A new carbon fibre doctor blade chamber designed to "optimise print quality and obtain considerable waste reductions" for corrugated printing is said to have brought "great satisfaction" to the first users.
Manufacturer Plast Packaging says the carbon fibre material offers a rigidity higher than 300 per cent while being 70 per cent lighter than aluminum. When in contact with water-based inks, solvents and glues it suffers no corrosion; and the material absorbs vibrations, ensuring a higher print quality.
The reduced volume of the chamber and its special anti-adhesion treatment are claimed to allow a savings of approximately 11 per cent of ink fed into the circuit, as well as 60 per cent less water during the washing cycle, compared with a conventional aluminum doctor blade chamber.
According to Plast Packaging, the support structure makes it unnecessary to dismantle the chamber for replacement of doctor blades and seals, while the low pressure required for the operation considerably increases the life of the blade and doubles that of the counter-blade.