AMS Introduces New UV LED Coating Technology at Print UV 2013

LAS VEGAS—March 1, 2013—Air Motion Systems/AMS UV has announced the availability of a new coating technology called C-LED—a high speed UV LED coating and varnishing system using UV light emitting diodes—to be introduced at the Print UV 2013 Conference, March 3-6 in Las Vegas. ​

The C-LED system consists of a high wavelength LED UV module blended with engineered doses of shorter UV wavelengths to achieve low-energy curing for effective, high-speed finishing at previously unattainable production speeds, quality and consumable price points.

Unlike technologies such as High Wavelength UV, the C-LED process is readily compatible with a myriad of existing UV coating formulations already in the market. It offers competitively priced high gloss, matte, spot and special effect finishes without unwanted side affects such as optical yellowing or uncured surfaces. And C-LED can also replicate the functionality of water-based aqueous varnishes from a litho print unit without the need for a dedicated coating tower.

​"Because of their narrower wavelengths, prior generation Hw-UV and LED curing systems have had difficulty drying coatings and varnishes at production speeds without compromising on the coating price, optical quality or surface cure" said Steve Metcalf, president and CEO of AMS. "And traditional UV and IR/Hot Air coating systems generate damaging heat and consume excessive amounts of energy. With C-LED, the process moves to UV LED, and the results are simply amazing."

AMS and its development partners along with early adopters will be on hand at Print UV 2013 next week in Las Vegas to showcase UV LED and C-LED printed samples and discuss return on investment (ROI) cases. Representatives can present solutions for immediate new press and retrofit applications in high-speed offset, narrow and wide web flexo (flexographic) and digital inkjet UV market applications.

"Any reason to ignore LED UV for high speed commercial production is officially over" said Hans Ulland, vice president of sales at AMS. "With C-LED, we can now expand the benefits of UV LED printing—such as increased speed, quality, color vibrancy, flexibility and safety, and greatly reduced operating costs—to a much wider group of printers and converters where heavy finishing effect requirements are the norm."

The new C-LED class of coatings offer major environmental advantages over traditional UV, Hw-UV and IR/Hot Air coatings. They are cured with just 1/3 the energy of mercury (Hg) vapor lamp and IR/hot air alternatives, can be applied without any detectable odor, and offer a wide range of specialty features.

C-LED coatings and curing systems are available in litho varnish formats as a more durable replacement for water-based coatings, in flexo formats for traditional anilox roll coater and label press applications as well as inkjet formats for digital UV spot coaters. C-LED compatible coatings will be available from major coating and ink suppliers around the world.

AMS LED-UV and C-LED Curing Systems are the most powerful UV LED systems available today with intensities to meet the most demanding curing applications. They can be specified on new machines or retrofitted quickly on nearly any type of equipment, and are field proven in installations around the world. Modules are available in durable, water-cooled or air-cooled housings and can be tailored to meet any machine or curing requirement in seamless emitting lengths from just a few inches up to 2.2m (88˝).

About Air Motion Systems/AMS UV
With headquarters in River Falls, WI, near Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, AMS is a global leader in the UV and LED curing revolution. For more information about AMS UV, please visit www.airmotionsystems.com or www.leduv.com. ​To register for the Print UV 2013 Conference, please visit www.printuv.com.

Source: AMS.