AMS Spectral UV's Super Proofer 2 Speeds Up Ink And Coating Development
/AMS Spectral UV has released the second version of its Super Proofer lab system product, the Super Proofer 2. The machine is used to simulate real-life press speeds and energy curing scenarios that enable ink companies, coating manufacturers and R&D labs to improve their workflow and accuracy when developing new UV and LED formulas without the need to complete full print runs.
“We developed the Super Proofer in response to the ink industry’s need for a solution that simulates the high speeds and variable curing conditions of modern presses with today’s wide range of UV, H-UV and LED UV curing options,” said AMS Spectral UV president Steve Metcalf. “Our system allows for the testing of curing using production-class curing devices at actual press speeds, as opposed to low-cost units typically found on slow-moving lab proofing conveyor belts, and at different distances from the substrate, too, which allows curing to be evaluated as close as possible to the real printing environment.”
A single Super Proofer 2 machine can operate up to two LED and two UV or H-UV lamps each (four total), can operate in single and dual-pass mode, and LED modules can be swapped to enable testing with different wavelengths and curing intensities, allowing for an extended range of curing scenario testing. In addition to accelerating the workflow of ink development and ink proofing, the Super Proofer 2 offers more precise insights into the level of photo-initiator required in a given formula and can uncover scenarios when products are being inadvertently being over-loaded with PIs, which when discovered, can provide tremendous opportunities to save costs in the resultant products.
There are two speed options available for the Super Proofer 2, which leverages a unique, programmable linear-actuated feeder to securely hold media in place at guaranteed speeds. The 3G edition can achieve speeds of 1,100 feet per minute (350 m/min.), while the 4G edition can reach speeds of 1,500 feet per minute (450 m/min), which equate to the fastest commercial printing and packaging speeds in the industry.
Fully programmable settings for speed, lamp intensity and single- or double-pass operation are easily performed by any lab technician, to enable accurate proof runs.
Super Proofer units are already in daily use at major ink companies in both Europe and North America.
“We’re expecting growing demand for the Super Proofer 2 as ink and coating manufacturers and their customers are confronted with a myriad of options when it comes to curing, substrates, photo-initiator selection, as well as the need for faster development of low-migration (LM) ink development for indirect food contact applications,” Metcalf summed up.
For more information, visit www.amsspectraluv.com.