Benford UV have assisted Aztec Label with the conversion of 4 of their label production lines, from conventional UV curing to LED UV curing. The web presses are from 3 different manufacturers and are of various ages, highlighting our ability to design curing systems for almost any web press. Most of our customers globally, are running our drying systems on sheet fed offset presses, from many different manufacturers including Komori, Heidelberg, KBA and RMGT.
Aztec Label are enthusiastic about the many benefits they have experienced from these changes. By switching to LED-UV drying, Aztec is able to flash-dry ink, with instantaneous turn-on and off, and no longer needs to extract harmful gases. This together with reduced maintenance means increased print operations and faster print speed. As well as increasing productivity the conversion consumes over 60% less energy than conventional UV drying. For a business where drying (pre-LED conversion) accounted for 70-80% of total energy consumption, the savings are significant.
Aztec Label also has an array of 360 solar panels on the roof of its production facility in Kidderminster. This together with the steps to minimise energy useage through the UV LED conversions, means Aztec Label can do good for the environment and market itself to sustainably minded customers.
Aztec Label managing director Colin Le Gresley said: “We’ve been impressed with the simplicity and safety of the design and that the energy output adjusts automatically to the press speed to ensure perfectly cured inks. The system has a compact design and continuous temperature and current monitoring too, providing us with the confidence we needed to manage our drying process efficiently. I’m sure LED is going to be a technology of choice for a lot of printers moving forward. The results are impressive.”
Marc Boden, founder of Benford UV, said: “Our own commitment to sustainability means that we produce machines that significantly reduce energy consumption while delivering consistent, quality products to eliminate waste wherever possible. All the parts are British-made, apart from the chips that are manufactured in the Far East, further adding to our sustainability credentials.”
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Member-created content 1 year ago | From members