UV flexo is starting a move to a wider realm.

By Susan Busch

Wider-web printers must be mindful of unique UV concerns related to their equipment and commonly run materials. Hahn says thin films frequently used in flexible packaging applications, “will require ‘cool’ UV systems to control web temperatures, which can increase the overall system cost by as much as 30 percent.” To match ink chemistries at the speeds required for wider-web equipment, he recommends 600-watt-per-inch lamps and two to three lamps at the final station to ensure full cure.