UV LED curing is a big deal in the printing sector, and with good reason. This system offers a capable alternative to previous technologies in different industries. This post tells you more about why UV LED curing systems reduce the cost in the printing industry.
The fast growth of this technology in printing applications is not surprising, considering the many benefits it presents compared to mercury lamps. UV LED curing systems offer improved efficiency, last longer, need no warm-up time, and provide better output throughout their lifetime.
How UV Curing Works
To better understand why UV LED curing reduces industrial printing-related costs, we will first explain how UV curing works. LED UV employs an effective drying technique known as UV curing, which is highly productive, hence its popularity. As opposed to heat, it uses UV light to dry the ink, which happens almost instantly.
This procedure reduces the completion time and ensures the ink maintains its quality and depth in color. Additionally, this system uses approximately 20% less ink than other printers, and the swift dry time prevents dispersion and absorption of the ink in the stock.
LED UV significantly promotes the physical properties of your printout, leaving it with a top-quality HD finish.
Regarding UV lights for the curing process of the coatings, adhesives and inks can be divided into two main parts. The first part is the resin, and the photo-initiator is the second. The photo-initiator won’t react with the resin but prioritizes absorbing the ultraviolet light before anything happens.
When the ultraviolet light is conveyed, the photo-initiator goes through a chemical reaction to make the ink, coating, or adhesive harden.
Why Does UV LED Curing System Reduce the Cost of Industrial Printing
LEDs are a new and impressive printing technology that produces concentrated light with reduced power usage while at the same time generating minimal heat. Moreover, they have prolonged lifespans.
They are replacing the power-consuming, hot, and short-spanned mercury lamps on UV inkjets. Cool running, reduced power consumption, excellent flexibility, and long lifespan are some of the things that make LEDs a better option compared to mercury lamps.
Additionally, this is a practical and affordable eco-friendly printing technology, producing better quality printouts.
The savings vary depending on your system, power output, and LED cost performance since they constantly change. Nonetheless, a standard UV-LED unit for a sizable printer, with a UV energy output of 10W, uses approximately 60W of power for its lamps and 20W approximate output for the fan and control unit. Combined, these are 80 watts, somewhat less than the previous production of 100 watts of filament for the typical light bulb.
When you compare these two wattages, the power use of a conventional halide lamp is approximately 1.2Kw, which is relatively higher than a one-bar electric heater. These units run hot, between 600-800oC, producing radiant heat which moves to the other parts of the printer, like the media, ink, and heads.
With this, you can see that a halide lamp consumes around 15 times as much power as a UV curing system. Nonetheless, UV-LED systems can be turned on/off almost instantly. Presses will only require you to turn them on when they are printing.
In comparison, once you switch off a halide lamp, you can’t switch it on again till it cools. Therefore, it is usually left on throughout when printing.
UV-LED also offers a 50 % operation cycle; it consumes a mere 1/30 as much power as a halide lamp. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the printer will be 30 times as productive with a UV-LED curing system.
Printers typically have standard components like ink supplies, control electronics, motors, and vacuum pumps. Therefore, the real power consumption difference of the press wholly would be significantly less.
Utilizing UV LED curing systems does not only save costs in terms of electricity consumed. They also require low maintenance and come with no replacement expenses. So, besides the electricity factor, these other factors are huge considerations for companies attempting to reduce printing-related costs and carbon footprint.
So Why does it reduce the cost of printing?
UV LED curing systems reduce printing costs because:
· They consume significantly less power than their competition
· They cost less and are easier to maintain.
· They come with virtually zero replacement expenses.
