Labelexpo Europe 2013 Witnessed Rapid Adoption of UV LED Curing: Phoseon Technology

Hillsboro, Oregon -- The recently completed Labelexpo Europe 2013 showed the rapid adoption of UV LED curing. The show reported its largest ever edition with record-breaking attendance figures by attracting 31,795 visitors (up 11% over 2011) from 158 countries (up from 123 in 2011) and just under 600 exhibitors (up from 550 in 2011).

Everywhere they looked, attendees saw UV LED curing systems being implemented on machines. To UV LEDs traditional strength of digital inkjet were added rotary screen printing, area curing, offset, and flexographic printing. Comparing Labelexpo 2013 to Labelexpo 2011 proves just how rapidly the industry has adopted the technology. More than 80 UV LED curing lamps were installed on equipment at the 2013 show, up from 10 instances during the 2011 show for an 8x increase. Curing uses ranged from pinning to full cure and many of the machines were 100% UV LED based.

"UV LED has shown itself to be a viable technology across multiple printing platforms," said Tom Molamphy, Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Phoseon Technology. "The entire ecosystem of materials suppliers, ink providers, and equipment builders have worked diligently to provide end users with advanced capabilities, great operating economics, and environmental benefits. We expect the adoption rate to increase rapidly as the RoHS II mercury exemption expires in July 2016."

And as the proverbial icing on the cake, UV LED curing won the coveted Label Industry Global Award for Innovation. From the shows press release:

"Attracting the highest ever number of entrants, the Label Industry Global Award for Innovation, sponsored by Label & Narrow Web, Labels & Labeling, and NarroWebTech magazines, was jointly won by Mark Andy and Flint Group Narrow Web. Flint Group was honored for its Ekocure UV LED ink technology which the judges described as providing improved cure response, cost and productivity savings, waste reduction, energy savings and enhanced safety that will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the future of the label industry. Mark Andy was singled out for its complementary ProLED ink curing technology, which delivers high production rates and energy savings in excess of 50% when compared to traditional HgUV systems."