Focusing on energy reduction, IST offers technical consultation and an extensive range of UV curing equipment across a number of sectors for a wide range of applications. By David Atkinson.
This year, IST (UK) Ltd, a subsidiary of IST Metz is celebrating 25 years in business. The company, founded in 1987, was initially located at Broughton Hall, but in 2001 relocated to its current premises, the very picturesque St Andrew’s House in Skipton, in North Yorkshire. This is the UK headquarters for IST Metz, and it is from here that the sales, spare parts and service business are run. Simon Mitchell and Chris Schofield took over in the capacity of joint managing directors in early 2004, with Mr Mitchell looking after the narrow web, flexo and industrial side of the business and Mr Schofield offset litho and newsprint. The two directors have between them 30 years’ combined experience of IST and within the print market a total of 47.
St Andrew’s also serves as a hub for field based engineers who operate from there working on new installations and service visits throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The company fully recognises the importance of after sales support and prides itself on a high level of customer service and prompt service visits. Having locally based engineers, along with a comprehensive stock of spare parts to hand, means that if a printer requires a service visit, spares or replacement lamps, downtime is kept to a minimum. Carefully co-ordinating this is Karen Bentley, customer services manager at IST with responsibility for spare parts and service along with the three engineers, Jim Cookson, Jonathan (Jonty) Simpson and Martin Smith.
More than UV
The company philosophy, which very much echoes the IST Metz company slogan ‘More than UV’, is one of applying a high degree of technical consultation across a wide range of UV sectors and applications, be it graphic arts or industrial. This includes sectors such as newsprint and special applications such as thin coatings and silicones. With this philosophy and the range of IST products, a solution can normally be found no matter how unique the application.
UV systems include the MBS series of air cooled UV for narrow web and mini-cure applications, and the BLK series of water cooled UV, which is suitable for a wide range of mid web flexo, sheetfed offset, web fed offset and wide format print. More specialised systems include the MBS-3D for curing three-dimensional parts and the BLK-U nitrogen inerted systems, which come into their own when very thin coatings require curing. The company is also active in the development of UV LED.
IST recognised the need for reduced power consumption many years ago when it first focused on making the most efficient and economical use of energy. The company aims to significantly improve the energy efficiency of each new generation of product in comparison to its predecessor, with particularly energy-efficient equipment being identified by the e³ label. The progress it continues to make has maintained its position as market leader in this, as well as other aspects of the technology. In recent years, industry has widely recognised the energy efficiency of the company’s UV systems, with both the MBS-5 and BLK-5 gaining awards for energy reduction.
The recently launched MBS-6 is the company’s latest energy reduction product and at 120 W/cm this system takes energy reduction to another new level. It is able to achieve the same results as other lamps with a power of 200 W/cm and as such offers great energy saving potential without compromising on quality or production speed. Energy consumption is further reduced by the low output in standby mode.
It is not one single factor that has brought about this reduction in energy consumption, but a number of aspects of lamp design. All the key elements including reflectors, lamps and electronic components have been designed and developed by IST in its own laboratories and workshops and are manufactured by the company. These optimised components work in synergy within the UV system to make the greatly reduced power levels possible, while still achieving the same production speeds and effectiveness of cure that could only be realised with much higher powered lamps a few years ago.
The MBS-6 has been graded as particularly energy efficient by the German Professional Association for Printing and Paper Processing and as a result bears the label ‘energy-minimised UV printing’.
