(From left) Stephen Metcalf of Air Motion Systems (AMS) and his colleague from Europe mull strategy for the Indian market. The company has installed two LED UV systems in India so far
The APL Machinery team before the event. The company manufactures UV-curing machines and is the Indian representative of the US-based Air Motion Systems (AMS)
Printed samples, displaying the myriad uses of LED UV, was one of the attractions during the event. It included samples from the HT Media plant too
Members of IPAMA during the conference, including Satish Bajwa, Safiq Ahmed and Amarpreet Singh
More than 30 printing students from the Don Bosco Technical Institute had an opportunity to learn and understand about LED UV technology from a market perspective
Carsten Barlebo of Air Motion Systems inaugurated the event with the traditional lighting of the lamp
The designated speakers at the conference during the felicitation ceremony
More than 250 people from the industry attended the LED UV conference
Dr RK Panigrahi, director, MSME-Development Institute Okhla, New Delhi, discussed the schemes favourable to printers. These include credit link capital subsidy scheme, cluster development programme, national manufacturing competitiveness programme, lean manufacturing scheme, design clinic scheme, IPR campaign, and skill making, among others
During his speech, CP Paul announced that if a printing facility wants to opt for an LED UV lamps, it will be subsidised by Rs 15 lakh on the adoption of the technology. “If our LED UV lamp does not work, we will take it back, whatever the reasons may be,” he said
Stephen Metcalf said printing ink is the key in LED UV curing. “Right now, it is available in India through many vendors and after a few months it will be manufactured locally in India,” he said
The Seth brothers, the second generation at Replika Press listen in rapt attention. It looks like the company is planning an expansion in LED UV
V Siva Raja of HT Media shared a case study on how UV curing technology was deployed on its web offset Regioman press. “Our response time has come to five hours from five days and we can get more premiums from our advertisers,” Raja said.
Vijay Adlakha of Infinity Advertising Services said, "I was amazed by the printed results through the technology. Initially, the investment cost seemed huge, but after calculations, we found it to be affordable"
Carsten Barlebo of Air Motion Systems emphasised on saving by opting for LED UV technology
Prashant Atre of Toyo Ink Arets said the only thing that is constant is change. And adaptation is the best way to survive because world is changing faster than we think
Vinay Kaushal of Provin Technos said, “Ryobi MHI Graphic Technology has installed more than 190 LED UV printing presses around the globe. Of these, 140 are in Japan itself. A printer can save on paper (the biggest cost in print production) by reducing paper wastage, heavy reduction in electricity usage and it is environment-friendly as well since LED UV curing produces zero emission of greenhouse gases"
The last item of the evening was a Q&A session which was moderated by Ramu Ramanathan, group editor, PrintWeek India
After the conference, the delegates were invited to a live demonstration of LED UV production at Infinity's Faridabad plant
Printed samples were available on a four-colour Komori press, which is equipped with LED UV drying lamp
Infinity has installed a 40-inch LED UV drying lamp on the four-colour Komori Lithrone LA437
Stephen Metcalf explains the pros and cons of LED UV to Jitender Rohilla of Insight Print Communication, the Indian representative of Komori. Infinity has installed the AMS LED UV lamp on a four-colour Komori Lithrone LA437
Vijay Adlakha of Infinity and team members from APL Mechinary and AMS display a printed sample on PVC MetPet 200 micron polycarbonate sheet. The job was produced through five colour printing
Print sample: 300 gsm SBS board with gloss finish MePet, a four-colour production
Print sample: Matt finish job printed on 210 gsm art card, a four-colour production
The Infinity team. The company is the third print production facility in India after Shree Maruthi Printers in Coimbatore and Impact Promotions in Delhi to have installed LED UV
Picture Gallery: Making a case for LED UV
Is LED UV just another new technology, or is the next step in the growth of printing technology? The jury is still out on the verdict. However, at a seminary organised by Faridabad-based APL Machinery in Delhi on 20 January 2016, industry experts betted heavily on LED UV. There are benefits. It has high power intensity, instant activation on/off, segmented control, and no heat emission. It has a life of more than 20,000 hours and more consistent curing results. With it, one can print on thinner