Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2023-12-14 Origin: Site
In the printing industry, the UV LED curing technology currently used for offset printing has become a very attractive, and may even be a way to change the industry's game rules, aiming to provide instantaneous curing, minimum dot gain, and the ability to successfully print on various substrates.
There are currently two ways to use UV LED curing in the industry: installing new offset printing machines equipped with this technology, or retrofitting existing printing machines. Four UV LED curing system manufacturers, including GEW, IST, Eltosch Grafix, AMS Spectral UV, who provide printing machine modification equipment, have expressed their views on the use of UV LEDs in printing.
The solidified energy cost is a key indicator, and although the benefits of UV LED technology may be easy to describe, quantifying them may be a bit difficult. The key indicators may change using any transformative technology.
Eltosch Grafix US Sales Director Jeff Voloshen said that the biggest advantage of UV LEDs is their energy efficiency. Another consideration is to determine whether the energy savings of LEDs are sufficient to offset their higher ink costs.
Jonathan Foer, Commercial Director of AMS Spectral UV, said, "The first step is to increase productivity. If we can increase the productivity of printing machines by 25%, then revenue will come with it." The second one is energy, which in some cases saves space. On a single sheet printing machine, the company can transition from an RV sized gas dryer to a computer desk sized UV LED curing device.
Gary Dorman, GEW International Sales Manager, explained that energy costs are a key indicator to follow due to their difficulty in quantification. In addition, the advantage also includes the reduction of reprinting due to the complete solidification of ink, and the indication that the ink will remain open on the printing machine for several weeks, resulting in a much lower frequency of cleaning the printing machine.
Bill Bonaro, President and CEO of IST USA, stated that although it is difficult to describe the advantages of UV LED technology in statistical terms, key measures to be taken include increasing the direct output, turnaround time, and normal operating time of printing machines, all of which are equivalent to production capacity. Despite its advantages, it still cannot provide the curing range and application flexibility experienced by traditional lamps.
