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.

By Megan Wolf

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.

The benefits are obvious and have contributed to their popularity and the reality that these technologies span almost every market in the package-printing world. For instance, according to Elinor Midlik, president, Prime UV, “Every market we can think of in packaging and converting uses Prime UV curing equipment to cure UV inks, UV coatings, and UV adhesives. All types of food packaging—whether folding cartons that will contain frozen foods, cookies, bacon, cereal, or milk, ... or baked food cartons with see-through windows that display donuts and coffee cakes.”

Midlik added, “The compelling cartons that are used to package small appliances are covered with linerboard that is typically UV coated. Many of the flexible packaging bags used for cookies, chips, and even pet foods are UV coated and cured.”

The demand for UV and EB cured packaging is strong and will continue to grow. Why? Because of all the positive attributes that energy-cured packaging brings to the consumer packaging companies (CPGs). “CPGs demand UV processing for their packaging. UV inks and UV coatings deliver protection, chemical and abrasion resistance, and enhanced graphic appeal. This is the reason we see continued strong growth for UV processing in every segment of the package and converting market,” Midlik said.

Malcolm Rae, managing director, for GEW Engineering, adds: “We see UV curing as an obvious choice due to the fact that the inks do not require adjustment since no solvents are lost, plus faster job set up, all of which means much less waste to contend with.”

The strong growth will also be seen in the EB industry as well, according to Rick Sanders, marketing and sales executive, Energy Sciences Inc., due to the savings package printers will be able to incur. “EB has many properties that makes it a very efficient way to go. EB provides printers short turnaround times, [it’s] food friendly, and EB coatings provide dynamic scuff resistance and add a ‘pop’ to any packaging,” he said.

The gettin’ is good

So it’s a consensus—the package-printing industry has the potential to really benefit if UV and EB curing is added to the pressroom, but is it something that all converters can get involved in, or is it something in which only the industry leaders can partake? One example of what can keep converters at bay is the price of the UV and EB curing systems. “It used to be you would need $1 million just to talk to us about EB, but that is nowhere near the case anymore,” said Sanders. “Also, the package printer will see savings in lower energy consumption.”

As for UV: “UV curing systems are being manufactured to be more affordable for the small and mid-level printer,” said Gene Van Horn, manager, PRI Technologies. “… We encourage printers to look around and shop the market before committing to one system. Ever-changing technology and improvements may provide an edge that most printers may not be aware of.”

Van Horn is not the only UV expert who agrees that smaller printers should get into energy curing. “For the small package printer, the initial cost of the UV curing system is a concern, but studies show return on investment is generally achieved in a short period of time (sometimes less than one year),” said Rae. “Also, with UV flexo printing, the converter can compete with those using higher cost gravure and offset printing, thereby allowing access to additional markets.”

“Today, UV technology is geared toward the small to mid-size printer,” said Frank J. Simonetti, general manager of Aetek UV Systems. “The major problem is the small printer still has a misconception of the true cost to convert. UV is environmentally friendly, and with the increase in energy costs, UV's cost-efficient technology is a logical alternative. This coupled with the real estate gained (no thermal ovens) and the variety of inks available today, (which simplifies the conversion) confirms that UV is a wise choice to make.”

But smaller package printers are warned to be cautious when deciding if energy curing is the way to go, according to Michael Green, president, A.W.T. World Trade Group. “We do not see it as a viable alternative because of the cost,” he said. But Green did offer a laundry list of why he would advocate UV curing to a larger converter. “It’s a faster curing method; the units are smaller, eliminating the need for larger, more costly drying systems; and UV curing is easy to use and work with. It is a very prolific method—it can be used on a wide variety of substrates: packaging, glass, metal, etc.”

The future looks bright

UV and EB curing has been around for a while now, but that doesn’t mean it’s a stagnate technology. Improvements are constantly being made and adopted, and curing machinery companies are always on the watch for new ideas to add to their products, or even new markets where UV and EB curing can add something special to the package with its outstanding characteristics.

“We have seen industry-wide growth of UV curing in all printing markets, especially UV flexo and UV offset,” said Mark Hahn, vice president sales and marketing, AAA Press International.

With industry-wide growth comes some changes that package printers need to be made aware of to stay ahead of the packed playing field. According to Simonetti, one of the major changes within the UV-curing market is the heavy influx of new equipment and part manufacturers, which, although that news isn’t good for current manufacturers, it offers a bright future for converters thinking of getting into energy curing. But don’t be fooled, there are some issues to look out for.

“There are pros and cons to this ‘infiltration,’” said Simonetti. “For the printer, this keeps the prices in check and product development has improved exponentially. On the other hand, the market is becoming commodity-based which leads to less true vendors providing process and application support. Although UV is a simple process and should be invisible to the printing process, it should not be considered a technology that you can go to a home improvement store to buy a bulb to replace in your light fixture.”

If a converter is on the bubble of whether to add UV or EB curing capabilities to his or her pressroom, Ooten offers some final thoughts. “We must be able to develop new products to meet the changing needs of all converters. Certainly, energy costs are not going to reduce anytime soon, so we must be able to deliver better, more efficient products to the market place,” he said. n

Resources

AAA Press www.aaapress.com

Aetek UV Systems www.americanultraviolet.com

A.W.T. World Trade Group www.awt-gpi.com

Energy Sciences Inc. www.ebeam.com

GEW Engineering www.gewuv.com

Honle UV America www.honleuv.com

IST America www.ist-uv.com

Northwest Coatings www.northwestcoatings.com

Prime UV www.primeuv.com

PRI Technologies www.superblue.net

UV Process Supply www.uvps.com