Will the ORA squeegee blades resharpen?

Yes, all the ORA squeegee blades can be resharpened by most of the conventional methods currently available to the squeegee user. However we do recommend the knife cut, the Thieme machine being a good example, as opposed to grinding.

Like every process there are some basic rules to follow which will aid the process, with resharpening it is recommended the squeegee is rested for 24 hours after it is removed from the printing machine before it is resharpened. This allows for the evaporation of any products, which have been absorbed by the squeegee.

Remember polyurethane has excellent abrasion resistance, so when regrinding take care not to generate heat through being to aggressive.
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How do I make my ORA squeegee last longer?

The printing process have so many variables it is extremely difficult to establish a number of prints which is the optimum for each size and grade of squeegee. Where we have seen significant improvements in squeegee life is where the client has rotated the printing blades during the day. One of the primary causes of failure is where the squeegee has absorbed some of the components of the ink, this start to swell the squeegee, this increases in volume weakens the material and edge failure will occur. (All polyurethane squeegees will absorb some components of the ink and swell).

Some of our clients have calculated an approximate working time for their squeegee blade; this working time depends on how aggressive the inks are. Printing times vary from one to four hours; the squeegee is then removed, cleaned and held in a rack for the next day. The rest period allows the squeegee to release any product it has absorbed and return to its original shape. The more the squeegee has absorbed the weaker the base polyurethane material will be and the less likely it will be to return to its original shape. It is this over absorption, which will lead to eventual failure. Work the squeegee for less time will lead to increased life in the long term.
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Which ORA squeegee do I use for UV ink?

ORA have LUMINA readily available for situations where UV inks are being used.
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Which ORA squeegee do I use for solvent based ink systems?

Many of our overseas clients use ink systems containing high levels of solvents, TETRA squeegees has proved to be the best in this situation.
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After I get the TETRA material the colour starts to change why is this?

The TRTRA material is a special type of polyurethane system quite unique in its own right. After the base raw materials are processed and made into squeegee it is especially sensitive to UV light. We keep the squeegee materials continually covered from the day it is made until the day it leaves our factory. When our clients unpack the squeegee and start to use it the original colour will start to alter, it will darken significantly in a short period of time, turning almost black if left outside for a number of days. This is a natural phenomenon, which has no detrimental affect on the squeegees performance. If the client wants to retain the original colour for identification the squeegee must be stored away from UV light.
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When do I use the MAXIMA?

The ORA range of squeegee is continually improving, generally if you have no immediate problems with the ORA grade you use keep using it. However MAXIMA is now finding a market in areas where the more traditional squeegee blades are failing through problems such as excessive squeegee swelling. We have also found printing applications where MAXIMA has replaced the more expensive moulded squeegees, the life expectancy was found to be almost equal at a fraction of the cost. Graphic printers are also telling us they find by using MAXIMA they get almost no large format print 'judder'.

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Why do moulded blades last longer?

Both the two printing edges on a moulded blade are heat sealed at time of manufacture due to the production process. This sealed surface will resist the ingression of solvents for longer periods, however once the product has succumbed to the solvent attack the squeegee cannot be sharpened.

MAXIMA has been used in situations where its lasts as long as moulded squeegee it has resisted solvent attack and can be resharpened, unlike a moulded.