The IR serves to heat up the ink directly before the UV laser starts the polymerization. The heat makes the ink more reactive for the polymerization process, which reduces the UV power needed for the complete polymerization of the ink, thus increasing the overall throughput. The IR laser wavelength is absorbed directly within the pigmentation of the ink, which is only heated for a very short time, thus increasing the efficiency of the UV exposure by roughly 7 stouffer steps. Also, no damaging temperature phenomenon will occur, nor will the heat alone induce any polymerization process. The heated environment of the ink serves as a catalysator for the UV exposure within milliseconds after the absorption of the IR laser. This reduces the activation energy for the polymerization reaction. As a result, the necessary UV power for achieving a complete polymerization of the ink will drop down to a fraction compared to the exposure without IR.
Productronica 2019: Halle B3, Stand 361
(mou)
