Ink curing by LED

A curing system for print decorations, based on the use of LEDs, has been patented by Omso to be incorporated into its Servobottle machines. This light source, chosen over traditional mercury lamps both for its greater efficiency and its capacity to flash on and off within the space of a millisecond, is used in a targeted manner only when it is needed in order to cure the ink. As a result, energy requirement is reduced eight times. Basically, compared with a traditional bulb, which might need 4 kW for example, a LED needs only 500 W. What is more, LEDs do not have to be air-cooled and they operate at a frequency that does not produce ozone, thereby eliminating the need for an ozone exhaust system and thus simplifying both the machine and the production department.
The really innovative aspect of this system is the fact that the LEDs are installed on the  machine's rotary platform. This has made it possible to switch from a configuration with four stations and two colours, in which the printing and curing phases had to be alternated, to one with four stations and four colours, in which the print is cured as the platform moves from one printing station to the next. The result is a more productive machine with exactly the same dimensions as before. The final result of the process is entirely comparable to that which can be obtained using a traditional drying system, and the only necessary precaution is to use printing inks specifically formulated and tested for use with LEDs.