Agfa Graphics will be introducing state-of-the-art, air-cooled LED UV-curing as an alternative to the current mercury lamp curing technology on its family of Anapurna i printers - enabling printers to output on a broader range of media, save energy, increase system up time and reduce operational expenses.
On display at drupa 2016 will be the Anapurna H2500i LED system, a 2.5m hybrid solution for printing rigid and flexible media which offers high throughput and high print quality. The white ink function includes pre-, post-, spot and even sandwich white, and - with the optional automatic board feeder - productivity can be further increased.
UV LED curing on Anapurna i-series
The Anapurna i-series inkjet systems are equipped with powerful, air-cooled 16 Watt/cm² UV LED lamps. Thanks to their reduced heat emission, the Anapurna H2500i LED can print on a wider media mix, and in particular cope with more heat-sensitive substrates such as thin-layer styrene.
“In addition to widening the media range, UV LED curing technology delivers interesting operational and environmental benefits,” said Willy Van Dromme, Marketing Manager Wide-Format Systems, Agfa Graphics. “Opposed to mercury lamps, which last for about 1000 operating hours, the lifetime of the LED alternative is in line with the economical lifetime of a printer of typically five years. As a consequence, both the cost and the downtime for changing lamps are obviated, while there is no issue in disposing of them either. In addition, the power output remains consistent over the LEDs’ operating life, which is an important element in maintaining good physical characteristics of the print with regards to adhesion for example.”
Unlike with mercury lamps, LED lamps have no warm-up nor cool-down time, and power consumption is drastically lower, which results in a lower energy bill.
“Adding UV LED-curing to our successful Anapurna i family strengthens our product offering,” said Van Dromme, “Compared to the mercury bulb version, no compromises are made in either print quality or productivity. Instead, our customers will benefit from the operational savings, the broader media range and the environmental advantages that UV LED curing adds to the system.”
The Anapurna H2500i LED will be on display at the Agfa Graphics booth in Hall 8a at drupa.
