IR Drying and UV Curing: Delivering the Full Spectrum of Solutions to your Printing Process
With the recent acquisitions of Phoseon and Noblelight, Excelitas now offers its customers a one-stop solution for IR drying and UV curing. The expanded product portfolio from Phoseon ® , OmniCure ® and Noblelight ® brands include air- and water-cooled UV LED area curing systems, UV lamp and UV LED spot curing systems, UV microwave and LED systems, Infrared emitters, low-pressure and medium-pressure UV curing lamps.
Excelitas Technologies is now your full-spectrum supplier of UV and IR curing solutions. IR (Infrared) drying, and UV (Ultraviolet) LED curing are two different methods used for drying inks and coatings. IR drying is ideal for water-based inks and varnishes. UV LED curing (with wavelengths around 365–405 nm) is ideal for heat-sensitive substrates, extremely fast production speeds, and printing processes with high-performance requirements.
Infrared Drying Systems
Infrared drying is ideal for water-soluble inks and coatings and for digital printing with water-based inks. Noblelight infrared systems can help to make better use of the full capacity of high-speed printheads.
Noblelight Infradry® systems combine infrared radiation and air management particularly efficiently. An unbeatable advantage when it comes to drying water-based inks, paints or varnishes. In this way, systems accelerate heating and reduce energy consumption at the same time.
The wavelength of the infrared radiation has a considerable influence on the process. Medium-wave radiation is more effective on surfaces and is also very well absorbed by water and then converted directly into heat. Switching to medium-wave carbon infrared emitters can help to save significant amounts of energy costs.
Extensive tests show that carbon emitters use up to 30% less energy for drying water-based paints and varnishes than conventional short-wave emitters.
UV Curing Systems
UV LED is rapidly becoming the new standard for UV printing for both full cure and pinning applications. The narrow UV-A output provides the highest curing efficiency while also providing a cooler, safer, and more stable output, allowing end users to print on a wider variety of materials with increased yield and reduced operating costs. Excelitas’ broad product portfolio includes solutions for all printing applications from small and wide format digital printers, digital and flexographic label printers, screen printers, 3D printing, and others.
UV LED curing can improve print quality with less heat impact to the substrate, and lower operating costs through extended life and less frequent maintenance intervals. At the same time, the use of UV LED further enhances the environmentally friendly aspects of UV printing with dramatically lower energy consumption, and no mercury content or ozone emission.
The Phoseon® brand offers a broad array of both air and water-cooled UV LED curing systems for digital, screen, flexographic, and offset printing applications.
The Phoseon FireLine and FireJet UV LED curing products are a great fit for screen printing. The combination of low heat and high energy makes UV LED a great fit for screen printing, which allows a wider variety of materials to be used including plastics, metals, ceramics, glass, wood, posters and other items.
Phoseon Nexus ONE™ UV LED curing systems for flexographic printing deliver the highest total UV power output to achieve increased print speeds, increased press uptime, and double the lifetime compared to other products on the market. Nexus ONE is the first UV LED curing system available with a five-year warranty for the entire system, offering investment protection for customers.
The OmniCure® brand offers a broad array of spot and area UV curing systems designed with LED and Lamp UV technology, customers can choose from a wide selection to meet the unique needs of their curing applications. The OmniCure AC Series offers air-cooled UV LED curing systems that are suitable for small and large area curing. These systems are designed with high-power LEDs and advanced front-end optics to deliver high peak irradiance for fast, even curing. Printing applications include pinning, 3D printing, coding, product marking, serial numbers, posters and signage and packaging.
About Excelitas
Excelitas is the leading provider of advanced, life-enriching technologies that make a difference, serving global market leaders in the Life Sciences, Advanced Industrial, next-generation Semiconductor, Aerospace and Defense end-markets. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, USA, Excelitas is an essential partner in the design, development, and manufacture of photonic technologies, offering leading-edge innovation in sensing, detection, imaging, optics, and specialty illumination for customers worldwide.
Excelitas is at the forefront of addressing many of the relevant megatrends impacting the world today, including precision medicine, industrial automation, artificial intelligence, connected devices (IoT), and military modernization.