The End of the Mercury Era
As technology evolves, solutions improve and become more accessible across all markets. Mercury lamps have dominated the printing industry to a fault and are now being rapidly replaced by LED solutions. Corporate sustainability objectives are now a priority to the point of legal reform in countries across the world. The economic and ecological downsides of traditional UV have led the LED revolution, forcing mercury into an early retirement.
The European Shift:
The European Union is on track to ban the use of mercury in all industries, with a short 4-year deadline of 2027 for Member States. This shift will maintain all forms of natural water from the substance as well as other Priority Hazardous Substances. Not only is the toxic waste associated with mercury hazardous to environment, but to individuals exposed to the substance. In a production setting even small amounts of mercury exposure can result in severe health problems. Mercury is proven to have toxic effects on the lungs, kidneys, nervous and immune system. The World Health Assembly governed the implementation of the Minamata Convention on mercury in 2014. This implementation was set to protect both environmental and human health from the effects of mercury exposure. 128 countries have joined the Convention with an additional 107 ratifying the movement.
A Financial Sink Hole:
The economical waste associated with mercury lamps results in sunk operational costs, and inevitable reoccurring expenses. With traditional UV curing processes, the tremendous heat associated with mercury UV lamps require a significant amount of electricity to operate, in addition to unseen maintenance expenses. Phoseon UV LED curing lamps extend beyond 60,000 hours if maintained properly, while conventional mercury lamps need to be replaced every 1000-1500 hours. Additional expenses associated with mercury UV curing include higher power costs, substrate loss associated with each lamp change, cost for proper mercury disposal, cost for re-runs associated with insufficient cure from aging UV bulbs, replacement shutters, reflectors, quarts lenses & dichroic filters. Upgrading to Phoseon UV LED technology dissolves these additional maintenance costs, offering significant environmental benefits with the elimination of mercury. UV LED lamps offer more than 50% lower CO2 emissions. Studies have shown that in certain applications, replacing mercury lamps with UV LED lamps can lead to 67 tons of CO2 reduction per year.
Conventional mercury lamps have a very short lifetime and need to be replaced every 1000-1500 hours. At approximately $200 each, mercury bulb replacements result in sunk costs, and toxic waste. An 8 station flexo press running for 20,000 hours results in 160 blub replacements and a $32,000 expense. In comparison, with Phoseon UV LED curing, the expense and requirement for bulb change is zero. Phoseon is the only company in the industry that can say that we have a proven lifetime of more than 60,000 hours. In UV LED terms, 60,000 hours means that we count only the ON time as turning lamps on and off is instant. Phoseon LED curing lamps extend beyond 60,000 hours if maintained properly. Investing in Phoseon UV LED technology eliminates these replacement costs, offering significant environmental benefits with the elimination of mercury.
In Conclusion:
Mercury is on its way out of the market. Phoseon UV LED technologies provide incomparable waste reduction, and energy savings of between 75 and 85 percent compared to mercury drying systems. With Phoseon lamps, there is no need for fume extraction units to remove the gases generated by mercury-vapor UV lamps. UV LED is not only good for the environment, but also has a very positive effect on the finances, sustainability, health, and safety of company operations.
