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Drying, Curing & UV Blue light gets the green light


The world’s first ultrafast low migration VLF flexographic press from Uteco, which features LED UV technology fromAir Motion Systems, was commissioned at the end of last year in the press hall of an Italian flexible packaging print specialist


facility near Verona, the team from La Gerunda Merletti, of Cremona, Italy was joined by specialists from its partner manufacturer to see the Uteco ONYX 810 CI press with AMS LED UV curing deliver impressive performance at running speeds up to 400m/min. Colour vibrancy and tight registration


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were maintained at all speeds – even during changes in speed – and the printed substrate was ASTM tape-test dry on the roll in the delivery. There is no heat emission during LED UV curing, and as a result the printed roll was ready for immediate downstream processing. Air Motion Systems (AMS) lamps use blue light LED, switching on and off instantly (taking just 10 milliseconds), so they do not require a ‘standby’ mode and use much less electricity. The prices of the inks are also becoming more competitive as the LED UV process takes off. For La Gerunda’s managing director, Pino


De Gradi, these operational benefits offer him a clear manufacturing advantage over his four existing UV and EB presses, but the technical and environmental characteristics of the new Uteco system are of equal importance, as the €8.5 million turnover company targets new market sectors. “The bulk of our existing business is in the


horticulture, agriculture and pet food sectors, but we have identified flexible packaging for the healthcare and food industries as our target growth markets,” De Gradi explains. “For this we need secure substrate integrity


and ecologically sustainable operation. The new LED UV low migration inks and the AMS system’s low-energy, ozone-free, non- mercury lamp units offer us that. We already have contracts in place to supply diaper packaging and high volume food products, and we are aiming to push turnover to €12 million per annum within three years.”


uring testing of the machine, which took place in October at Uteco’s advanced manufacturing


For La Gerunda, the new ONYX represents


a return to Uteco after more than 20 years and followed an examination of the systems on offer from the leading manufacturers. “We found that the levels of automation


and the technologies built into the ONYX are very impressive,” De Gradi continues. “The production runs in this sector can be short so the Uteco Direct Drive Evo and their Thermilox Anilox solution offer benefits for better productivity, while the more advanced cleaning systems contribute to faster job changeovers with less waste.” The La Gerunda ONYX 810 has been


specified with eight printing stations, 1,250mm maximum web width and 1,100mm maximum print repeat cycle. Seven AMS LED UV curing lamps are fitted at the printing stations around the central impression drum with the eighth situated at the exit of the web on the top deck. The print tests confirmed that the systems performed at speeds well beyond the expected 300m/min, even reaching 400m/min. The press has been provided with the housing for a ninth AMS unit, adjacent to the eighth, if La Gerunda should decide at some time in the future to upgrade the press to the 500m/min option, with the next AMS LED UV lamp development, the XP ULTRA. Uteco chief marketing officer, Davide


Cucinella, says: “Once again, Uteco is in the vanguard of the drive to higher performance and more environmentally responsible production. The eyes of the industry have been on this project, even from the aisles of drupa, and the absolute success of these print tests confirm that this solution will be a major player in our sector in the years ahead. We already have several other orders in the pipeline and the verdict is clear – blue light gets the green light in large format flexo!” La Gerunda’s order for the world’s largest


LED UV-enabled flexo press system was announced in April last year; in the following months both Uteco and AMS reported great success at the drupa exhibition. During the 11 days of drupa Uteco signed


The Uteco ONYX 810 unit with AMS curing 18 February 2017


18 contracts with customers from Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa for technologies from across its range to a value in excess of €22 million. Uteco also used the event to showcase its new ONYX XS EcoOne super-compact 650mm eight-colour EB flexo machine with integrated downstream laminating and slitting and new automated


La Gerunda’s Uteco ONYX 810 LED UV ready for installation. Above: La Gerunda press operators demonstrate the machine


winding and finished reel unloading, as well as the new-generation colour element of the next 450 rotogravure press. Meanwhile, AMS received more than 60


orders for its high power LED UV systems at drupa from customers in 17 countries, representing every sector of the printing and packaging industries. AMS designs and manufactures its own diodes to hit the precise wavelength required to trigger the photo-initiators in LED-UV inks. The result is lower electricity consumption, faster curing and higher performance.


uwww.airmotionsystems.com www.convertermag.co.uk


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