KBA (UK) Ltd. Press Briefing
August 2014
LED UV Rewrites the Litho Rulebook
KBA/AMS initiative creates ‘clear blue water’ in next-generation UV market
LED UV offers all the operational, quality and environmental benefits of Highly Reactive UV
(as in HR-UV, H-UV, LE-UV etc) – and then MORE! And, in addition, there are significant
cost advantages, too, which makes life a lot easier for printers who may have been
thinking about these technologies for their next press investment.
Now, in a unique collaboration between the press innovation champion and the world’s
leading developer of LED UV technologies, Koenig & Bauer Group and Air Motion Systems
Inc. have combined to create a groundbreaking option that promises to change the future
of litho print.
With more than 140 installs worldwide AMS is already the most popular global supplier for
LED UV printing. Now a solution has been developed exclusively for integration with the
unique KBA VariDry™ system and including full operational consolidation at the press
console. The system can be specified NOW on new KBA presses from the anilox GENIUS at
B3 and all RAPIDA models including the B2 75, 105, 106, 145, 164, 185 and Super Large
Format 205. The solution is also available for retrofitting, exclusively via KBA (UK) Ltd. in
the United Kingdom and Ireland, on existing presses of all makes, as Carsten Barlebo of
AMS Europe explains:
“LED technology has always been regarded as the optimum solution for fast reactive UV
drying, it was just a question of getting the hardware right and developing a cost-effective
stream of consumables. This is now in place; the KBA VariDry™ platform is universal and
user-friendly and our next-generation diodes give up to 60% energy saving over their HUV and LE-UV counterparts… they can also operate at maximum production speeds –
that’s 20,000 sheets/hour on the RAPIDA 106. At 20,000 hours, the diode life is as much
as fifty times greater, too. A new series of 100% bio-renewable LED UV inks are also
coming on stream this year – from more than one supplier – featuring low migration to
meet Cradle-to-Cradle (Silver) certification, so it really is ‘Game Over’ in the new
generation UV debate. AMS has already installed retro-fits to 60 presses this year and we
have orders for a further 25 to fulfil by year-end.”
For KBA (UK) Ltd. Sales Director Chris Scully adds:
“This is the system that the industry has been anticipating for several years and it really is
the final word in production efficiency, print quality and cost-effectiveness for quick
turnround commercial litho print. In addition to the superior finishes that can be achieved,
it allows the sheets to be managed in-press and be processed downstream in a way that
maximises the benefits we’ve designed into our presses for quick job-to-job changeovers
and closed loop quality management. We invite any printer who has been considering the
possibility of making the change, or even sitting on the sidelines and waiting for the dust
to settle, to take a close look at this solution… this is the real deal!”
Why LED UV?
Quality, Efficiency, Environment.
LED Provides Instant Drying on Paper, Metalized Stocks, or Synthetics
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No spray powder required
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No marking issues on the press
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No drying problems on multiple types of stocks (gloss, matte, uncoated, PP,
paperboard, etc.)
Higher
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Colour Brilliance and Real Paper Feel
Higher gloss levels achieved
Higher colour fidelity and sharpness achieved
No protection required from aqueous varnish!
LED Light Generates NO HEAT to the Press or into the Sheets
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Low pile temperatures
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No sheet curling or registration issues

Freshness – no smell to the sheets
LED Power and Control Units are Compact and Energy Efficient

Require only 50% of the power of H-UV

Take up very little floor space
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Are totally press integrated to all KBA functions

Segmented power output saves more
Why LED UV?
Savings, Savings, Savings.
The Technology
Under recommended operating conditions LED lamp diodes can be expected to reach, or
exceed, 20,000 hours of printing life (defined as true impression ‘on’ time, and not
including standby time like H-UV).
When diodes eventually do reach the end of their life, they can be replaced individually –
and not the entire module as with other systems. Because LED produces much higher
intensity in an optimized curing range than any other conventional curing technology (UV,
H-UV, etc.), the result is deeper, harder, more consistent curing with approximately 50%
less energy used.
See the video HERE
LED
LED
LED
LED
LED
LED
LED
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Eco-Tech and 100% Future Compliant
NO printing with Mercury compared to H-UV, LE UV and others
100% Compliant with EU pending ban on Mercury in 2017
Instant ON/OFF is safe for CleanTronic™ Washup and BG
modules provide up to 20,000+ hours versus 650 hours with LE or H-UV
completely SOLID STATE for the highest quality and consistency
chips are completely upgradeable to future power generations
ENDS
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CONTACT
For KBA (UK) Ltd. PR
Catherine Carter
Media Liaison
Telephone
01489 572405
cc@resolutionsformarketing.com
Vic Fletcher
Telephone
vf@resolutionsformarketing.com
Account Director
01865 301110
For KBA (UK) Ltd.
Telephone
+44 (0)1923 819922
Andrew Pang
Managing Director
andrew.pang@kba-uk.com
Chris Scully
Sales director, sheetfed presses
chris.scully@kba-uk.com
07917 132909
Mobile
www.kba-uk.com
For Air Motion Systems Inc.
Telephone
Carsten Barlebo
+45 4062 3050
http://www.airmotionsystems.com
AMS Europe - LED UV and SMART UV systems
cbarlebo@airmotionsystems.com
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About Air Motion Systems Inc.
With its focus on technology innovation and customer satisfaction, AMS has established
itself as North America’s leading manufacturer of high-performance UV LED and UV ARC
systems for the printing industry. AMS introduced its ground-breaking UV system in 2001
— a system so complete, it changed the industry. The Peak UV™ system was conceived
directly from requirements laid out by the world’s most demanding UV printers. The result
was next-generation technology and support that put users back in control of the process.
This was followed in 2008 by the P3 UV (now North America’s leading UV system) and, in
2009, by the award-winning patented Peak LED UV. The benefits for hundreds of
customers – and counting – have been astounding and, today, AMS is one of North
America’s fastest growing companies.
About Koenig & Bauer Group
KBA is the second largest press manufacturer with 6,000 employees worldwide and, last
year, recorded sales in excess on €1 billion. It offers an extensive and highly advanced
product portfolio for volume and niche markets. KBA is number one in the newspaper and
web offset market, number one in Large Format sheetfed offset and number one in
packaging offset, security printing and metal decorating. KBA is continuing to grow and
adapt to changing market conditions through the development of new technological
solutions and strategic acquisitions.
About KBA (UK) Ltd.
KBA (UK) Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Koenig & Bauer Group. Its purpose is to
offer support to print companies throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland to ensure
they achieve the best possible performance as businesses. We build each press to meet
the individual customer's requirements and our experienced Area Sales Managers are here
to help specify a solution that will be more productive from its inception and more costefficient throughout its working life. Added to that is a first class team of dedicated service
and spare parts staff and a knowledgeable consumables division