CoolUV LED curing comes to South Africa

Wayne Van Zyl established Litho Sales & Label five years ago. Based in Cape Town, the company initially specialized in sales and service of new and pre-owned litho presses. With an emphasis on offering quality products and service, he partnered with machinery suppliers around the world, all offering full back-up service and related technical support.

After Van Zyl's first year of operation, he was joined by Durban-based flexographic specialist, Ian Howroyd, who became a 50 percent shareholder in the business.

‘This partnership has been a blessing,’ Van Zyl remarked. ‘We have complementary knowledge and between us offer comprehensive skills in both litho and flexo technologies. It has also allowed us to establish a strong foothold in KwaZulu-Natal, in addition to our Cape Town and Johannesburg offices.’

A few examples of Litho Sales & Label's overseas principals are Impression Technology Europe – a global provider of digital self-adhesive label printing and finishing machines, Taiwan-based Labelmen – a manufacturer of equipment for packaging and label printing, and Bengraphic Flexo Printing Equipment – a supplier of flexo presses in 330mm, 430mm and 650mm widths.

Now Litho Sales & Label has local representation of China's CoolUV Technology, offering technology that claims to enhance the peak strength of UV LED curing systems and reduces production costs. Its products are used in printing, coating, adhesion and other fields.

‘At least 70 percent savings on curing costs can be achieved,’ said Van Zyl, regarding the reduced electricity costs when using UV LED lamps. ‘In addition, as there are no light sources or other components requiring frequent replacement, maintenance costs are reduced.’

Due to their modular construction, CoolUV lamps can be integrated into any length of curing lamp, producing various radiation intensities according to requirements. Another advantage is the minimizing of replacement costs, as only the module needs to be replaced.

Among other advantages cited by Van Zyl and Howroyd are precise control of irradiation time and intensity, which simplifies quality control measures and improves workflow. In addition, an instantaneous ‘on’ switch makes CoolUV lamps more efficient and LED cold light source enables handling of heat-sensitive materials that could not be processed using traditional equipment.