Lamella Doctor Blade

Doctor Blades are manufactured in a wide range of sizes and shapes. Steel blades can range from .004a (0.10mm) to .010a (0.25mm) in thickness. They can also have special shapes to fit the application. The most used shape in both gravure and flexo is called a lamella tip. This tip is a reduced step area that is typically .060a (1.4mm) wide and is usually A of the base metal thickness. A typical blade that is widely used is .006a (0.15mm) thick with a .003a (0.075mm) thick lamella (reduced step). The lamella (reduced step) allows the doctor blade to meter very fine ink cells without leaving any ink in the areas of the cylinder that are not designed to print. Doctor blades and printing cylinders can range in length from 7a up to 120a . The small sizes can print labels and other small printing jobs, while the largest sizes are for printing the very high volume publication and packaging items.