FLEXOGAPHY

Anilox Roller
Introduction

Flexography is a form of printing process which have the same principle as that of

Letterpress Printing Process, which is, the Image Area in Relief form, and the Non

Image Area in the recessed form. It works on the same principle as of that of the

letterpress, but flexography is a much faster process.

Flexography can be called a modern version letterpress which is faster and can

print on a vast variety of substrates including plastics, metallic films, paper,

and many more. Flexography is mainly used for printing on non-porous

substrates which is used for various types of food packaging.

In the first decades of the twentieth century flexography printing was known as Aniline

Printing". The name came from the type of dye-stuff used in the inks. The aniline dyes were

later declared toxic by the FDA. After that aniline printers were by then using different types

of inks but he name was still “Aniline Printing”. In 1951, held a contest to rename the

printing process. From many names, voting was done to eliminate and choose the appropriate

name. Two hundred suggestions came in from the printers all around the country, and a

special committee formed by the Packaging Institute, on October 21, 1952, announced that

the new name of “Aniline Printing” would be “Flexographic Process”, or “Flexography”.

Anilox Roller
The Anilox Roll is a unique characteristic of flexography. The Anilox Roller is used to transfers a

uniform thickness of ink to a flexible printing plate. The anilox roll has finely engraved cells made

accordingly to control the amount the ink, viewable with a microscope. These rollers are responsible for

transferring inks to the flexible printing plates mounted on the plate cylinder. They called their roller an

anilox roller, and it is still the basis of modern flexographic presses. Their system was inspired by the

etching of gravure cylinders, which transfers ink from cells to the substrate.
Construction
The Anilox Roller is a hard cylinder which is usually made out of steel or aluminium core, which is

coated by ceramic whose surface is engraved with millions and billions of very fine cells, these cells are

called Anilox Cells. In Flexography Printing process, the anilox roller is coated with a measured layer of

ink which I then transferred to the raised portion of the printing plate, which is the Image Area. The

number, size, and the shape or the geometry of the cells of the Anilox Roller varies from job to job, and

they control the amount of ink which is being transferred to the printing plate.
Cell Structure

Anilox Roller were originally made using a process of mechanical engraving, using diamond

engraving method. But now, the modern rollers are engraved with laser engraving. The

characteristics of an anilox roller determines the amount of ink that will be transferred to the plate:

angle of the cells, cell volume, and line screen. A 60 degree angle ensures maximum density in a

given space. Low lines numbers will allow for a heavy layer of ink of be printed, whereas high line

number will permit finer details in printing.

Types of Anilox Cell Structure
• Inverted Pyramid

• Tri-Helical

• Quadrangular

• Hexagonal

• Quad Channel Screen

 Inverted Pyramid
The most common configuration of

anilox roller cell in an Inverted

Pyramid, each of which is exactly the

same in size.
 Tri-Helical
Other anilox cell structure include Tri-

Helical, which is basically a long,

unbroken valley etched at a 45 degree

angle (which is used for printing high

viscous inks).
 Quadrangular
Quadrangular is another type of anilox
cell structure. It is essentially a pyramid
with the point cut off (which helps in
releasing ink efficiently, and also varies
in volume less from top to bottom).
 Hexagonal
There is another type of anilox cell

structure, Hexagonal. This type of cell

releases ink more efficiently, and it can

easily be plated with chrome or ceramic.

Cell Wearing
Cell wear is an important consideration, especially as a cell's region of greatest volume is at the surface of the

roller. On an anilox roller using inverted pyramid-shaped cells, a 20% decrease in cell depth due to wear can

cause more than a 40% decrease in volume. The fewer the total number of cells on the cylinder as a whole, the

greater the percentage of the volume decrease. Wear is commonly gauged by the manufacturer, using a

microscope. In practical application in the pressroom, a shinier roller surface or a decrease in print density of a

known ink formulation are determinants of anilox roller wear.

Selection the right Anilox Roller
Depending upon the details of the images to be printed, the press operator will select the type of roller

with a higher or lower line screen. Line screen is the term used for the number of cells engraved on the

Anilox Roller. Low line screen rollers (100-300dpi) are used where a heavy layer of ink is required, such

as heavy block letters, or where we need to print solids of a single colour. Higher line screen rollers

(500-1500dpi) produce finer details and are used in four-colour printing process such as reproducing

photographs.
Anilox Roller Plating

The anilox roll can be divided into a metal chrome-plated anilox roll and a ceramic anilox roll according to the

surface plating. The metal chrome-plated anilox roll is made by engraving a cell on the surface of the metal roll

with an electronic engraving machine and then chrome-plated. The ceramic anilox roll is a plasma method that

uses a metal oxide (aluminium oxide or trioxide). Chromium is melted and sprayed on the surface of the metal

roller and bonded to the metal roller to form a high hardness, dense ceramic film, which is then laser engraved.