Partners to drive UV LED growth in cured label printing
The two businesses are now working closely together to demonstrate the efficiency of UV LED curing technology at Focus Label Machinery’s Bingham, Nottinghamshire-based offices.
With a mutual interest in the technology, both companies share an objective to showcase how – alongside traditional products – UV LED curing technology is a commercially-viable option for the label and packaging producer.
James Thomas, Business Development and Marketing Manager at Focus Label Machinery, explains: “We demonstrated Phoseon UV LED technology at our Open House event earlier this year. Following great feedback from visitors, we decided to fully fit our 6-colour e-flex press with Phoseon lamps and after completing some ink trials are now running Nazdar inks to demonstrate the benefits of UV LED technology to the label and packaging market.”
“Many label and packaging converters don’t fully appreciate the breadth of UV LED curing ink products that Nazdar has – and the benefits they offer. We are thrilled to be able to support Focus Label Machinery with their push to demonstrate the technology and provide the newest UV LED curing equipment on the market”, added Jim Whitehead, Nazdar’s Sales Manager for EMEA, responsible for the flexo technology sector.
Nazdar flexo inks offer no compromise to the label converter compared to conventional UV systems with a broad range of product available including metallics, peel and reseal coatings and Nestle compliant inks, curing at high speed and offering equal colour strength to conventional curing ink systems. By combining these inks with a UV LED system, label converters can save energy – which, in turn, reduces costs.
UV LED lamps also use far less energy than conventional mercury lamps and there is no ozone production, so less extraction is required. Lower heat output from lamps means it is easier to manage temperature-sensitive substrates.
Other benefits include a longer lamp life and therefore less maintenance downtime compared to mercury lamps, and less heat-up time as UV LED lamps are ready to work in minutes. Peak output is also better maintained with UV LED technology, improving print consistency, and users can take advantage of high production speeds up to 300m/min.
As part of its commitment to deliver high performance ink solutions to end-users, Nazdar has developed a full range of UV LED technology flexo ink solutions – including thermal varnishes, foiling and laminating adhesives, peel and reseal packages and more.
Nazdar – www.nazdar.com
Focus Label Machinery – www.focuslabel.com
