As Fast as a Speeding Press
The market’s demand for faster presses means drying equipment must evolve to keep up.
January 2007 by Chris Mc Loone
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Like any other technology, drying equipment for package printing continues to evolve. The industry changes rapidly and suppliers must keep up. The increased speed involved with today’s printing presses, driven by market demand, is one example of how drying equipment must evolve to keep up with the presses on which it is installed. Some press manufacturers, like Aquaflex (see sidebar, next page), have chosen to design and build their own drying systems. Others use dryers manufactured by OEMs.
Whichever route you choose to go when purchasing new drying equipment, there are a variety of considerations you need to keep in mind including UV vs. IR vs. air, advances in anilox roll technology, emergence of film applications, and the higher speeds and efficiencies of today’s presses.
Emerging trends
A variety of trends have emerged in the drying equipment market. Mark Hahn, VP sales and marketing for AAA Press International, states, “We see trends where converters are looking to run faster to improve throughput regardless of run size.” Dave Schommer, president of Dri-Tec, adds, “Because of the increased speeds and web widths, such as 2000 fpm at 150 inches wide, better drying methods have to be addressed. This is especially true on central impression (CI) presses where between color trap, drying has to be accomplished in a very short time before the next color is applied. The higher the speed, the less time is available.” He adds, “Higher-velocity air has helped, but is now running into the problem with non-absorbent substrates in that a dot of ink becomes distorted with the high-velocity air before trap drying. This is not desirable in process printing. Along with higher speeds, requiring faster drying, comes the need to have finer control of the dryer for the varying speeds. “Customers are looking at very fine control in some new and critical markets,” says Bob Narang, president, Radiant Energy Systems.
Also affecting drying equipment is anilox roll technology, which has “allowed converters to lay down thicker coatings for improved opacity and better physical properties,” says Hahn. “Dryer specifications require higher power levels and improved thermal delivery systems to ensure drying at higher speeds. Too little power yields poor throughput, while too much power can reduce the desired physical properties of the coating.” Again, the need to control the dryer is critical, and Hahn adds that, “Most successful systems will include some type of heat density control to deliver the proper drying power proportional to press speed.” These controls are also allowing converters to do more with one drying system. “The emergence of more film applications requires dryers to be more accurate in temperature control to dry the ink or coating but not distort the film,” he says.
Whichever route you choose to go when purchasing new drying equipment, there are a variety of considerations you need to keep in mind including UV vs. IR vs. air, advances in anilox roll technology, emergence of film applications, and the higher speeds and efficiencies of today’s presses.
Emerging trends
A variety of trends have emerged in the drying equipment market. Mark Hahn, VP sales and marketing for AAA Press International, states, “We see trends where converters are looking to run faster to improve throughput regardless of run size.” Dave Schommer, president of Dri-Tec, adds, “Because of the increased speeds and web widths, such as 2000 fpm at 150 inches wide, better drying methods have to be addressed. This is especially true on central impression (CI) presses where between color trap, drying has to be accomplished in a very short time before the next color is applied. The higher the speed, the less time is available.” He adds, “Higher-velocity air has helped, but is now running into the problem with non-absorbent substrates in that a dot of ink becomes distorted with the high-velocity air before trap drying. This is not desirable in process printing. Along with higher speeds, requiring faster drying, comes the need to have finer control of the dryer for the varying speeds. “Customers are looking at very fine control in some new and critical markets,” says Bob Narang, president, Radiant Energy Systems.
Also affecting drying equipment is anilox roll technology, which has “allowed converters to lay down thicker coatings for improved opacity and better physical properties,” says Hahn. “Dryer specifications require higher power levels and improved thermal delivery systems to ensure drying at higher speeds. Too little power yields poor throughput, while too much power can reduce the desired physical properties of the coating.” Again, the need to control the dryer is critical, and Hahn adds that, “Most successful systems will include some type of heat density control to deliver the proper drying power proportional to press speed.” These controls are also allowing converters to do more with one drying system. “The emergence of more film applications requires dryers to be more accurate in temperature control to dry the ink or coating but not distort the film,” he says.
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Package Printing, Second Edition