Catherine Diamond, Associate Editor11.01.14
Energy curing technologies are steadily growing in popularity thanks to their environmental benefits and overall utility. According to industry association RadTech, energy curing typically describes the use of electron beam (EB), ultraviolet (UV) or visible light to polymerize a combination of monomers and oligomers onto a substrate. The UV and EB material may be formulated into an ink, coating, adhesive or other product.
As the association explains on its website, the process is also known as radiation curing or “radcure” because UV and EB are radiant energy sources. The energy sources for UV or visible light cure are typically medium pressure mercury lamps, pulsed xenon lamps, LEDs or lasers. EB – unlike photons of light, which tend to be absorbed mainly at the surface of materials – has the ability to penetrate through matter.
Deanna Whelan, global marketing manager, for Flint Group - Packaging and Narrow Web, said that her company continues to see steady growth in energy curable markets.
“Not only do we see growth across all segments in the narrow web label industry, but we also see increased interest in UV technologies for sheetfed and flexible packaging applications,” she said. “Energy cured technologies do have environmental advantages as these inks are virtually VOC-free. And, in the case of UV LED, energy will be saved, and mercury-free lamps do not produce ozone.
“The environmental advantages are definitely a plus in presenting these technologies to new and existing customers. In addition, there are the economical advantages of increased print quality (less failures) and increase ease of use - inks can actually stay in the press overnight,” she added.
Sun Chemical has seen year-over-year growth in this market. Tony Renzi, vice president of product management packaging inks for North American inks, said, “UV inks for commercial sheetfed was up marginally with most growth coming from the packaging market, especially UV flexo, narrow web, tag and label, folding carton and other emerging applications in flexible packaging.”
John Copeland, president and chief operating officer of Toyo Ink America, said that his company has seen double-digit growth of energy curable inks and coatings in the U.S.
“We do not see many companies who are not interested in UV, LED or EB technologies,” Copeland said.
Yu Adachi, who handles corporate communications at Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd., said that UV ink and coatings markets continue to grow, in particular products with high UV sensitivity.
“High sensitivity UV offset inks not only offer energy savings, but they are developed for the purpose of drawing out UV functions (instant cure, high strength) even when using a low-energy source of UV lamps such as the UV-LED or the ozoneless UV type,” Adachi said. “Since high sensitivity UV inks largely serve to replace oil-based inks, they are ideally suited to printing jobs that demand not only the special properties of UV, but also the high color, halftone reproduction and high gloss provided by oil-based inks.
“Through a precise combination of ink raw materials, high sensitivity UV ink is coming closer in color generation and high gloss effect, once considered a UV drawback, equal to that of standard oil-based inks. This has led to the gradual development of the high sensitivity UV market that meets the performance demands of the commercial fine paper market.”
The reasons behind the growth of UV and EB are due in part to the environmental benefits of energy curing as well as its printing capabilities.
According to Don Duncan, director of research at Wikoff Color Corporation, the advantages to UV/EB curing are both economic and performance-based.
“The economic advantages are fun to figure out,” Duncan said. “The inks and coatings cost more than other technologies, and the curing hardware costs as least as much or more than other technologies, yet UV and EB packaging allows printers to do things that are very difficult in other ways.
“EB, in particular, is the easiest way to get low migration, Nestle-compliant and Swiss-compliant products. UV and EB print is ready to use immediately off the press. UV and EB inkjet also allows print quality, adhesion and low-migration properties not easily accomplished with other means.”
Low-energy technologies – such as H-UV, LE-UV and LED-UV – have shown potential to reduce energy consumption, said Thomas Glaser, marketing manager at Stehlin + Hostag AG.
They do so “while keeping a high cure level and safety in daily production,” he said. “Compared to oil-based printing, using HUV or LED-UV is dramatically reducing the waste and number of reprints caused by issues in finishing. These emitters are producing very limited to nearly zero ozone, which, for the printer, is easy to work with. Additionally, these products are VOC-free and do not require spray powder on the sheetfed presses.”
Eliminating the need for spray powder can increase speed and therefore, overall productivity. According to Rolf Montag, Siegwerk’s regional sales manager for BU labels and narrow web, printers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa have already realized these benefits.
“UV and EB curable inks…cure in a fraction of a second upon exposure to a UV or EB source,” Montag said. “The UV/EB curable inks are complying with VOC restrictions regarding health risks. The in-line application of UV offset sheetfed printing process eliminates the need for spray powder as well. Spray powder has typically been used to prevent the wet ink from offsetting while the printed stock is stacked waiting to be fabricated. The use of UV or EB curing inks significantly increases productivity by eliminating the need to wait for the conventional ink to dry; the printed substrate can be immediately finished as it comes off the press. Printers using UV/EB curable inks for general printing achieve additional advances in productivity and process versatility.
“In EMEA, UV is the major part of the business in narrow web and growing in sheetfed as well, so there is no change in customer behavior regarding environmental advantages. There are advantages using UV over other technologies such as: higher gloss, no VOC, immediate processing in sheetfed, press stability, immediately post print processes possible,” he added.
Food Packaging
A particular area of growth for UV/EB curing inks is in food packaging. Both the quality and low-migratory properties of these inks are appealing to packaging printers because they allow printers to be competitive while also complying with increased regulations, particularly in Europe.
“There is an increased interest in radiation curable inks for food packaging and label applications because printers and brand owners desire the quality in print achievable with UV inks,” Whelan said. “With the availability of high-quality, low-migration inks designed specifically for food packaging, printers can use these inks and still be in accordance with current legislation and regulations. Ink suppliers, commercially, offer low migration inks to the marketplace and in some markets, i.e. Europe, we see more use of nitrogen inertion to safeguard improved cure and lower migratables.”
Montag, of Siegwerk, said that his company has been working with UV/EB inks, specifically for the food industry, for many years. “Now,” Montag said, “customers are using them more and more due to regulations. Brand-owners have their own exclusion lists for pigments, photoinitiators, acrylates, and solvents, as well. Siegwerk is used to working with compliance standards for global brands with rigid raw material selection, central approval process and global formulation guidelines to meet the high requirements for food packaging. This is becoming more important, especially in Canada and the United States, as we are seeing more interest for low migration products in the region.”
Damon Geer, vice president of sales for Zeller+Gmelin USA, said that his company has experienced gains in this segment. “The food packaging industry continued to show steady growth in 2014,” he said. “Low migration/low odor inks are starting to be requested by certain brand owners who are looking to get ahead of what some people are referring to as the emerging ‘green and clean’ movement in the food packaging sector.”
Geer added, “With a foothold established on digital presses, LED curing using flexography as the vehicle is starting to focus on the food packaging industry and could emerge as a major player in the market over the next 10 years as that technology continues to evolve. At the moment, the systems available are fairly expensive, requiring the prospective buyer to do their due-diligence in earnest before making the commitment to invest. It’s proved to be a worthwhile investment in digital; it could prove to be worthwhile in flexography as well.”
Duncan said that despite some bad press, UV deserves a second look from printers.
“UV has taken some publicity hits in recent years, but it is completely possible to make low-migration food packaging with UV,” he said. “UV print for food packaging is currently a large business area in the US and in Europe. However, it is much easier to achieve low migration results with EB printing, since the curing technology is more effective.”
One area of energy curing that has drawn a lot of attention in recent years is LED (light-emitting diode). Adachi, of Toyo, said that UV LED’s numerous benefits warrant a closer look from printers.
“Compared to conventional lamps, LEDs consume much less electricity (roughly 1/4) and substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” he said. “As the light emitted by LEDs does not contain any infrared, the amount of heat generated in minimal. This makes it possible to print onto films and other materials with a low level of heat resistance and minimizes the effects of heat on the printer itself, which in turn means that fewer adjustments are required in terms of printing precision, reducing printer wear and tear. As LEDs have a substantially longer life span when used as a light source element compared to lamps – roughly 12 times as long – they need to be changed much less frequently.”
Adachi added that there are two other benefits to LED curing: automatic shut offs and economies of space.
“LEDs can be turned on and off instantly, thereby eliminating the need for warm up and cool down periods, as with conventional lamps, and improving operational efficiency,” he said. “Additionally, as UV-LED curing units are exceptionally compact, they don’t take up lots of space when installed like conventional equipment.”
Copeland added that, while market share of LED in the U.S. is relatively low, Toyo sees 2015 as “a jumping or pivotal time for LED technology to enter the U.S. printing market.”
According to Duncan, the popularity of UV LED belies its proven reliability.
“UV LED’s advantages are well established: instant on/instant off, low heat generation, very stable curing output over long periods of time, low hardware maintenance and lower hazards to the eyes of operators,” he said. “Still, UV LED has extremely small share of the energy curing market, much less than 1%, and the share in low migration food packaging is even less.”
Flint Group’s Whelan added that LED lamps have less deterioration over a longer period of time. “LED is a more controlled process,” she said. “Compared to conventional mercury curing, the lamps have little degradation: 20,000 on time hours versus 2,000 hours for most mercury lamps. LED is also not influenced by shutters and reflectors.”
In addition to the longevity of LED lamps, they offer specific benefits to more delicate materials. Peter Saunders, global business director for digital at Sun Chemical said that LED lamps are especially useful for materials like plastic or film.
“Unlike mercury lamps which require chilled rollers to reduce effects of heat on substrate, LED doesn’t require those because its infrared–free output has the ability to deliver energy to cure and keep things cool at the same time,” he said. “Additionally, UV LED has a longer lifespan than mercury lamps and there is dramatically less drop off in performance over time. In terms of market share, we know LED is growing. In faster wide format inkjet presses, mercury lamps still dominate, but we would expect LED to become a major part of label and packaging presses as technology develops.”
Raw Material Costs
The cost of raw materials for UV and EB ink manufacturers has historically been challenging, and availability of key raw materials fluctuate.
In recent years, the availability and cost of raw materials have been a challenge for UV and EB ink manufacturers. According to Ed Pruitt, chief procurement officer at Sun Chemical, 2014 has been a year of relative cost stability and ample supply.
“Key feedstocks such as acrylic acid have not had any major production issues and prices have remained fairly steady. The only area that has presented occasional concern is photoinitiators due to supply issues at some manufacturers’ locations,” he said.
“Photo initiator producers have announced increase of 25% on CPK, DMHA, and TPO based on plant shutdowns in Asia related to regulatory issues and government controls,” said Whelan of Flint Group.
“Another concern is TiO2; the market is unstable at the moment and there is a risk of serious increases due to major market movements,” she added. “The key precursors to acrylic acid show an increasing trend. Availability so far has not been an issue, but it is something we continue to monitor. In addition, there have been signs in the market that some producers are considering price increases.”
Glaser, of Stehlin + Hostag AG, adds that he is expecting a cost increase for acrylic because of availability issues. “We expect the same for pigments due to environmental handling costs,” he said.
With raw material costs stabilizing and numerous benefits to be reaped, what’s to stop UV LED from becoming a leading technology in the future? According to some, the answer is nothing but time.
“UV LED has a place, and it will continue to grow, and hardware improvements will continue to be made,” Duncan said. “And as this progress is realized, it will be a larger part of the market, but we project it will be well over 20 years before it could be the dominant curing technology. While UV LED does have a story to tell, EB curing seems unlikely to be penetrated by UV LED.”
According to Sun Chemical’s Saunders, improvements in the power output of UV LED lamps has increased achievable line speed and has allowed Sun Chemical scope to develop inks more suitable for applications based on speed and single pass technology.
“We know that dose of UV is a key element and it has been proven that LED lamps can deliver the required dose to create robust ink films,” he said. “We continue to develop our full range of UV LED inkjet solutions for wide format, label and other industrial applications such as tampo print replacement and décor.”
“At Labelexpo 2014, Siegwerk EIC highlighted its most recent innovation involving UV LED shrink sleeve technology,” Montag said. “As both the shrink sleeve and the UV LED segments are gaining traction throughout the narrow web market, Siegwerk EIC’s innovation, SAS UV LED shrink sleeve will lead the way in providing a sustainable solution to its customer base. Advantages exist as compared to traditional UV technology including faster cure, greater control of the heat source, lower energy consumption, and lower odor due to the elimination of NVC (V-CAP) a recently named toxin to the market. By taking a proactive approach for this technology, Siegwerk EIC is leading the way in the energy curable market.”
According to Whelan, Flint Group believes that UV LED will become the leading energy curing technology.
“Mercury bulbs have been ‘safeguarded’ by government agencies because there were no viable options. With UV LED, this has changed. There is a viable option, and this option has zero limitations,” Whelan said. “LED inks and press technologies are now commercially available from multiple suppliers globally. Furthermore, printers are investing in this technology all around the world. It is happening, and will continue to happen.
“Our industry has come to accept the downtime related to mercury curing lamps as that’s been the only option. With LED curing we don’t have to accept the unnecessary downtime associated to mercury lamp failures and inefficiencies and hazards. LED will greatly change our industry forever.”
As the association explains on its website, the process is also known as radiation curing or “radcure” because UV and EB are radiant energy sources. The energy sources for UV or visible light cure are typically medium pressure mercury lamps, pulsed xenon lamps, LEDs or lasers. EB – unlike photons of light, which tend to be absorbed mainly at the surface of materials – has the ability to penetrate through matter.
Deanna Whelan, global marketing manager, for Flint Group - Packaging and Narrow Web, said that her company continues to see steady growth in energy curable markets.
“Not only do we see growth across all segments in the narrow web label industry, but we also see increased interest in UV technologies for sheetfed and flexible packaging applications,” she said. “Energy cured technologies do have environmental advantages as these inks are virtually VOC-free. And, in the case of UV LED, energy will be saved, and mercury-free lamps do not produce ozone.
“The environmental advantages are definitely a plus in presenting these technologies to new and existing customers. In addition, there are the economical advantages of increased print quality (less failures) and increase ease of use - inks can actually stay in the press overnight,” she added.
Sun Chemical has seen year-over-year growth in this market. Tony Renzi, vice president of product management packaging inks for North American inks, said, “UV inks for commercial sheetfed was up marginally with most growth coming from the packaging market, especially UV flexo, narrow web, tag and label, folding carton and other emerging applications in flexible packaging.”
John Copeland, president and chief operating officer of Toyo Ink America, said that his company has seen double-digit growth of energy curable inks and coatings in the U.S.
“We do not see many companies who are not interested in UV, LED or EB technologies,” Copeland said.
Yu Adachi, who handles corporate communications at Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd., said that UV ink and coatings markets continue to grow, in particular products with high UV sensitivity.
“High sensitivity UV offset inks not only offer energy savings, but they are developed for the purpose of drawing out UV functions (instant cure, high strength) even when using a low-energy source of UV lamps such as the UV-LED or the ozoneless UV type,” Adachi said. “Since high sensitivity UV inks largely serve to replace oil-based inks, they are ideally suited to printing jobs that demand not only the special properties of UV, but also the high color, halftone reproduction and high gloss provided by oil-based inks.
“Through a precise combination of ink raw materials, high sensitivity UV ink is coming closer in color generation and high gloss effect, once considered a UV drawback, equal to that of standard oil-based inks. This has led to the gradual development of the high sensitivity UV market that meets the performance demands of the commercial fine paper market.”
The reasons behind the growth of UV and EB are due in part to the environmental benefits of energy curing as well as its printing capabilities.
According to Don Duncan, director of research at Wikoff Color Corporation, the advantages to UV/EB curing are both economic and performance-based.
“The economic advantages are fun to figure out,” Duncan said. “The inks and coatings cost more than other technologies, and the curing hardware costs as least as much or more than other technologies, yet UV and EB packaging allows printers to do things that are very difficult in other ways.
“EB, in particular, is the easiest way to get low migration, Nestle-compliant and Swiss-compliant products. UV and EB print is ready to use immediately off the press. UV and EB inkjet also allows print quality, adhesion and low-migration properties not easily accomplished with other means.”
Low-energy technologies – such as H-UV, LE-UV and LED-UV – have shown potential to reduce energy consumption, said Thomas Glaser, marketing manager at Stehlin + Hostag AG.
They do so “while keeping a high cure level and safety in daily production,” he said. “Compared to oil-based printing, using HUV or LED-UV is dramatically reducing the waste and number of reprints caused by issues in finishing. These emitters are producing very limited to nearly zero ozone, which, for the printer, is easy to work with. Additionally, these products are VOC-free and do not require spray powder on the sheetfed presses.”
Eliminating the need for spray powder can increase speed and therefore, overall productivity. According to Rolf Montag, Siegwerk’s regional sales manager for BU labels and narrow web, printers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa have already realized these benefits.
“UV and EB curable inks…cure in a fraction of a second upon exposure to a UV or EB source,” Montag said. “The UV/EB curable inks are complying with VOC restrictions regarding health risks. The in-line application of UV offset sheetfed printing process eliminates the need for spray powder as well. Spray powder has typically been used to prevent the wet ink from offsetting while the printed stock is stacked waiting to be fabricated. The use of UV or EB curing inks significantly increases productivity by eliminating the need to wait for the conventional ink to dry; the printed substrate can be immediately finished as it comes off the press. Printers using UV/EB curable inks for general printing achieve additional advances in productivity and process versatility.
“In EMEA, UV is the major part of the business in narrow web and growing in sheetfed as well, so there is no change in customer behavior regarding environmental advantages. There are advantages using UV over other technologies such as: higher gloss, no VOC, immediate processing in sheetfed, press stability, immediately post print processes possible,” he added.
Food Packaging
A particular area of growth for UV/EB curing inks is in food packaging. Both the quality and low-migratory properties of these inks are appealing to packaging printers because they allow printers to be competitive while also complying with increased regulations, particularly in Europe.
“There is an increased interest in radiation curable inks for food packaging and label applications because printers and brand owners desire the quality in print achievable with UV inks,” Whelan said. “With the availability of high-quality, low-migration inks designed specifically for food packaging, printers can use these inks and still be in accordance with current legislation and regulations. Ink suppliers, commercially, offer low migration inks to the marketplace and in some markets, i.e. Europe, we see more use of nitrogen inertion to safeguard improved cure and lower migratables.”
Montag, of Siegwerk, said that his company has been working with UV/EB inks, specifically for the food industry, for many years. “Now,” Montag said, “customers are using them more and more due to regulations. Brand-owners have their own exclusion lists for pigments, photoinitiators, acrylates, and solvents, as well. Siegwerk is used to working with compliance standards for global brands with rigid raw material selection, central approval process and global formulation guidelines to meet the high requirements for food packaging. This is becoming more important, especially in Canada and the United States, as we are seeing more interest for low migration products in the region.”
Damon Geer, vice president of sales for Zeller+Gmelin USA, said that his company has experienced gains in this segment. “The food packaging industry continued to show steady growth in 2014,” he said. “Low migration/low odor inks are starting to be requested by certain brand owners who are looking to get ahead of what some people are referring to as the emerging ‘green and clean’ movement in the food packaging sector.”
Geer added, “With a foothold established on digital presses, LED curing using flexography as the vehicle is starting to focus on the food packaging industry and could emerge as a major player in the market over the next 10 years as that technology continues to evolve. At the moment, the systems available are fairly expensive, requiring the prospective buyer to do their due-diligence in earnest before making the commitment to invest. It’s proved to be a worthwhile investment in digital; it could prove to be worthwhile in flexography as well.”
Duncan said that despite some bad press, UV deserves a second look from printers.
“UV has taken some publicity hits in recent years, but it is completely possible to make low-migration food packaging with UV,” he said. “UV print for food packaging is currently a large business area in the US and in Europe. However, it is much easier to achieve low migration results with EB printing, since the curing technology is more effective.”
One area of energy curing that has drawn a lot of attention in recent years is LED (light-emitting diode). Adachi, of Toyo, said that UV LED’s numerous benefits warrant a closer look from printers.
“Compared to conventional lamps, LEDs consume much less electricity (roughly 1/4) and substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” he said. “As the light emitted by LEDs does not contain any infrared, the amount of heat generated in minimal. This makes it possible to print onto films and other materials with a low level of heat resistance and minimizes the effects of heat on the printer itself, which in turn means that fewer adjustments are required in terms of printing precision, reducing printer wear and tear. As LEDs have a substantially longer life span when used as a light source element compared to lamps – roughly 12 times as long – they need to be changed much less frequently.”
Adachi added that there are two other benefits to LED curing: automatic shut offs and economies of space.
“LEDs can be turned on and off instantly, thereby eliminating the need for warm up and cool down periods, as with conventional lamps, and improving operational efficiency,” he said. “Additionally, as UV-LED curing units are exceptionally compact, they don’t take up lots of space when installed like conventional equipment.”
Copeland added that, while market share of LED in the U.S. is relatively low, Toyo sees 2015 as “a jumping or pivotal time for LED technology to enter the U.S. printing market.”
According to Duncan, the popularity of UV LED belies its proven reliability.
“UV LED’s advantages are well established: instant on/instant off, low heat generation, very stable curing output over long periods of time, low hardware maintenance and lower hazards to the eyes of operators,” he said. “Still, UV LED has extremely small share of the energy curing market, much less than 1%, and the share in low migration food packaging is even less.”
Flint Group’s Whelan added that LED lamps have less deterioration over a longer period of time. “LED is a more controlled process,” she said. “Compared to conventional mercury curing, the lamps have little degradation: 20,000 on time hours versus 2,000 hours for most mercury lamps. LED is also not influenced by shutters and reflectors.”
In addition to the longevity of LED lamps, they offer specific benefits to more delicate materials. Peter Saunders, global business director for digital at Sun Chemical said that LED lamps are especially useful for materials like plastic or film.
“Unlike mercury lamps which require chilled rollers to reduce effects of heat on substrate, LED doesn’t require those because its infrared–free output has the ability to deliver energy to cure and keep things cool at the same time,” he said. “Additionally, UV LED has a longer lifespan than mercury lamps and there is dramatically less drop off in performance over time. In terms of market share, we know LED is growing. In faster wide format inkjet presses, mercury lamps still dominate, but we would expect LED to become a major part of label and packaging presses as technology develops.”
Raw Material Costs
The cost of raw materials for UV and EB ink manufacturers has historically been challenging, and availability of key raw materials fluctuate.
In recent years, the availability and cost of raw materials have been a challenge for UV and EB ink manufacturers. According to Ed Pruitt, chief procurement officer at Sun Chemical, 2014 has been a year of relative cost stability and ample supply.
“Key feedstocks such as acrylic acid have not had any major production issues and prices have remained fairly steady. The only area that has presented occasional concern is photoinitiators due to supply issues at some manufacturers’ locations,” he said.
“Photo initiator producers have announced increase of 25% on CPK, DMHA, and TPO based on plant shutdowns in Asia related to regulatory issues and government controls,” said Whelan of Flint Group.
“Another concern is TiO2; the market is unstable at the moment and there is a risk of serious increases due to major market movements,” she added. “The key precursors to acrylic acid show an increasing trend. Availability so far has not been an issue, but it is something we continue to monitor. In addition, there have been signs in the market that some producers are considering price increases.”
Glaser, of Stehlin + Hostag AG, adds that he is expecting a cost increase for acrylic because of availability issues. “We expect the same for pigments due to environmental handling costs,” he said.
With raw material costs stabilizing and numerous benefits to be reaped, what’s to stop UV LED from becoming a leading technology in the future? According to some, the answer is nothing but time.
“UV LED has a place, and it will continue to grow, and hardware improvements will continue to be made,” Duncan said. “And as this progress is realized, it will be a larger part of the market, but we project it will be well over 20 years before it could be the dominant curing technology. While UV LED does have a story to tell, EB curing seems unlikely to be penetrated by UV LED.”
According to Sun Chemical’s Saunders, improvements in the power output of UV LED lamps has increased achievable line speed and has allowed Sun Chemical scope to develop inks more suitable for applications based on speed and single pass technology.
“We know that dose of UV is a key element and it has been proven that LED lamps can deliver the required dose to create robust ink films,” he said. “We continue to develop our full range of UV LED inkjet solutions for wide format, label and other industrial applications such as tampo print replacement and décor.”
“At Labelexpo 2014, Siegwerk EIC highlighted its most recent innovation involving UV LED shrink sleeve technology,” Montag said. “As both the shrink sleeve and the UV LED segments are gaining traction throughout the narrow web market, Siegwerk EIC’s innovation, SAS UV LED shrink sleeve will lead the way in providing a sustainable solution to its customer base. Advantages exist as compared to traditional UV technology including faster cure, greater control of the heat source, lower energy consumption, and lower odor due to the elimination of NVC (V-CAP) a recently named toxin to the market. By taking a proactive approach for this technology, Siegwerk EIC is leading the way in the energy curable market.”
According to Whelan, Flint Group believes that UV LED will become the leading energy curing technology.
“Mercury bulbs have been ‘safeguarded’ by government agencies because there were no viable options. With UV LED, this has changed. There is a viable option, and this option has zero limitations,” Whelan said. “LED inks and press technologies are now commercially available from multiple suppliers globally. Furthermore, printers are investing in this technology all around the world. It is happening, and will continue to happen.
“Our industry has come to accept the downtime related to mercury curing lamps as that’s been the only option. With LED curing we don’t have to accept the unnecessary downtime associated to mercury lamp failures and inefficiencies and hazards. LED will greatly change our industry forever.”