How does LED compare to the incumbent drying technologies?

Historically, traditional mercury arc and microwave lamps have been the incumbent UV technology. There is also heavy use of systems that are water and solvent based that use thermal and evaporative drying. UV LED brings new capability to users along with increased productivity, so we are seeing a continued conversion to UV LED. This has enabled a lot of new industries to be able to do things with UV curing that could not be done with mercury arc lamps due to high temperatures, ozone damage and radiation risk. In fact, the very large markets of water and solvent processes are, in many cases, moving directly to UV LED.

For a new technology to gain acceptance in the market, the advantages need to be substantially more compelling than the incumbent technology.  The advantages of UV LED technology are quite significant compared to mercury UV and solve most of the issues that result from mercury lamp use.  Typical energy savings exceed 50% for applications converted from mercury-based curing to LED.

LED is simply more precise. There is much less waste, and the quality of curing is the same or better. To ensure users have high-performance and consistently accurate products, Phoseon has developed TargetCure™ Technology. TargetCure Technology uses proprietary and patented Phoseon innovations to provide users with the precise and predictable UV output they demand from the market leader. TargetCure Technology means reliable UV output and less monitoring of defects, thereby improving yields and profitability.

In contrast, with mercury arc lamps or poorly designed LED systems you will see degradation almost as soon as you turn it on, and you will need to change light sources. This is increasingly important with the demand for low migration ink which is a significant issue in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. You need low migration ink, substrate and set up for press and a stable curing system that can really achieve this.

Mercury systems need to be running all the time, while LED is instant on off and can be used as needed. With mercury there is a lot of heat to manage, stray light, components that deteriorate over time, and a very short lifetime. In contrast, LED brings stability and has a very long lifetime. The image below shows the required bulb replacements over time compared to LED.