Press standards
„KOPA printing house – about how press standards can even be better“
After analysing the market and worldwide technical innovations, we decided to buy this particular Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 106 5 LE-UV installation. So far, there are only a few such printing machines in Europe. They differ from older generation equipment based on UV inks in that they use inks developed several years ago in Japan, which are sensitive to UV radiation and need less energy to fully dry. If we compare this technology with a standard offset, the LE-UV ink hardens and dries instantly (meanwhile, prints made with conventional mineral oil-based inks must dry for 1-3 days). It therefore allows the achievement of greater efficiency not only in terms of quality, but also time.
Obvious changes that will be visible in your publications:
- Due to the fast drying inks (less ink is absorbed by the paper, making the image brighter), it is possible to produce very high-quality prints on offset paper, which is currently gaining popularity among customers in Western Europe and replacing glossy and matte coated paper.
- In addition, you’ll no longer need to use a protective varnish, because the ink dries quickly and sufficiently. It also does not “lock in” the paper texture, preserving the natural feel of its surface, and eliminating the specific odour of varnish.
- With classical offset printing, the paper has to dry for 1-3 days. Powder is used to prevent the print sheets from sticking together. It is sprayed on the paper surface to make micro gaps between them. For this reason, the surface of the paper sheet is rough, and customers do not always like this. With the new printing technology, the powder is no longer needed because the ink dries instantly, right during printing. Therefore, products made with LE-UV print technology will be more pleasant to the touch.
- The absence of the starvation ghosting effect is highly valuable for monochrome publications. It allows for the more uniform colour of prints.
- The wider choice of print services also provides more unique choices for publications. The LE-UV machine allows printing on plastics or other non-absorbing surfaces.
Protection and conservation of the environment
One very important advantage is that this particular Heidelberg heavy duty machine requires less resources. All of its eco-friendly components guarantee lower consumption of energy and paper by the Speedmaster XL 106 5 LE-UV, and less waste, while maximizing productivity.
This technology allows operating at a completely different speed, vital for printing houses specialising in commercial and promotional prints. We often joke that in most cases, the deadline for our incoming orders is yesterday, or today at the latest. The older technology does not allow printing to be as fast as customers would like it to be. Moreover, the investment in this technology upgrade will allow the printing house to deliver more output and reduce the cost of prints.
We are proud to be able to offer the highest quality to our customers from now on, while protecting the environment.