Drying/Curing Equipment — Avoid Half-baked Systems
"The Oxy-Dry DuoTek IR system can offer significant cost savings with its unique combination of short-wave and medium-wave IR drying, yielding quick turnarounds with low operating energy consumption," McLoughlin says.
Dry Sheets, Webs
Through two divisions, Heidelberg offers drying and curing solutions for both sheetfed and web presses. John Dowey, vice president product management/ sheetfed for Heidelberg USA, feels customers are seeking single-source responsibility from their vendors and demand the highest performance and the widest possible window of operation. Reliable and seamless integration into press systems is also of importance.
Heidelberg is the largest manufacturer of infrared/hot air dryers worldwide. "The DryStar systems give unparalleled performance when it comes to drying ink and aqueous coatings," Dowey says. "But where they really shine is in the area of preserving optimal sheet control, especially on lighter weight papers.
"Since it designs the systems itself, Heidelberg is in a unique position to integrate all delivery components into a balanced concept. The dryer is especially designed to work with the patented Venturi sheet guide plates, and we also have taken power application and fume evacuation into consideration with our PowderStar and CleanStar systems. All components work together."
Heidelberg has partnered with a group of manufacturers, including IST and Grafix North America, to provide customized solutions for applications which are beyond conventional ink and aqueous coating.
On the web printing side, clients desire a compatible dryer that delivers a combination of high print quality, low operating costs, low fuel consumption and high reliability. All Heidelberg web offset dryers (Ecotherm, Ecoweb and Ecocool) utilize a high-volume airbar field that dries the web with higher air volumes and at lower temperatures for improved print quality. The ability to utilize evaporated ink solvents to partially fuel the dryer is an additional fuel saving feature favored by Heidelberg Web customers.
