Screen printers are realizing better results by utilizing the Thieme TSC squeegee cutter. The grinding of squeegee rubber creates a porous squeegee edge. Solvents can penetrate and consequently the edge becomes wavy and lines appear in the printed image. Re-grinding of a ground edge then seems necessary, as with this process the squeegee edge breaks down more rapidly. Frequent changeover of a squeegee creates unproductive downtime. But a cut squeegee achieves better print quality, since a fast-rotating knife cuts a 0.8mm (1/32-in) small strip of the rubber. By using a cooling lubricant, a perfect smooth edge is achieved in one cut and the rubber is not heated. Also, the cooled blade-cutting system leads to an increase of the squeegee-edge grade and a decrease of solvent absorption. Reportedly, high-precision cut squeegees achieve excellent print results. In comparison to grinding the rubber, the cutting of the squeegee is less time-consuming. Squeegee cutters are available in cutting lengths from 1300mm (51-in) to 3100mm (122-in).
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