Air Motion Systems | AMS UV, the leading US manufacturer of high-performance UV systems for the graphic arts industry, today announces the market availability of its all-new XP5 Series LED UV, the most powerful UV LED curing system available for drying inks, coatings and varnishes across offset, flexo and digital presses in conjunction with the opening of drupa 2012.

The XP5 Series boasts the greatest linear chip packaging density of any UV LED curing device ever developed, and allows entirely new levels of peak irradiance and total energy dose to be achieved at greater working distances than ever before. The XP5 power levels are critical to meet the most challenging curing applications in high speed commercial and newspaper web offset, large-format and packaging sheetfed offset, narrow-web flexographic label presses, and the next generation of higher production speed ink jet presses.

XP5 is based upon AMS’s market leading and patented XP Series PEAK LED UV™ technology platform that combines novel chip devices, macro optics, and advanced thermal management into a durable solid-state curing device able to scale seamlessly from the narrowest curing widths to presses exceeding 200 cm (80 inches) in format width.

Through all-new, patent-pending adjustable optics, peak irradiance in the XP5 series is generated in an intense band of ultraviolet light at 14 W/cm2 at up to 10 mm (0.4 inch) distance away from the printed media to empower close-proximity final curing applications such as high-speed webs and digital flat-bed presses, while allowing tolerance to be achieved in placement of the lamp heads so they do not interfere with web handling, ink transfer or media travel.

For sheetfed applications, intensities can be provided at 9 W/cm2 at 50 mm (2 inch) distances away from the printed sheets for effortless interstation curing on packaging-class machines, and at 5 W/cm2 at over 100 mm (4 inches) distance away from the printed sheets, a critical threshold for curing inks, coatings and varnishes in the extended deliveries or upsweeps of most sheetfed offset presses.

“Most UV LED devices available today publish intensity at the ‘emitting window’ as their primary metric,” remarked Steve Metcalf, President and CEO of AMS.  “However, nobody cures at the window and intensities from first-generation array-based or clustered/lensed UV LED heads drop quickly from this point, which has limited the range of UV LED press adoption. The new metric is all about intensity at ‘working distances’ where high speed curing actually takes place, and where the true replacement of mercury-based UV curing lamps with LED sources can be accelerated.”

The XP platform from AMS has achieved great commercial success in sheetfed offset commercial printing since the XP3 Series was introduced nearly three years ago, bring the benefits of high speed curing, instant activation, energy reduction, long life, removal of heat and the elimination of spray-powder, anti-marking systems as well as mercury and ozone from the pressroom.  

The XP platform has a unique design advantage of being able to adapt quickly to existing presses as well as providing a fast design integration path for OEMs. The existing XP3 Series will continue to be offered for medium-duty curing applications alongside the all-new XP5 Series.

AMS will showcase the XP3 and XP5 Series LED UV, as well as its TITANIUM UV compatibility platform and numerous examples of LED printing at its stand in Hall 15 (Booth 15A / 21-5) at drupa 2012 from May 3-16 in Dusseldorf, Germany. To see the latest video of AMS LED UV in action, navigate to the AMS YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVPfYFAIREA.