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LED curing in ink jet printing thanks to new technology Integration Technology appointed as worldwide distributor
COOLLED Limited has developed the BA3200 large area array UV LED curing system that has sufficient power to be used as a curing device for ink jet printers and other industrial curing applications.
Integration Technology, a company that is the world's largest supplier
of UV lamp sources to the ink jet printing market, made a significant
contribution to the development of this new product and has been appointed
as the worldwide distributor to the ink jet printing market. It is anticipated
that this new technology will make a major impact and be a significant
advancement in the ink jet printing industry.
The BA3200
The BA3200 is a liquid cooled system designed specifically for ink jet
printing and large surface curing. It generates a flood of high intensity,
single-peak wavelength UV light for the curing of inks and is available
to suit printhead arrays from 20 to 200mm.
The light source is a high density array of LED's that are die and wire
bonded to a custom designed COOLLED substrate. This method of assembly
uses a unique patented technique to create a high, yet linear spread
of high intensity of UV light.
The LED arrays are built into a narrow extruded alloy housing that can
easily be fitted between or alongside the print heads with liquid cooling
to ensure accurate light output stability. Generating in excess of 1
watt/cm² at 395nm, these units offer unrivalled intensity and cure efficiency.
A heat exchanger can be supplied capable of cooling one or several LED
arrays and each LED unit comes complete with an individual electronic
drive card offering totally variable intensity control and temperature
monitoring.
All ancillary components can be packaged in a PC sized enclosure complete
with operator controls as either a development or production tool or
alternatively supplied as unit parts for integration into the host platform.
Customers can purchase the complete BA3200 as a stand alone system or
just the LED active head and electronic drive card for integration into
their own UV curing system.
Advantages of LED curing
For 'pinning' applications the BA3200 can initiate a photo-chemical
reaction with a degree of precision not possible with bulb technology.
The system can be switched on and off instantaneously with zero warm
up time and, in contrast to the comparatively short life of bulb light
sources, the life of the LED light source is in excess of 10,000 hours.
In addition, the light intensity of the LEDs is controlled precisely
with very small and known degradation and so, unlike conventional systems,
no light meter is required to monitor the LED output.
The light source emits light of a single wavelength with zero infra-red
so it can be positioned close to the target substrate without any danger
of heat damage. Another benefit of the system is that a uniform intensity
of irradiation is produced over the full array ensuring an even cure
across the total area. The instrument can be programmed for either a
single power level or a variable cure programme.
Taking the product to market
John Boston, managing director of COOLLED, said: "We are convinced that
the highly repeatable, consistent and long-life light source produced
by LEDs, plus the safety and ecological advantages they have over conventional
lamp sources mean that this type of product represents the future of
curing in the ink jet printing and other applications. We have appointed
Integration Technology as the world wide distributor of this product
for the ink jet market because the company is an acknowledged leader
in this field."
Adrian Lockwood, joint managing director of Integration Technology,
said: "There is a great future in the use of LEDs to provide the light
source for the curing process in ink jet printers. There is still much
work to be done, particularly in the area of developing the chemistry
of a suitable ink but I am confident this is only 12 months away.
"We have been looking at LEDs since 2002 and we think the COOLLED solution
is the best available in the marketplace by a long way. We looked at
companies in many other countries and it is a happy coincidence that
COOLLED technology was developed a few miles south of Integration Technology.
We had a significant input into the development of this product and
we are confident that it will make a major impact over the next few
years."
About Integration Technology
Based in Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, and with offices in Boston, Shanghai
and Tokyo, Integration Technology provides a wide range of specialised
UV curing for the ink jet industry including modular and bespoke UV
solutions. The company also designs and builds special UV curing systems
to meet specific customer needs.
With over 25 years of UV experience Integration Technology works directly
with machinery OEMs providing specialist technical application knowledge
and expertise.
About COOLLED
COOLLED, a company within the CIL group, developed COOLLED technology
in 2005. This revolutionary, patent pending, process created new format
LED arrays with sufficient power to make them suitable for UV curing
in a wide range of applications in both the industrial and scientific
markets.
LED UV curing has low cost of ownership, produces an immediate and consistent
light source with a lifetime of over 10,000 hours and has many practical
benefits over conventional light sources.
COOLLED's parent company, Custom Interconnect Limited, was formed in
1987 and provides an expert contract manufacturing and design service
with a high level of expertise and manufacturing capability in niche
micro-electronic applications.
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