Everything you need to know
Billion cubic microns. This is what American roll manufactures use as a measurement standard for the volume of a roll.
Cubic centimeters. This is what foreign roll manufactures use as a measurement standard for the volume of a roll.
Lines Per Inch. This is how many cells a roll has per linear inch.
Our baking soda systems use a specially formulated baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) engineered to clean anilox rolls. This neutral pH baking soda is fine enough to clean the highest of line screens. The baking soda found in your home and in the grocery store will not work for this application.
Our laser cleaning technology uses a low temperature light beam to deep clean rolls.
Usually just one pass is required, but on occasion two passes may be needed if the roll has never been deep cleaned or is plugged with a very thick coating.
We use a digital microscope prior to cleaning as a visual check and also take a Capatch test strip reading. Capatch is a liquid volumetric test that determines where your BCM level (or CCM) lies. We do the same procedure after cleaning to determine the cleanliness of the roll as well as the improvement in volume (BCM or CCM).
We can clean gravure, embossing, anilox, chrome, glue and coating rolls using either method.
From 50 LPI up to 1500 LPI.
No, we have not. But just in case we do, we also have the ability to clean rolls off press at your facility or ours.
Typically we are able to clean rollers at 2-4 inches per minute. A 40” roll takes about 15–20 minutes to clean and a large diameter jumbo roll that is 120” will take about 2 hours.
Immediately, as soon as you need to.
You can send your rolls to our facility to be cleaned. With this service we offer a same day, 24 and 48 hour turnaround time. Also you will receive a written roll report with before and after cleaning BCM readings and we will document any visible wear or damage on the roll.
The most obvious sign that a roll needs cleaning is when your color density or your coat weight diminishes. Another way is to find out your current roll volume using a Capatch Test Strip – if it is plugged 50% or greater then it is time to clean it.
Usually 1–4 times per year makes sense for most plants with whom we work. Companies like box corrugators may only require our service on an annual basis while high-end flexographic printers usually require more frequent visits (sometimes monthly) in order to maintain their superior print quality.
ARCS has a full line up of eco-friendly ink removers. We recommend that they be run through the press with each wash cycle. We even offer a one-of-a-kind food grade ink remover currently used by one of the world’s largest paper towel makers.
Yes, we sell both of these items. Click ‘Products’ in the navigation menu for more information on our digital microscopes, 3D scanning microscopes and Capatch volume test strips. Both the digital microscopes and Capatch are now available for purchases online!
ARCS services the entire East Coast from Maine to Florida and have expanded into the mid-west to cover states such Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, Minnesota, Michigan and Indiana. We work with other companies who perform roll cleaning using baking soda for areas outside of this coverage area.
NO!
Dry Ice, although not technically harder than Baking Soda, will cause surface damage to soft substrates because of the high velocity it requires in order to work effectively.
Dry Ice can also cause an exothermic reaction on “layered” substrates, causing failure or damage. For example, printing rollers found on printing presses should never be blasted with Dry Ice, as the ceramic top coat of the roller will “peel away” from the steel core it is bonded to when subjected to severe temperature changes.
Dry ice blasting is a blasting method that uses dry ice pellets as the blasting material. Dry ice is CO₂ in solid form.
To better understand, there are three steps in dry ice blasting:
- Kinetic – When dry ice pellets are accelerated in a jet of compressed air and strike a hard surface, the pellets crack and loosen the coating or soil on the substrate being cleaned.
- Thermal – The extreme low temperature (-79˚C/-110˚F) of the pellets makes the coating brittle, loosens it and allows the dry ice to dislodge the coating or soil.
- Sublimation – Dry ice permeates the coating and immediately sublimates, which means that the dry ice instantly goes from a solid state to a vapor state. This resulting increase in volume creates an “explosive” effect that lifts the coating off of the surface.
No, not exactly. Any contaminants which are removed during the dry ice blasting process still need to be contained and disposed of properly.
Very, very carefully.
The temperature of dry ice is −109.3 °F (−78.5 °C). Gloves should be worn when filling the hopper with dry ice.
Dry ice comes in 500 pound bins. All orders must be in increments of 500, with the minimum order being one 500 pound tote.
Dry Ice will last 2-5 days and is subject to sublimation (solid to gas conversion) from the moment it gets shipped to your plant.
Nope. Dry ice blasting equipment is unique and contains several engineering features not found on soda, sand or other abrasive blasting equipment.
Yes – but be aware that dry ice will replace the oxygen in an enclosed space with carbon dioxide so wearing a proper tethered hood system and proper ventilation is a must!