PADERBORN, Germany—SteppedHex engraving from Zecher GmbH has already attracted a lot of interest from various parts of the printing industry at this year’s drupa event. Ever since its founding in 1948, Zecher GmbH—a manufacturer of premium quality anilox rollers—has been the driving force behind numerous innovations.
The tried and tested SteppedHex technology developed by the company in house is based on an application of the parameters of 60 degree engraving, while offering an alternative to it and additional benefits. SteppedHex engraving assists the printer’s task with improved drainage of the anilox roller cells to deliver optimized printing results. Zecher’s cell geometry, which incorporates a special offset pattern, is subject to the corresponding German registered design and patent protection. This optimized drainage performance achieves higher resolution and homogeneous ink transfer, as well as making the anilox rollers easier to clean. Zecher’s anilox roller engraving is suitable for all inking systems, while offering advantages that are likely to create cost savings with respect to conventional engraving techniques.
Jörg Rohde, Zecher’s head of applications technology, is pleased at the response from the printing industry: “Sales of our SteppedHex anilox rollers have grown three fold since the launch at last year’s drupa show, and our customer feedback is consistently positive. As more and more printers are expressing their interest in the possible range of deployment of SteppedHex technology as an alternative to conventional hexagonal engraving, we expect this innovative technique to become a more firmly established part of the market.”
Zecher GmbH is an international manufacturer of chrome and ceramic anilox rollers. With continuous further developments and various innovations in the field of printing technology to its name, Zecher currently counts on more than 65 years’ experience in the manufacture of anilox rollers. Zecher produces more than 12,000 engraved anilox rollers annually at its main plant in the German town of Paderborn.