The outbreak of the Coronavirus has put people in the anxiety of being surrounded by bacteria, and has also seriously affected the daily life of individuals and the normal functioning of society. In the face of increasingly serious environmental pollution, deep ultraviolet light-emitting diode disinfection technology came into being, which has made great achievements in the field of disinfection and has broad market prospects. During the epidemic, UVC LED ultraviolet products have become the best-selling products for disinfection and sterilization due to their advantages of small size, low power consumption, environmental friendliness, and instant lighting.
With the explosion of the UVC LED industry, the printing industry has also ushered in an opportunity for transformation and upgrading, and even the entire UV light industry has ushered in an opportunity for transformation and upgrading. In 2008, the first appearance of LED UV light curing technology at the German Drupa Printing Technology and Equipment Exhibition was amazing and attracted much attention, attracting great attention from printing equipment manufacturers and printing service providers. Experts in the printing market have given high praise to this technology, and believe that LED UV light curing technology will become the main technology of curing in the printing industry in the future.
UV LED light curing technology
UV LED curing technology is a printing method that uses UV-LED light-emitting diodes as curing light sources. It has the advantages of long life, high energy, low energy consumption, and no pollution (mercury). Compared with the traditional UV light source (mercury lamp), the spectral half-width of UV LED is much narrower, and the energy will be highly concentrated, low heat generation, high energy efficiency, and more uniform irradiation. The use of UV-LED light source can reduce the waste of printing resources and reduce printing costs, thereby saving the production time of printing enterprises and greatly improving the production efficiency of enterprises.
It is worth mentioning that the UV LED curing technology uses the ultraviolet band in the range of 365nm to 405nm, which belongs to the long-wave ultraviolet (also known as UVA band), without thermal radiation damage, which can make the surface of UV ink dry quickly and improve the gloss of the product. The wavelength range used in the field of ultraviolet disinfection is between 190nm and 280nm, which belongs to the ultraviolet short bar (also known as the UVC band). This band of UV ultraviolet light can directly destroy the DNA and RNA structure of cells and viruses, and cause the rapid death of microorganisms.
Application of UV LED curing technology by foreign manufacturers
Aztec Label, a leader in MicroLED technology, announced that it has successfully built and installed its largest LED UV drying system, which will transition its entire factory production to this type of technology by the end of the year. Following the successful installation of the first LED UV curing system on a two-colour press last year, the company is installing a second Benford LED UV curing system at its West Midlands headquarters to further reduce power consumption.
Usually, the use of LED UV printing technology can make the ink dry in an instant. The LED UV light of Aztec Label system can be switched on and off instantly, no cooling time is required, and it is made of LED UV diode, so the expected service life of its equipment can reach 10,000-15,000 hours.
At present, energy saving and "dual carbon" are becoming one of the key directions for the upgrading of major industries. Colin Le Gresley, general manager of Aztec Label, also highlighted the company's focus on this trend, explaining that "sustainability is really becoming a key differentiator for businesses and a core need for end customers".
Colin Le Gresley also pointed out that in terms of quality, the new Benford Environmental LED UV equipment can bring cost-effective printing results and vivid colors, making the printing quality stable and without marks. “From a sustainability standpoint, it consumes significantly less energy, more than 60 percent less than conventional UV drying. Coupled with instant switching, long-life diodes and low heat emissions, it delivers the high performance customers expect level, while perfectly aligning with our sustainability goals.”
Since installing the first Benford system, Aztec Label has been impressed with its simple, safe design and performance results. Currently, the company has decided to install a second, larger system.
Summary
First, with the approval and implementation of the "Minamata Convention" in 2016, the production and import and export of mercury-containing products will be banned from 2020 (most of the traditional UV lighting uses mercury lamps). In addition, on September 22, 2020, China set an example in the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly delivered a speech on "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" Chinese enterprises will aim to reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency, and realize the digital and intelligent reform of enterprises. With the continuous breakthrough of printing technology and the development of environmental protection in the printing industry in the future, UV-LED printing technology will continue to mature, which will help the printing industry to transform and upgrade and develop vigorously.
Post time: Sep-14-2022