Industry players have come to value the many benefits of UV-LED curable products. Particularly for packaging, more and more manufacturers are equipping their printers with space-saving UV-LED lights. A key advantage over conventional halogen is that the UV-LED wavelengths are in the UV-A range. Consequently, they do not generate ozone emissions. The UV-LED unit comprises an array, i.e. an assembly of multiple individual LEDs. In the printing industry, wavelengths in the 385nm to 395nm range have proven ideal for curing.
Advanced inks ideal for industrial glass printing
The glass manufacturing and finishing industry is huge, and has a broad range of applications. Evolving requirements for surface finishing continue to create new technical challenges. This is where Marabu steps in. By cooperating closely with glass-manufacturing companies, the ink manufacturer, based in the Stuttgart region, develops tailor-made solutions for highly specific needs. In particular, they have partnered with enterprises interested in or already using UV-LED curing to develop a special UV-LED curable screen-printing ink especially for glass. The Ultra Glass LEDGL range has excellent properties in terms of initial adhesion, opacity, gloss and reactivity. It includes brilliant and high-gloss colours, plus highly opaque inks for outstanding visibility on dark substrates. Compared to its competitors, Marabu offers a much wider variety of high-opacity options. Furthermore, the special LED-compatible formula of Ultra Glass LEDGL inks enhances initial adhesion and abrasion resistance shortly after printing. UV-LED curing also supports pinning – i.e. the use of an intermediate curing process that enables 360-degree decoration of round objects, such as hollow glass containers.
Ultra Glass LEDGL UV-LED curable screen-printing inks’ outstanding properties make them ideal for diverse applications. They are well suited, for instance, for printing on glass packaging, e.g. beverage bottles or flat glass for use in interiors. And on metal surfaces as well, LEDGL inks offer outstanding adhesion and very good resistance to chemicals, water and abrasion. They can also be used for decorating e.g. fragrance bottles in the cosmetics industry, plus glassware for the hospitality industry, glazed ceramics, anodised aluminium and painted surfaces.
Depending on where and how the printed item will be used, the substrate will need to be pre-treated. Ultra Glass LEDGL is a two-component ink; therefore, an adhesion modifier must be added for proper application and the best results. The range truly stands out in terms of the flexibility it allows during the printing process. Enterprises can leverage either UV-LED or conventional UV curing for printing, empowering them to meet customers’ specific and varying needs.
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