Bottle & Cup Printing Lamps
Numerous plastic parts are decorated using ultraviolet inks/coatings. These include all non-absorbent substrates common to the market including PE, PP, ABS, PS, PET and PVC. All types of plastic components can be printed/decorated with UV including those produced by injection, extrusion and blow-molding. Items include cups, lids, buckets, caps, tubes, bottles, pails and tops. Specific products include toothpaste tubes, margarine tubs, cosmetic containers, pens, markers, yogurt & sour cream cups, eyeglass lenses and drink bottles. For low volume pail, bucket and bottle printing, process is screen-printing or pad printing. Curing is carried out in an offline UV conveyor/dryer. Examples of low volume printers include Newman Equipment, Systematic Automation, AWT, American Ultraviolet, Graphics International Decorating and a host of UV curing dryers from China. For high volume lid and plastic cup printing; application is by dry offset printing. This is also known as reverse letterpress. High volume curing is typically accomplished on machine. Examples of high-volume machines include Van Dam, Polytype and Kammann Equipment.
Adhesion to plastic is easier said than done. To solve this dilemma most UV curing lines incorporate some kind of surface treatment such as corona or flame, prior to application of the ink. Ultraviolet inks are typically applied via offset, pad or screen with a UV cure lamp for each color. Normally, container decorating (lids, cups, etc.) requires high production line speeds. The tapered design of containers and cups allow parts to be manipulated on supporting mandrels. Each mandrel is rotated while the container contacts a printing plate and advances to a UV curing station. The mandrel again rotates under a UV lamp and the process continues to the next printing station. Speeds up to 600 parts per minute can be attained with multicolor printing and ultraviolet curing. Machinery incorporating this technique includes Van Dam and Polytype. The most popular lamp for cup/bottle printing is the standard mercury (Hg) lamp. It is a long-lived, lower cost and performs well over a wide range of coatings.
Most ultraviolet lamps used for bottle/cup printing are air cooled hence they must live with whatever air is provided. Lamps must be kept clean. All types of dust, powder, grease, smoke and misting ink must be cleaned from lamp. A small investment in cleaner cooling air will go a long way reducing maintenance costs. Often shop contaminants will blow over the lamp sticking to the quartz literally baking onto the surface. This reduces UV energy and may cause bulb overheating. Bulbs and reflectors should be inspected every 100 hours of operation. If lamp has external contamination or reflector surface is dull, clean or replace immediately! Use a lint free cloth with Windex or Simple Green to clean. Donā€™t waste your money on special UV lamp cleaners as they have dubious value! If solvents are permitted, use isopropyl alcohol. For extreme cases use a mild abrasive such as Soft Scrub to clean the UV lamp. Be sure to rinse any residue off the glass before reinstalling lamp. Always allow lamp to cool and disconnect all power prior to any cleaning. TCS Technologiesā€™ UV curing lamps are directly interchangeable with most UV printing equipment including American M&M, Metal Box, Polytype, Van Dam, Kase Equipment, Isimat, Newman Equipment and Osmo. Over the years we have built a reputation for delivering performance, dependability, quality and value. Our UV curing lamps (bulbs) are designed for optimal dryer performance and output quality. Here is a partial listing of plastic bottle and cup UV lamps: Printers and UV dryers
| American Ultraviolet |
Kase Equipment |
Systematic Automation |
| AWT | Metal Box |
Ultralight |
| Desco | Newman Equipment |
UViterno |
| Isimat | OSMO | UV-TOP |
| Kammann | Polytype | Van Dam |
| Kase | Rosario |
Common UV curing lamps used in plastic printing include
| 060-2538 | E95562 | SLI 79 |
| 080-2587 | HC402A06 | T-55010200 BTZ/DF |
| 080-258VL | HT-5260 | UCH-2437-254 |
| 150BTZ/DF 6kva | HT-5280 | UV8 |
| 150BTZ/DF 8kva | HT-6260 | UV-8 |
| 200BTZ/DF | ISI 1019/25 | UVH-2436-258 |
| 22-250G | ISI 2219/45 | UVL426C |
| 36-150 | ISI 2219/45H-70 | UVL426MB |
| 6807A444 | ISI 3019/42H-5 | UVT3300 |
| 6808A445 | M200U/A | 717231596000 |
| 6808A5C1 | MB1163 | |
| 6810A446 | MB1235 | |
| 6812A431 | MB426 | |
| 6812A445 | MB426C | |
| 6825A431 | MCTZ 6015SD | |
| 8MD | MCTZ8015 | |
| 8MD2 | Mono-Jumbo | |
| ACT310 | Mono-Jumbo 6015 | |
| AM2398X | PM1163 | |
| AM2976X | PM1164 | |
| AM3127X | PM1235 | |
| AM3227X | PM411 | |
| AQM3141X | PM426 | |
| E94725A | SLI 106CDT182 |
Special note to owners of high power sausage lamps: As a UV lamp manufacturer there are several lamp designs we are not fans of. These are the low voltage high current lamps distributed by UViterno, Ultralight, Cure UV, SPDI and others. Typically 6,000 and 8,000 watts, we call them sausage lamps because of the 40mm lamp diameter. Certain companies describe these as Mono-Jumbo lamps. If you have these machines you know why lamps are expensive and have a short life. See picture below:
TCS Technologies has developed a special process to retard blackening associated with high powered UV bulbs such as the Mono-Jumbo series. You will see longer useful life and improved edge curing with our product. Finally, as domestic manufacturers fade and machines are replaced with those from the Far East, remember we can clone almost any lamp. Our UV bulbs are a vast improvement over the standard Chinese OEM lamp.