Mr Jägers, ink curing with UV technology is a comparatively expensive method which is used above all in high-quality printing. IST Metz has established itself in this market niche. Will this niche be big enough in the future as well?

Dirk Jägers: We see substantial growth potential in packaging printing, including label printing. The customer wants better and better quality; therefore, the printer needs our UV technology in order to enhance the packaging. This market will no doubt continue to increase in importance.

But we also see other possibilities for applications. Recently we received a big order from a Turkish daily newspaper which will soon start printing the cover of every edition with UV technology. This will, admittedly, initially increase the operating costs, but in turn, the newspaper expects higher sales figures as a result of this enhanced presentation. We have received enquiries from other newspapers which even consider enhancing every edition completely. The competition on the newspaper market makes new ideas simply a must. We can profit from this situation. I, for one, hope that this order will have a signal effect.

In addition, there are interesting applications for UV like film and foil printing or security printing.

Why is the curing and drying of ink with UV technology so expensive?

Jägers: In traditional newspaper printing, printing inks dry by absorption, for instance, the absorption of the oils by the paper, so that no energy input is needed. These printing inks are, in addition, very cheap. The quality is limited since newspaper inks often smear.

In other conventional methods, solvent-containing or water-based printing inks are used which are dried by warm air. In the UV technology, solvent-free and, as a result, printing inks of higher quality are used which are dried and cured by means of a UV lamp. This is more energy-intensive than the traditional process. We are, however, quite successful in increasing the energy efficiency of our UV aggregates. With some products, we have reduced the energy consumption by up to 40 per cent by now.