More than 250 attend UV conference in Delhi

Faridabad-based APL Machinery organised a seminar on LED UV at the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Delhi on 20 January 2016. The event was supported by Provin Technos, Toyo Ink Arets India and Siemens. More than 250 delegates from different segments of the industry attended the conference. Also, in attendance were 30 students from Don Bosco Technical Institute.

25 Jan 2016 | By Rahul Kumar

The highlight of the event was the live demonstration of the recently installed LED UV lamp on a four-colour Komori sheetfed press at Infinity Advertising Services in Faridabad.

The conference started with a presentation by Dr RK Panigrahi, director, MSME-Development Institute Okhla, New Delhi, who discussed about the schemes favourable to printers. These include credit link capital subsidy scheme, cluster development programme, national manufacturing competitiveness programme, lean manufacturing scheme, design clinic scheme, IPR campaign, and skill making, among others.

V Siva Raja of HT Media shared a case study on how UV curing technology was deployed on its web offset Regioman press. “Our response time has come to five hours from five days and we can get more premiums from our advertisers,” Raja said.
 
The company prints the front pages and the back page (if needed) of the Mumbai edition of the Hindustan Times on UV.
 
“In UV implementation, press, chemicals, blankets and printing inks really play a major role. We are happy that we could manage UV curing at the speed of more than 80,000 impressions an hour in our Mumbai plant,” Raja added.

Stephen Metcalf of Air Motion Solutions (AMS) was the next speaker. He said printing ink is the key in LED UV curing. “Right now it is available in India through many vendors and after few months it will be manufactured locally in India,” he said.

On the benefits of LED UV, he added, “It has high power intensity (up to 25w/cm2), instant activation on/off, segmented control, and no heat emission. It has a life of more than 20,000 hours, more consistent curing results and many others. You can print on thinner substrate and thereby, you can save money.”

He said AMS is growing at the CAGR of 45% and around 80% of its turnover comes from LED. APL represents AMS in India and has installed two LED UV lamps so far. Worldwide, the company’s total installation number is more than 250 lamps.

Prashant Atre of Toyo Ink Arets said, “The world is changing faster than we think and adaptation is the only way to survive. Future is radiation curing UV, EB-electron beam and LED UV.”

Meanwhile, Vinay Kaushal of Provin Technos said, “Ryobi MHI Graphic Technology has installed more than 190 LED UV printing presses around the globe. Of these, 140 are in Japan only. A printer can save on paper (the biggest cost in print production) by reducing paper wastage, heavy reduction in electricity usage and it is environment-friendly as well since LED UV curing produces zero emission of greenhouse gases."

Provin Technos, the Indian representative of RMGT, has installed India’s first LED UV printing press at Impact Promotions in Delhi.

The conference concluded with a question and answer session moderated by Ramu Ramanathan, editor, PrintWeek India. The participants were CP Paul of APL, Vinay Kaushal of Provin Technos, VS Raja of HT Media, Stephan Metcalf of AMS and Prashant Atre of Toyo Ink Arets.

Paul said if a printing facility wants to opt for an LED UV lamp, it will be subsidised by Rs 15 lakh on the adoption of the technology. “If our LED UV lamp does not work, we will take it back, whatever the reasons may be,” he said.

LED UV is a new technology and fast increasing its presence in the market. The investment cost is initially high, but it has benefits as well. Right now, in India, three printers are capable to cure print production through LED UV technology. They are Maruthi Printers at Coimbatore, who has fitted LED UV lamp on a ten-colour Heidelberg, Impact Promotions, who has installed India’s fist LED UV printing press from Ryobi and Infinity Advertising Services, who has installed a 40-inch lamp on a four-colour Komori press.

Right now, Air Motion Solutions and Panasonic are the only two companies who manufacture LED UV lamps. AMS lamps can be purchased by anyone and can be fitted on any press whether it is offset, flexo, or gravure. On the other hand, if you want to use Panasonic LED UV lamps, you have to buy an RMGT printing press.