TAGS: Inks UV/EB Technology
Xeikon announces its PantherCure LED series, a new family of inks for use with Panther technology. Xeikon’s Panther Technology is based on UV inkjet and is the most cost-effective technology to address specific end-use markets, focused on labels across industries such as chemical, durable, cosmetic and premium beer labels.
All the applications benefit from certain durability such as scratch, scuff, and rub resistance and a glossy tactile look and feel. UV inks tackle all these requirements.
Benefits of PantherCure Inks
The PantherCure LED inks come with new waveforms, software and optimized screening. These deliver a long list of benefits:
- Wider application range: LED curing generates less heat exposed to the substrate. More heat-sensitive substrates can be used with a water-based cool-down process
- A broader color gamut enabled to address more brand colors
- Increased image quality by introducing a new screening, waveform and ink, delivering consistent UV curing throughout the time
- More sustainable option - eliminates waste of mercury bulbs
- Improves the Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE):
- LED provides 10 times longer lifetime and reduces maintenance. Lamp replacement every 2,000 hours for a mercury lamp versus 20,000 hours for LED
- Eliminating downtime related to starts-and-stops due to warming-up and cooling-down of the mercury bulb
- LED ink curing requires less energy for the same speed thereby decreasing the overall energy consumption, having a direct impact on the total operating costs
- The in-depth curing of LED light results in better ink-to-substrate adhesion.
- Combining these new elements (ink, screening, waveforms, software) reduces ink consumption by 30% on average, depending on the content of the job.
New Inks in Xeikon PX3300 & Xeikon PX2200
The new inks are available on newly manufactured Xeikon PX3300 and Xeikon PX2200 as of October 2022. Starting in 2023, current customers of prior models of the Panther Press, Xeikon PX3000 and PX2000 will be eligible for field upgrades.
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Today we already supply LED UV-inks to the Xeikon Jetrion base, therefore adding UV-LED inks was the next logical step for our Panther technology,” said Filip Weymans, Xeikon’s VP for worldwide marketing.
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Xeikon is renowned for having a determined sustainability program and the PantherCure UV LED series contributes to those goals,” explained Weymans.
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The past couple of years have demonstrated that innovative companies with “future-proof” products are those that provide the best options to the customer for application choice and the highest OEE to safeguard their business goals,” commented Weymans.
Source: Xeikon