Since LED-UV curing systems were introduced into the screen printing market years ago, their popularity has always been growing steadily. If you have never installed LED-UV curing systems on your screen printing machines, you might seriously consider whether a LED UV exposure unit will be worth the investment. If you want to better understand what you can gain from the upgrade, you might read through the points below:

• Faster exposure time:

According to related surveys on screen printing machine users who adopted LED-UV curing technology, the most profound changes they experience are that LED-UV curing systems  significantly speed up the exposure time. LED UV exposure units can offer a targeted exposure, emitting UV light that is very focused on a certain wavelength range (in general, the range is between 360 and 405 nanometers); after pairing your LED UV exposure unit with a suitable emulsion that can cure within the emission wavelength range, full-screen exposure will take place in several seconds.

Furthermore, unlike metal halide units that always need to take some minutes to warm up before use, LED-UV exposure units do not require any warm-up time; and with the LED-UV curing technology, the speed rate of exposing screens can increase from a few screens per hour to tens of screens per hour depending on the specific type of LED-UV exposure unit.

• Lower energy usage:

Another big benefit in switching to LED-UV exposure units is their significantly lower energy usage. Compared with approximately 10,000 watts for a high-performance metal halide unit, a LED-UV exposure unit only consumes about 100 watts of power in the screen printing process. This certainly saves users’ money on monthly energy bills, and this is also associated with another benefit that may be ignored – due to the lower energy requirements, LED-UV exposure units can be compatible with a wide range of installation environments; in many cases, those units can work normally when they are plugged into standard outlets. And in other words, the installation of a 220-volt outlet is not a compelling requirement for LED-UV curing systems; and users also do not have to worry about whether there will be an adequate energy supply when considering the relocation of LED-UV exposure units.

• Long-lasting light source :

For most manufacturers who use UV mercury arc lamps, they have profound experience in the frequent adjustments to the mercury arc lamps as well as their short working life; surely, a lot of screen printing machine users are also not exceptional; and hence they may want to seek the alternative light source that won’t easily degrade/weaken over time. And if you invest in a LED-UV exposure unit, you will be amazed to find that the unit can last for several years without the need to replace the lamps; why? It is because they still maintain their initial strength and the exposure processes are not impacted.