Flint Group Offers EkoCure UV LED Inks

Published: September 19, 2012

PLYMOUTH, MN | Flint Group Narrow Web is introducing a series of ink technologies for UV LED curing under the EkoCure brand. EkoCure is developed using specially selected raw materials that match the narrow and targeted wavelength area that is typical for UV LED lamp output.

Advantages with UV LED are both economical and ecological, company says. Energy consumption will be significantly reduced; quality assuredness brings increased productivity and press uptime; manufacturing space is increased; UV LED lamps are nearly maintenance free; no mercury bulb replacement and disposal costs; expanded capability to run heat-sensitive materials with less heat management costs.

In addition, UV LED lamps are ozone and mercury free (improved worker and environmental safety, and EkoCure is formulated on bio-renewable resources.

“We have partnered with Phoseon Technology UV LED lamps, and we have tested our inks using their FirePower 16 W/cm2 on our Mark Andy 4150 press in our Center for Technical Excellence in Plymouth, Minnesota,” says Tom Hammer, product manager Narrow Web North America for Flint Group. “With the FirePower units on our press, we have been able to experiment and test inks on several types of substrates and in many print combinations. We have found success and have been able to run a “first ever” true UV LED combination print using our newly developed four-color flexo process inks in combination with UV rotary screen white.”

Flint’s global brand manager Niklas Olsson says, “The UV Flexo ink series we have developed is based on bio-renewable resin technology as an added effort to address sustainability. Bio-renewable resins for UV products are a new development that will increase in use in the future; by combining this aspect with lower energy consuming UV LED lamps, it was a natural fit to brand this technology as EkoCure.”

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