 |
The Infra-red Heating Specialists |
|
| Tel/Fax +44 (0)1159 37 27 27 |
|
|
The Infra-red Heating Specialists |
|
| Tel/Fax +44 (0)1159 37 27 27 |
Rapid Forced
Drying of Water-based Inks
|
|
Current legislation on the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC's) has forced many companies to start using water-based inks as a replacement to traditional solvent based inks. The longer drying times of these compliant coatings very often results in extended process times and reduced throughput. The use of infra-red heating allows water-based inks to be force dried in as little as a few seconds. The working flexibility of an existing oven can be enhanced, the efficiency greatly improved and increased customer orders can be met. |
Infra-red
Drying
Infra-red radiant heating represents a clean energy efficient drying
technique. The radiant transfer of energy heats the ink directly
without the need to warm up large volumes of air.
The infra-red equipment is an 'open' design but the absence of hot air means that the temperature of the factory is not greatly effected. The simple construction and absence of many moving parts and combustion products give reliability and longevity
Benefits
The main benefit of using infra-red is that drying times are greatly reduced so
output capacity can be boosted. There are also many other benefits:
· The response time (heat-up time) of the infra-red elements is extremely fast.
· The heaters can be automatically controlled through
product detection sensors.
· The system can simply be added to in order for future requirements to be met.
· Energy can be saved when the heater is not in use or during production breaks
by by switching off the fast response elements.
Projects carried out in conjunction with East Midlands Electricity and the University of Nottingham have shown that a reduction in drying time of up to 50% can be expected
Information reproduced by permission of East Midlands Electricity
