As the global leader in industrial print drying, with over 14,000 product installations over the past 40 years, we have been closely monitoring the development of LED UV cured inks, coatings and curing hardware.
We now firmly believe that that the availability and cost effectiveness of the inks and LED Curing systems now make this technology a viable option especially in the sheet fed printing and coating industries which have been slow with the uptake of this technology.
Recent advancements in lamp arrays and both the composition and choice of LED-curable inks now available mean that LED drying makes sense in some scenarios – in terms of both cost-efficiency and environmental considerations.
LED curing systems are now offered in the following new Natgraph dryers in the following options.
- Wavelength of UV- 395/385 (most common) or 365 nm
- Power level – up to 24 w/cm (385nm) using high-efficiency water-cooled LED COB (Chip on Board) system
- Can be specified in any new-build free-standing UV dryer/mini dryer/combination dryer
- Combination UV is also possible with 1 x LED, 1 x Conventional UV lamp for maximum flexibility
It is also possible to retrofit the same LED technology into existing equipment
- Dryers with Electronic ballasts – UV ballast replaced with LED -compatible unit, HMI & PLC reprogrammed to suit, LED head integrated into dryer replacing one of the UV lamps, cooling system added as required
- Older dryers – with conventional transformers and touchscreen control, LED system supplied with an additional control box, HMI & PLC reprogrammed to suit, LED head integrated into dryer replacing one of the UV lamps, cooling system added as required
- Other equipment – LED system supplied with an additional control box with integral control station, LED head supplied as a bridge unit that can be fitted over an existing conveyor, cooling system supplied with the unit.
An LED Curing system has benefits in certain scenarios…
• Energy-saving benefits as the LED head can be switched on and off quickly, with no cool-down time, no standby power operation is necessary
• No ozone produced by the UV production so lower airflow volumes required
• Lower substrate impact temperatures due to minimal IR generated by LED head.
• Higher UV intensities are possible than with conventional mercury arc lamps
• No mercury content in the system eliminating the need for specialist recycling of lamps and reducing environmental
• Life of LED is much longer than mercury arc lamps
• The curing head has a much smaller footprint so limited space installations are possible.
If you would like to know more about Natgraph and how our LED curing systems would work for your application, please contact us
