It's Gotta Be Good

UV and EB curing are catching converters' attention and here's why.

IT SEEMS TO be all the rage in the converting world—ultra violet (UV) and electron beam (EB) curing. There are plenty of benefits of the two sciences—the curing is safe, environmentally friendly, and instantaneous. But along with those comes a few negatives, such as the initial cost of capital. So packagePRINTING spoke with a few converters who recently completed a curing equipment shopping spree to see why they chose the equipment they did.

New ownership

Becoming a new owner of a converting company is like becoming a parent for the first time—neither comes with an instruction book. You just try to do the best with what you know and with what you have, and hope for the best. But much unlike naughty children, converting equipment can be bought and sold to make the printing process easier, less expensive, and more convenient for the converter.

Eric Jones, general manager, The Label Company (TLC), has been in the package printing business for the past nine years, and became owner of TLC about two years ago. His company prints for a wide variety of industries, from food to durable goods, and from entertainment to neutraceuticals. But even in his short time in the business, he realized quickly that almost all of the consumer product companies (CPCs) he prints for were interested in UV inks and coatings for various reasons.

"Some of the reasons include brilliance of color, durability, and the environmentally friendly characteristics of UV technology," Jones said.

When Jones and other members of his staff noticed this trend, they put on their shopping shoes and set out to make sure the company would be able to compete favorably in the highly competitive landscape. Jones' first step was to put the company's specs out to bid to several companies. They wanted something that was easy to run, but also a robust machine that could withstand the rigors of a 24/7 operation. "They all came back with impressive proposals," he said. But obviously one company had to stand out from the rest, based on what TLC needed.

The equipment TLC ended up selecting was from AAA Press International. "What set AAA Press apart was our longstanding relationship of receiving great service from them in other areas, and we felt that wouldn't change with the installation of a LIGHTouch UV Curing system," said Jones. "It is a simple system to maintain, and has run reliably now for over 16 months, running at three shifts."

Three new systems are available from AAA, the Versiflex Digital 5-stage, Microstep Digital 27-stage, and Pro-Cure Analog 3 Stage electronic controllers. The Versiflex and Microstep systems include color touch-screen controllers and are fully programmable for intensity auto ramping, shutter timing, and bulb timing.

Standard features such as auto fault protection, auto troubleshooting, and a two-year comprehensive warranty help minimize UV curing system downtime. The Pro-Cure system is an economical analog controller with manual intensity controls, 15´ remote control, and cassette style lamps. AAA Press still offers top-loading and the side-loading interstation systems with the newly designed reflectors, but all of the configurations are small and light.

Staying ahead in the game

With so many converters in the playing field, package printing companies know they need to have a competitive edge to maintain and improve profit margins. UV curing can give printers that edge by offering a great looking and durable end product.

One such label printer, that wanted to remain anonymous, started with one press about 26 years ago, and has since grown to eight Webtrons and two Mark Andy presses. The company prints on many different substrates using film inks, corona treatment, and primers, and all of the presses are equipped with UV curing units.

"We produce 50 percent pharmaceutical labels, 30 percent over-the-counter drug labels, and 20 percent horticultural labels. We use UV coatings on 99 percent of everything we produce," he said. So why did his company choose to use UV technology?

"The UV coatings give us excellent resistance to scratching and scuffing, and to moisture. The shiny appearance of the labels is also pleasing to the end user and the customer," he said.

Because the company uses UV on almost everything coming out of its shop, they had to go with a reliable and trusted UV curing device manufacturer. "GEW Inc. was recommended to us by an outside source—one who we have done business with for years, and has worked on Webtron presses all of his life," the converter said.

Suitable for all UV inks and varnishes, GEW's curing equipment can be fitted to all label printing presses, whether flexo, letterpress, silk screen, or offset. GEW's equipment can be specified as original equipment by many label printing press manufacturers. It can also be retro-fitted into presses for printers that want to upgrade their old UV curing systems, or to make the change from water-based inks to UV inks and coatings, such is the case in this application.

"UV curing is much faster running than our water-based coating, and it has much better appearance and shine than water-based with excellent resistance to chemicals and water," she said. "Further, most customers prefer the UV over the other choices."

This converter has been running UV for some time now, but was having problems. "Over heating and under heating are the two biggest problems with the other UV systems, especially with the older models," the converter said. But GEW's equipment seemed to cure any problems. "We have had no problems with the GEW units and they cure at an incredible rate of speed. GEW has been very worry free since the start-up."

Future of UV

With UV curing well established, the future looks bright for the technology's use, in package-printing applications.

"UV has come a long way since we started out in business. The future shows that the newer units will be much more trouble free, they will cure faster and better, and at higher speeds," said the anonymous converter.

Now UV is not perfect and there are other choices out there other than UV, EB curing being one of them. "EB curing could alleviate some of the issues in curing thicker coatings and it could bring the price point down for UV inks. However, there are a lot of converters still running water-based inks that could benefit from moving to UV technology. I still think there is a lot of growth ahead in UV curable inks and coatings," said Jones.

Another choice

Although talking to those who run UV curing devices believe the technology may be the end all, there are other options out there, and EB curing is one of them. "When EB first came on the market, it made the printing process better. Now, today, it not only makes it better, it makes the process cheaper," said Brian Sullivan, market manager, Energy Sciences Inc.

Energy Sciences has developed the EZCure-I DF™ Electron Beam System, which may be the most compact, high-speed, high-output design in EB technology today. The system is perfect for the folding carton, flexible packaging, and decorative lamination markets, and the environmentally safe aspect of the technology makes it a great choice for converters.

There are many clear advantages of EB curing technology, according to Rick Sanders, marketing and sales executive, Energy Sciences. He lists these as: a high resistance to chemical, scuff/scratch, and abrasion; a compact design; environmentally friends; and most importantly, a 100 percent instantaneous cure.

by Megan Wolf

Assistant Editor