Under the Radar
Ultraviolet and electron beam curing are in use in many converting processes and it’s time for all converters to take notice and join in.
March 2006 by Megan Wolf
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It’s invisible to unsuspecting consumers. It doesn’t have a smell, taste or sound, but it can grab their eye while scanning the teeming grocery store shelves. It can add a certain “pop” to the packaging which can help make almost any merchandise fly off the shelves. “It” is ultraviolet (UV) and electron beam (EB) curing and, according to many experts, package printers can grow their businesses in the converting market if they add this technology to their arsenal.
“For the most part, UV and EB are ideal for all manufacturing processes that require faster production speeds to add to their bottom line or enhance their competitive edge,” said John Wilson, president, SPDI Inc.
And what converter couldn’t stand to speed up precious production time? Even the best of the best can always find room in their cost structure to save monety. And when covering markets like, well, almost every package-printing market, converters really need to see if UV and EB curing is right for them—it could just be the cost-saving answer they are looking for.
A boon for the industry
Fact: The price of natural gas is on the rise. Fact: The importance of protecting the environment is always a big factor. Fact: Precious printing time is slipping away. What converters need, both big and small, is a way to save costs, the environment, and time.
Enter UV and EB curing.
UV and EB curing machinery manufacturers are taking their cue from these three factors. “Due to rising energy costs, our customers are asking us to develop the most efficient UV curing technology possible that will reduce energy consumption, reduce the amount of air required to cool the lamps, and reduce the maintenance costs they incur,” said Joe Ooten, vice president, sales and marketing, IST America.
Wilson agrees. “[UV provides] cost and liability reduction through overall process management. The inefficiencies associated with heating elements (conventional oven drying formats) don’t lend themselves to being energy efficient with electricity or petroleum-based curing systems,” he said. “UV and EB energy curing is more maintenance and production friendly. The science behind UV is to produce a greater level of constant results while increasing speed. Bottom line—it was created for these environments.
“Environmental friendliness, being the amount of contaminates released into the environment during the curing operation with UV/EB, is greatly reduced when comparing it to conventional curing formats, which are constantly proving to be more harmful to our environment,” he added.
“For the most part, UV and EB are ideal for all manufacturing processes that require faster production speeds to add to their bottom line or enhance their competitive edge,” said John Wilson, president, SPDI Inc.
And what converter couldn’t stand to speed up precious production time? Even the best of the best can always find room in their cost structure to save monety. And when covering markets like, well, almost every package-printing market, converters really need to see if UV and EB curing is right for them—it could just be the cost-saving answer they are looking for.
A boon for the industry
Fact: The price of natural gas is on the rise. Fact: The importance of protecting the environment is always a big factor. Fact: Precious printing time is slipping away. What converters need, both big and small, is a way to save costs, the environment, and time.
Enter UV and EB curing.
UV and EB curing machinery manufacturers are taking their cue from these three factors. “Due to rising energy costs, our customers are asking us to develop the most efficient UV curing technology possible that will reduce energy consumption, reduce the amount of air required to cool the lamps, and reduce the maintenance costs they incur,” said Joe Ooten, vice president, sales and marketing, IST America.
Wilson agrees. “[UV provides] cost and liability reduction through overall process management. The inefficiencies associated with heating elements (conventional oven drying formats) don’t lend themselves to being energy efficient with electricity or petroleum-based curing systems,” he said. “UV and EB energy curing is more maintenance and production friendly. The science behind UV is to produce a greater level of constant results while increasing speed. Bottom line—it was created for these environments.
“Environmental friendliness, being the amount of contaminates released into the environment during the curing operation with UV/EB, is greatly reduced when comparing it to conventional curing formats, which are constantly proving to be more harmful to our environment,” he added.
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