How Can UV LED Curing Benefit Industrial Printing?

The UV LED curing technique is a cutting-edge development that has transformed the commercial and industrial printing. Printers can now generate high-quality prints at faster rates and with greater efficiency. Find out how this printing technique can benefit your printing business moving forward.

What is UV LED curing?

UV LED curing is a commercial and industrial printing technique that uses ultraviolet light-emitting diodes, aka LEDs, to cure inks, adhesives, and coatings fast and efficiently. This printing technique has grown in popularity in various printing settings because it has several advantages over traditional drying techniques, including faster production times and enhanced print quality.

The ink-drying approach was first established in the 1960s, and it has since been adopted by various industries, from electronics to automotive and telecommunications. It has expanded into a multi-billion-dollar global industry and is still developing at a very fast rate (over 10% annually).

Indeed, it has displaced traditional liquid and solvent-based heat drying methodologies due to better product quality, improved performance, faster turnaround times, and better environmental sustainability.

Advantages of UV LED Curing for Industrial Printing

Enhanced Productivity

One of the main benefits of UV LED curing for commercial and industrial printing is its faster production speed. This technology cures prints in a small amount of time compared to standard drying procedures, allowing for the production of more copies in less time. Furthermore, UV LED curing is referred to as "cold" curing, which means that no heat is generated, which could otherwise cause warping or other kinds of damage to the printed products.

It simply takes a fraction of a second to dry the ink. The technique reduces turnaround time without sacrificing quality. Actually, data show that UV LED curing may cut the turnaround time of the highest-quality printing projects by roughly 40%.

It uses less ink.

UV LED curing uses approximately 20% less ink than traditional printing techniques since it dries the ink in just a single pass, reducing the amount of ink required for a print. Moreover, the rapid drying time limits ink absorption and diffusion into the material.

Better print quality

In addition to shortening turnaround time, the UV LED curing approach ensures that the ink won't sink into the material once printing has begun. This helps the ink retain its color, resulting in brighter, sharper, and more vibrant products with the finest visual presentation.

It is a useful technique for developing high-quality content that immediately captures the viewer's interest. Furthermore, UV LED curing somehow doesn't require the application of solvents or other possibly hazardous agents, which can create print quality issues.

Results in perfection

Using an LED UV curing lamp eliminates ink set-off and the use of an anti-set-off power spray. Ink set-off is the unwanted transfer of ink between sheets when printing. It usually necessitates using slipsheets, aka discardable papers, between copies.

In other cases, anti-setting spray powder is used to help the material retain its original characteristics; however, it creates dust. On the other hand, UV LED curing eliminates the need for all that, leading to material that doesn't contain any unnecessary imperfections or markings that make it appear unpleasant. It usually generates remarkable print effects that aid in achieving the desired results.

Enhanced equipment lifespan

UV LED curing equipment is also far more durable and long-lasting than standard UV lamps. LEDs have a lifespan of as many as 50,000 hours, whereas standard lamps have roughly 2,000 hours.

Eco-friendly printing technique

Moreover, UV LED curing is more environmentally friendly than conventional drying techniques. It does not use solvents or a lot of chemicals, and the ultraviolet light employed in the process produces no waste or volatile organic compounds. Furthermore, because UV LED curing does not require additional cooling or heating, it uses substantially less energy than traditional drying techniques. Indeed, UV LED curing uses up to 65 percent less energy than traditional drying techniques, resulting in more significant energy savings.

Conclusion

UV LED curing is becoming a more reliable technique for industrial and commercial printing because of its multiple benefits, including faster production times, better print quality, and superior environmental sustainability.

It can potentially lower production costs and rejection rates, enhance print quality, and lessen the environmental impact of industrial and commercial printing. It's already becoming clear that this is how to print and present luxury products. It produces superior sharpness and clarity, leading to outstanding print products.