BTG - High Performance Printing Blades

BTG leads the market in boosting flexo printing productivity, using patented high-performance Duroblade technology to provide a stable, wear-resistant working edge that delivers top quality results throughout the entire print run.

Duroblade Flexo improves the performance of any type of flexographic printing operation, regardless of whether you’re using web or sheet machines, black & white or color process, paper or other substrates, or water-based or solvent-based inks.

Unlike old-fashioned steel and plastic blades, the Duroblade tip doesn't deteriorate when in contact with pigment particles, this ensures that there is no risk of metallic slivers or shavings off the blade mixing in with the ink causing scoring lines. Blades require no run-in time, and the ultra-smooth ceramic surface ensures optimum print quality throughout the print run.

BTG Ceramic blades last up to 8 times longer. Longer blade life results in fewer blade changes and reduced press down time. This translates into substantial savings – try our ROI Calculator >>>

Fewer blade changes, constant high quality output and reduced scrap to recycle all equate to higher productivity for just about any type of flexo printing application, as well as for UV- and gravure coating with engraved, ceramic rolls.

Key Benefits:

• Longer Blade Life
• Increased Blade Chamber seal life
• Better sealing
• No Run in Time – Less Waste
• Constant Print Quality
• Improved wiping of the cylinder
• Reduced Scoring Lines
• Increase in Press Uptime

Blade Wear

It’s a well known fact that traditional steel and plastic printing blades wear quickly and unevenly.

The wear process that occurs at the blade tip is influenced by many factors, such as linear blade load, printing press speed, pigment type, ink viscosity and anilox surface roughness.

Wear at the blade tip, resulting in material removal, occurs through a complex combination of sliding wear against the engraved roll and abrasive wear caused by pigment particles.

With a ceramic-tipped blade, pigment particles cant platically deform or cut the surface. Consequently, only a micro polishing effect is produced, which explains the low wear rate.

Constant Printing Quality

While printing quality from standard steel blades varies from break-in to blade change, ceramic tipped blades provide constant quality throughout their entire service life. Furthermore they allow you to reach excellent printing quality faster, since no run-in time is required for these blades

Increased Productivity

The benefits above all contribute to increased productivity through reduced downtime due to blade changes, constant quality, and fewer defects, resulting in less paper / foil to recylcle

Duroblades also provide more subtle (bonus) benefits, including:

• Finer inking of the Anilox cylinder
• Lower blade consumption, hence less scrap metal to dispose of.

Scoring

Scoring lines are a serious problem for ceramic anilox users. Metal shavings are thought to be one of the principal causes of cylinder scoring, as they get caught between the doctor blade and the cylinder. The ceramic tipped blade reduces scorng because the ceramic edge of the blade contacts the cylinder instead of bringing steel into contact with the anilox. Hence no metalshavings and slivers wear off the blade, mixing with the ink. Running with ceramic can dramatically reduce or even eliminate score lines.