Boxmeer, Netherlands – SPGPrints is strengthening its commitment to optimising quality in rotary screen printing by investing in new squeegee blade production facilities at its Boxmeer (Netherlands) plant. 

The €450,000 investment features an automated gluing unit that applies the polyurethane strip to the steel blade with repeatable precision and minimal manual intervention. This enables blade production to exacting quality standards, so that printers are assured identical printing results when exchanging blades, without the need for calibration.

The new facilities will be responsible for the production of SPGPrints’ new XTR blades, designed for RotaMesh and RotaPlate screens used in the graphics and security printing. The squeegees’ combination of a stainless steel blade with a polyurethane strip brings improved durability, stability and consistent print results. Available in a choice of Shore hardness values and thicknesses, the XTR range ensures clean print transfers and the optimum combination of rigidity, flexibility whatever the desired printing effect. They also offer strong chemical resistance, making them suitable for all ink sets. Furthermore, to eliminate errors in mounting and to facilitate re-ordering, the blades are colour coded according to application type. 

Hank Guitjens, Commercial Manager Label Printing, SPGPrints, comments: "Squeegee technology is at the heart of rotary screen printing. The quality of squeegee blades has a direct impact on the print image. By investing in the latest technologies we are ideally placed to offer customers the best and most consistent quality."