IST METZ, a leading innovator in UV technology, will be presenting its latest developments in UV curing at drupa in Hall 1, Stand A24. In response to the increasing demand for efficient and customised solutions, the company has developed pioneering technologies that take the performance and versatility of UV curing to a new level. Come by and get to know our company and curing solutions.

About: We at IST have been living the motto "more than UV" with passion for half a century. Over the past 45 years, we have always managed to catch on the trends of the time and still see ourselves as a modern family business with visions. Because, with a view to a sustainable future, we think long-term and our UV solutions are not just a trend for us, but pave the way for the next generation of light curing.

We are working on this together with enthusiasm and are convinced that our experience and philosophy of always going that little bit further will enable us to write the next chapter of technology together, which will undoubtedly bring with it a paradigm shift and challenges. In the spirit of digitalisation and sustainability, for a safe and green future for us all.

However, IST already sees the "more" behind this and is focussing on the associated increase in value. We have always derived our aspirations from this perspective, which drives us and which we will continue to pursue in the future. This is how we have created an impressive IST identity that moves people around the world and creates genuine trust at eye level - our UV systems as well as our support and service have brought us this far.

Nothing is more fitting to this idea than our tried and tested motto "more than UV" - which is why we have given our corporate image a new appearance that wonderfully transports our company philosophy into the future. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, be curious to see what this looks like at IST.

With this in mind, we look forward to presenting our latest breakthroughs in UV drying technology at drupa this year - come along and take yet a look at the future of UV.

LED-UV: At a time when the international market for LED-UV systems seems oversaturated, we are certain that our LED solutions make a small but significant difference. Because we don't just focus on the short-term effect, but look at sustainability from all perspectives. We believe that the different applications also require special curing solutions, which is why we have developed specific and market-orientated LED solutions for the respective printing applications. The full energy-saving potential of an LED can only be utilised if experienced personnel and all the features on the printing press are used. In our experience, this is often not the case in practice. At this point, namely determining the most energy-saving setting on site, we have started to ask ourselves how we can flatten this hurdle for the user in a simple and flexible way. The answer is:

SMARTcure: SMARTcure is our innovative AI-supported curing assistant that determines the optimum principle instead of the maximum application-specific principle and optimally controls the dryer based on the parameters from the pre-press stage - for a revolutionary UV curing process.

The required data transfer between the plant and the cloud creates a system that can provide operating data for maintenance in addition to an assistance function - all with the aim of establishing modern and environmentally friendly work processes. In this way, precise specifications for the power settings per dryer are determined and implemented in an energy-saving manner. The resulting reduction in power consumption and operating temperature has a positive effect on the service life of LED systems.

The user can evaluate the drying quality via a feedback option. Feedback and setting changes are processed directly in the cloud. Other measuring systems and analyses can also be used here, such as the UV Analyzer, measurement of the double-bond conversion, solvent resistance or simply a thumb test. The SMARTcure system thus learns continuously and enables a simple and customer-friendly optimisation process for modern drying applications.

This is where the future is being created: we have laid the foundation for this in Nürtingen, namely in our state-of-the-art application centre, the UV Technology Campus. Over the last two years, a new top-class research laboratory has been created, where the ideas of tomorrow are already being developed in the "original Swabian sense". The centrepiece of the new laboratory is not only test facilities, but also a high-tech analytical laboratory. Here, at the birthplace of SMARTcure technology so to speak, the ink and coating series are measured and the data prepared for the SMARTcure Cloud. SMARTcure combines the data from the UVTC with the data from prepress and creates a recommendation for the printer/press - the printer does not have to intervene manually in the process - it can accept the recommendation and thus produce the job under optimised conditions with maximum energy savings.

You can find out what this looks like in practice at our exhibition stand. Come and see us and discover the smartest way to save energy.

We at IST are aware of the advance of LED technology, but also see a certain period of time in which it will be used in parallel with UV lamp technology. The co-existence of both technologies gives the user the opportunity to monitor the situation and to recognise when it makes sense to switch to LED-UV.

IST's UV lamp systems are already fit to make the changeover uncomplicated: They are either "LED prepared" or equipped with the direct change option "HotSwap". These features make it possible to switch without having to change the entire periphery of the unit. Socalled hybrid systems, in which a mix of UV lamps and UV LED systems are installed inline on a machine, are also becoming increasingly popular.

We rise to the challenges: IST has revolutionised and further developed lamp technology from the Swabian town of Nürtingen and thus also found an answer to the new printing ink regulation:

The patented FREEcure system, which minimises the use of photoinitiators or even helps to eliminate them altogether thanks to an extremely high proportion of UVC. This is particularly important and of great benefit in the production of sensitive products and packaging using low-migration inks. However, the extremely powerful system fundamentally improves the curing result and promotes energy savings - because the number of dryers can be reduced in many cases by using FREEcure.

In concrete terms, this means - using here an example from the wood sector - possible energy savings of up to 75%, several tonnes of CO2 savings depending on the production site, a significantly smaller space requirement and amortisation times of 1.5 to 2.5 years. And last but not least: the low photoinitiator content, which means that the FREEcure system is also becoming increasingly important in other areas of UV curing.

Another development in the field of light control is flexible shutter positioning. Thanks to the infinitely variable control of the shutters, the dose and heat input on the substrate, for example, can be optimally controlled or fully automated using the new SMARTcure technology. A reliable and predictable process is extremely important for every production - IST has developed a measuring system for quality assurance that is suitable for both UV LED and UV lamp solutions: the UV-Analzyer. The combination of UV app (compatible for Android and iOS), measuring strips and analyser stick offers a handy tool for quality assurance and documentation of common UV and LED systems.

And finally, our company history has led us to a very special anniversary: We are delighted to be handing over the 100,000th special light source to the german company Wiesendanger from Murnau this year. We will of course be celebrating this directly at the trade fair stand - visitors can look forward to it.