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Bottle
and cup printing lamps
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Numerous plastic parts
are decorated using ultraviolet inks/coatings. These include all
non-absorbent substrates common to the market including PE, PP, ABS,
PS, PET and PVC. All types of plastic components can be
printed/decorated with UV including those produced by injection,
extrusion and blow-molding. Items include cups, lids, buckets, caps,
tubes, bottles, pails and tops. Specific products include toothpaste
tubes, margarine tubs, cosmetic containers, pens, markers, yogurt &
sour cream cups, eyeglass lenses and drink bottles.
For low volume pail,
bucket and bottle printing, process is screen-printing or pad printing.
Curing is carried out in an offline UV conveyor/dryer. For high volume
lid and plastic cup printing, application is by dry offset printing.
This is also known as reverse letterpress. High volume curing is
typically accomplished on machine.
Adhesion to plastic is
easier said than done. To solve this dilemma most UV curing lines
incorporate some kind of surface treatment such as corona or flame,
prior to application of the ink. Ultraviolet inks are typically applied
via offset, pad or screen with a UV cure lamp for each color.
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Normally, container
decorating (lids, cups, etc.) requires high production line speeds. The
tapered design of containers and cups allow parts to be manipulated on
supporting mandrels. Each mandrel is rotated while the container
contacts a printing plate and advances to a UV curing station. The
mandrel again rotates under a UV lamp and the process continues to the
next printing station. Speeds up to 600 parts per minute can be
attained with multicolor printing and ultraviolet curing. Machinery
incorporating this technique includes Van Dam and Polytype.
To attain production curing
speed, operation of UV curing lamps at 300 to 500 watts per inch is
required. The curing speed is generally dependent on:
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Reflector
design: focused or unfocused
· Number and power of
the UV lamps
· Thickness of the printed ink
· Color or shade of the ink
· Plastic substrate
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The most popular lamp for cup/bottle printing is
the standard mercury (Hg) lamp. It is long lived, lower cost and
performs well over a wide range of coatings.
Most ultraviolet lamps used for
bottle/cup printing are air cooled hence they must live with whatever
air is provided. Lamps must be kept clean. All types of dust, powder,
grease, smoke and misting ink must be cleaned from lamp. A small
investment in cleaner cooling air will go a long way reducing
maintenance costs. Often shop contaminants will blow over the lamp
sticking to the quartz literally baking onto the surface. This reduces
UV energy and may cause bulb overheating. Bulbs and reflectors should
be inspected every 100 hours of operation. If lamp has external
contamination or reflector surface is dull, clean or replace
immediately! Use a lint free cloth with Windex or Simple Green to
clean. Don't waste your money on special UV lamp cleaners as they have
dubious value! If solvents are permitted, use isopropyl alcohol. For
extreme cases use a mild abrasive such as Soft Scrub to clean the UV
lamp. Be sure to rinse any residue off the glass before reinstalling
lamp.
Always allow lamp to cool and disconnect all
power prior to any cleaning.
TCS Technologies’ UV curing
lamps are directly interchangeable with most UV printing equipment
including American M&M, Metal Box, Polytype, Van Dam, Kase
Equipment, Isimat, Newman Equipment and Osmo. Over the years we have
built a reputation for delivering performance, dependability, quality
and value. Our UV curing lamps (bulbs) are designed for optimal dryer
performance and output quality. Here is a partial listing of plastic
bottle and cup UV lamps:
Printers:
| Metal
Box |
OSMO |
Polytype |
Van
Dam |
| Kase
Equipment |
Desco |
UV-TOP |
Isimat |
| Newman
Equipment |
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Typical OEM
specific ultraviolet curing lamps include:
| MB426
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UVL426C
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MB1235
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Mono-Jumbo
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| AM3227X
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MB1163
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PM1235
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PM426
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| MB426C
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150BTZ/DF
6kva |
150BTZ/DF
8kva |
MCTZ8015
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| MB1163SW
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6810A446
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HC402A06
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6806A443
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| 6807A444
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PM411
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UVH-2436-258
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UVH-2437-254
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| ISI
2219/45 |
080-2587
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060-2538
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8MD
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| 8MD2
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ISI
1019/25 |
M200U/A
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PM1163
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| AM3127X
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UVL426MB
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HC402A06
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AQM3141X
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| SLI
106CDT182 |
SLI
79 |
UVT3300
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ACT310
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| UV-8
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HT-6260
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HT-5260
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HT5280
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| 22-250G
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200BTZ/DF
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080-258VL
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36-150
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| 6812A431
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PM1164
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E94725A
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T-55010
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| 6825A431
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E95562
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Common
UV lamps used in plastic cup printing
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As a convenient, cost effective option, TCS
Technologies provides replacement reflectors for Metal Box curing
systems. TCS Technologies offers spectrally enhanced, highly polished
aluminum with a reflectivity rating of 93%. This compares favorably to
most OEM reflectors with only an 85% reflectivity. Since 65 percent of
the UV energy reaching the substrate is reflected light; UV reflector
maintenance is a simple way to guarantee your UV system is running at
maximum efficiency. Designed to focus and maximize UV exposure on the
substrate; it is essential to keep liners clean and replace them when
the reflector's finish is diminished.
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Special note to
owners of high power “sausage” lamps:
As a UV lamp
manufacturer there are several lamp designs we are not fans of. These
are the low voltage high current lamps distributed by UViterno, SLI and
others. Unfortunately, from a UV lamp manufacturer’s prospective, many
bottle and cup printers use these bulbs. Typically 6,000 and 8,000
watts, we call them sausage lamps because of the 40mm lamp diameter. If
you have these machines you know why: lamps are expensive and have a
short life. The problem is not so much with the power, rather how they
go about obtaining power. Frankly instead of using standard ballast,
companies relied on a series of cheap chokes. Money was saved on the
equipment but resulted in a poor lamp design. Wall loading (amount of
power per unit area) is high placing a great deal of strain on the
quartz. Owing to these factors, lamps are expensive, warranties and
life are short. In our professional opinion, there are better ways of
obtaining high UV output rather than “sausage” lamps.
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