In the printing field, both medium-wave and short-wave heating lamps are used to dry and cure inks, but they work in somewhat different ways.
Short-wave heating lamps
– Rapid heating: Short-wave infrared wavelengths generally range from 780 to 1400nm. Its energy can be quickly absorbed by the printing ink, causing the ink to heat up quickly. This rapid heating property allows the solvent in the ink to evaporate in a short time, thereby achieving a rapid drying effect. For example, in some high-speed digital printing production lines, short-wave heating lamps can make the water-based ink just printed on the fabric dry almost instantly, greatly improving the production efficiency of printing.
– Deep penetration: Short-wave infrared has a strong penetrating ability and can penetrate deep into the ink, allowing the ink to dry evenly from the inside to the outside. This is particularly useful for thicker printing ink layers or densely textured printing materials. For example, in some occasions where special thick paste inks are used for three-dimensional printing, short-wave heating lamps can ensure that the solvent inside the ink is completely volatilized, avoiding the situation where the ink surface is dry while the inside is still wet, thereby ensuring the quality and firmness of the printing.
Medium-wave heating lamps
– Uniform heating: The wavelength range of medium-wave infrared is approximately 1400 – 3000nm. It can provide relatively uniform heat distribution during the heating process, making the temperature of the printed surface more uniform. For large-area printing, medium-wave heating lamps can ensure that the ink in the entire printing area can be dried under similar temperature conditions, reducing printing quality problems caused by local temperature differences, such as uneven color or inconsistent ink curing.
– Gentle drying: Compared with short-wave heating lamps, the heating process of medium-wave heating lamps is gentler. This is very important for some printing materials or inks that are sensitive to temperature. For example, when printing some fabrics containing heat-sensitive components or using special inks that are easy to change color, medium-wave heating lamps can effectively dry and cure the ink without damaging the characteristics of the material and ink.
