IST Metz announced a “new generation” LED curing product at its UV Days 2025 event in Germany this week, providing information about LEDcure NX, which it says will be available from the start of 2026.
Described by IST Metz managing director Tim Sterbak in his opening remarks to the event as the “most efficient LED head on the planet”, LEDcure NX is to be made available with a 10-year (or 35,000 working hours) warranty. It has a stated efficiency level of 48% (many other LED heads achieve around 30%, according to the company), while maximum electrical power required is 79W/cm, compared to the 200W/cm required of a standard IST Metz lamp. Peak wavelength is 395nm, but other wavelengths can be supplied.
The LED module is also compact, with the 108cm length unit weighing 12 kg. IST Metz says the product offers “fail-safe” operation, in which individual LEDs that fail are immediately compensated for by the LEDs around it to ensure consistent operation. The manufacturer is targeting a return to form in narrow web printing and says LEDcure NX will be priced attractively for this market.
IST Metz said the NX module will give customers “optimised curing performance”, in that it is not over-engineered for narrow web printing applications; it provides the right curing power to cure the ink. Customers can use it with the company’s SMARTcure technology, which uses AI and cloud connectivity to analyse and calculate the exact dosing power needed to cure each ink for each specific job. This then regulates the output of curing heads, helping to reduce unnecessary energy consumption.
