easier.

Doctor blade change on AkeBoose Strip-Blade holder

YouTube

By loading the video, you agree to YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load video

Doctor blade change on AkeBoose NewEdge® holder

YouTube

By loading the video, you agree to YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load video

RELATED TOPICS

Original doctor blades for Akeboose blade holders

High quality doctor blades made of Swedish steel to fully exploit the potential of Strip-Blade and NewEdge® holders. Read more

Blogpost: More process flexibility for rotogravure printing

Read this article to learn more about AkeBoose blade holders contribute to more flexibility and cost efficieny in the rotogravure printing process. Read more