The corrugated box industry generates billions of dollars in revenue each year, yet profitability on the pressroom floor is measured in much smaller increments—by the unit, the foot, or the hour.
Modern presses are highly automated and capable of generating thousands of dollars per hour when operating efficiently. These machines are engineered to maximize uptime and productivity—because when the press is running, it is making money.
Conversely, downtime immediately stops that revenue stream. Setups, jams, preventive maintenance, component failures, and supply shortages all come at a cost far greater than the parts or materials involved. With estimated pressroom costs ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 per hour, downtime must be minimized to protect profitability.
At first glance, the equation seems simple: motion equals money. But when print quality becomes inconsistent, profitability quickly erodes.
One of the most common causes of declining print performance is a plugged anilox roll. Over time, ink residue gradually fills the microscopic cells of the anilox, reducing its volume and limiting its ability to consistently deliver ink to the printing plate.
Operators can compensate temporarily with press adjustments to maintain acceptable print quality, but these corrections only work for so long. A common stop-gap solution is skip feeding; where the printing plate is inked twice for each image by skipping every other board during infeed. While this keeps the press running, it effectively cuts production speed in half.
Like a spare tire, skip feeding may get you where you need to go, but it is only a temporary solution.
The real solution to anilox plugging is a disciplined daily cleaning procedure combined with regular anilox audits and scheduled deep cleaning. Whether a converter chooses to own a deep cleaning system or rely on a reputable anilox cleaning service depends on the needs of their operation—but waiting until problems appear can be extremely expensive.
Downtime is often viewed as a simple on-or-off condition: the machine is running, or it is down. But operating a press at half speed means generating only 50% of its revenue potential. When rework, wasted substrate, and excess ink consumption are added to the equation, the cost can escalate quickly.
In many cases, the financial impact of these inefficiencies can exceed the cost of an anilox deep cleaning system within a week or two. sometimes in just a matter of days.
Planning ahead prevents your press from leaking money.
Eaglewood Technologies works with printers and converters to implement preventive anilox cleaning strategies that keep presses running efficiently, maintain consistent print quality, and protect profitability.
If you’d like to evaluate your current anilox cleaning process and determine the best preventive solution for your facility, we would be happy to help.
Contact us today to learn more!
- Written by Shane Johnson