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Flexo Industry Blog by Provident Group

Stay on top of flexo industry news and Provident product information by visiting the Provident Group blog.
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...

Anilox Cleaning: No One-Size-Fits-All

Anilox Cleaning: No One-Size-Fits-All

Cleanliness is next to, well, quality, especially when it comes to your anilox rolls. We’ve talked before about the importance of having clean anilox rolls. Clean rolls save time, money, reduces substrate waste, and helps ensure the quality of every label or package...

“Do I Feel Lucky?”

“Do I Feel Lucky?”

When a new job comes in your press, operators probably select anilox rolls with cell capacities within a fairly narrow range so they can get to the desired ink densities faster. But how can they be sure that the capacities marked on the roll are accurate? How were the...

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...

Feeling the Pressure

Feeling the Pressure

The old saying that ‘some is good, more is better’ applies to many things, but one of them is not ink chamber pressures on your flexo presses. Ink chambers are meant to run at 1– to 2-bar, or a maximum of about 29 PSI. When the pressure if too high things may not go...

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...

Not Quite What the Doctor Ordered

Not Quite What the Doctor Ordered

I hate to tell you this but you may have a potentially serious condition that needs professional attention. Even worse, it may be happening on a couple of your flexo presses right now and your press operators are thoroughly baffled about what to do. It’s called back...

Score!

Score!

It was the press assistant who noticed it first. About 31,000 feet into the run of frozen food bags for a big supermarket chain he noticed spotted a thin line running through the front side of the bags. Not good. He called the press operator over while bringing the...

Cleanliness is Next to Success

Cleanliness is Next to Success

It makes no difference whether you are running a fleet of narrow-web flexo presses with open ink trays or big central impression cylinder machines with pressurized ink supplies and steps leading to the top of the press. They still have one thing in common: anilox...

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...

Randy Carter: A Friend a Friend Would Like to Have

Randy Carter: A Friend a Friend Would Like to Have

A remembrance of a fine man “After a storm that took down the big tree in your yard, Randy Carter would be the first guy to come over, chain saw in hand, to help clean up the mess.   “Randy was the person most likely to have the number one spot on your speed dial.”...

The Masters of Ink Systems at Labelexpo

The Masters of Ink Systems at Labelexpo

“Label Expo 2018 was a fantastic event for Provident,” confirms Andy Gillis, General Manager of Provident Group. “There was a continuous stream of attendees at our booth, all very interested in our doctor blades, end seals and especially the Troika AniCam. It was an...