A-Z develops Omega 20/25 for pharma market

Atlantic-Zeiser’s latest compact combination of Omega 20/25 printing module with Smartcure Air, an air-cooled UV LED curing system, has been developed for the pharmaceutical industry.  It features powerful inline integration components for marking, coding and serializing in late stage customization, as well as product track & trace and anti-counterfeiting.
 
The LED curing system is able to harden printing ink at speeds up to 60m/min.  Developed for horizontal and vertical printing, the Omega 20/25 covers printing widths from 20mm to 25mm, which is the maximum for adding markings and variable product and production information, such as contents, expiry dates, warning notices, usage and consumption notes and different languages, to pharmaceutical packaging.
 
The new cost-saving Smartcure Air and Smartcure systems cure UV inks in an environment friendly manner because of their low energy consumption, absence of ozone emissions, reduced need for ventilation and cooling, and an operating life that outlasts lamp-based systems by a factor of ten to one.  The Smartcure Air requires no coolant, and offers the highest irradiance available through its progressive thermal management and compact design.
 
One special advantage of the LED technology can be found in the power-up process, which can be measured in milli-seconds.  An LED can be switched on and off any number of times, and during the process has to light up only for the time in which the actual curing of the ink takes place.  This saves energy, protects the substrates and increases the service life of the unit.
 
Matched to the new printers and UV LED drying units are A-Z’s quick-curing special inks with high-contrast reproduction, light-fastness and strong adhesion to non-absorbent surfaces, making them ideal for high-quality variable data printing on a wide range of substrates.  As there is almost no heating effect on the substrate, they are useful for temperature-sensitive applications.