Provident Blog

Doctor Blades

Are Your Doctor Blades Being Eaten Alive?

Are Your Doctor Blades Being Eaten Alive?

It’s probably not news to you that no doctor blade is right for every application. Still, I am constantly surprised by printers who call me in when their blades are being eaten alive by white or opaque inks. The popularity of film substrates these days has increased...

The Power of Virtual Service

The Power of Virtual Service

In a world of travel restrictions, we at Provident have been looking hard for the best ways to maintain the level of support our customers need. Like you, we are adapting to different ways of doing business while encouraging customers to keep moving forward.   We...

Nobody Knows Everything

Nobody Knows Everything

One of the best parts of being one of the technical guys at Provident is solving problems and helping customers be as productive as possible. My colleagues and I recently wound up talking about the “brain trust” we have developed through our willingness to share...

Size Matters!

Size Matters!

Any flexographer probably knows that size matters. No, this is not about substrates or printing plates. We’re talking doctor blades here, and the three important dimensions are length, width and thickness. Length Length is the dimension of a blade across the anilox...

NOPE: Long Life Doctor Blades Are Not All Equal

NOPE: Long Life Doctor Blades Are Not All Equal

What do you see when you watch a flexo press run? Do you see the entire, almost magical, process of turning a clear sheet of material into a flexible package or label that shimmers with color? Do you look at the processes taking place on each deck as the colors are...

Blades and Chambers and More.

Blades and Chambers and More.

One of the advantages of visiting printers throughout North America is that we get a first-hand look at an amazing range of approaches to just about everything to do with making packages and labels. It’s a fantastic educational process that we really value and the...

Picking the Right Blade for the Job

Picking the Right Blade for the Job

Way back in shop class, this was probably middle school, the teacher used to say something like “Measure twice, cut once,” usually followed by the reminder that you can “always cut off, but you can’t add on.” The words probably made an impression because some echo of...

Synthetic Doctor Blades: Not all Created Equal

Synthetic Doctor Blades: Not all Created Equal

If you are past a certain age you probably remember the movie The Graduate in which a young Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) is urged to go into plastics (“Just one word, Ben: Plastics!”). This was not bad advice in 1967, as today we have plastics all around us in...