Several
years ago the only UV lamps available to industries to cure free radical UV
inks were medium or high pressure UVA (365nm) lamps. Today however, new advancements have made it
possible to use low pressure UVC (254nm) curing lamps to cure “cationic” based
UV inks, coatings, lacquers, and resins. These low pressure UVC (254nm) curing systems provide
the benefit of producing no hazardous byproducts as well as offering lower
operating costs than either free radical UVA (365nm) curing or heat-based
curing systems.
As they operate on significantly less
power than medium or high pressure lamps, low pressure lamps are ideal for
applications that require dimming at 40%, 60% or 80% of full power. In addition while both low pressure mercury
lamps and amalgam lamps produce UVC (254nm), there is an increasing trend toward
using amalgam lamps due to their speed and efficiency in drying cationic based
UV inks, coatings and resins. For
example an amalgam lamp can produce an output of 200 to 1000 watts, of which one-third
is usable UVC (254nm) energy. Another reason for the growing popularity among
industries is that amalgam lamps offer the ability to downsize a system while still
maintaining maximum speed and efficiency for UV curing.
Furthermore, the advantages to
energy-efficient UV curing are clear when compared to traditional heat curing
systems. UV curing systems are not only easier
to maintain, but since they do not produce noxious fumes, do not require expensive
exhaust systems. Moreover since the process is instantaneous, it provides economic
benefits such as speeding up production times as well as improving consistency
and quality of the finished product.
LightSources and LightTech are happy
to answer any questions you have regarding an UV system for your application
needs. Contact us for more information on
low pressure and amalgam curing lamps.
LightSources and our affiliated
companies represent the leading high-tech designers and manufacturers in the
lamp industry today. Our team consists
of the most highly skilled professionals that specialize in a range of
innovative solutions. Please contact us
to learn more about our broad range of standard and custom lighting solutions.
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