Getting the 120W/cm Mercury UV Lamp Right
We’ve spent a lot of time on the shop floors of about 3,000 different printing plants. We wanted to know why UV lamps actually fail when things get busy. Turns out, it’s rarely just a “bad bulb.” Usually, it’s because the power density doesn’t match how fast the press is actually running. The deal with 120W/cm We stick with 120W/cm for our standard mercury lamps because it hits a sweet spot. It gives you enough punch to trigger the photo-initiators in the ink, but it won’t torch your substrate the second it passes under the light. It’s all about the spectrum. By focusing on UVC and UVB, the light sinks deep into the ink. You get a cure that goes all the way through the film, not just a shiny layer on top that peels off later. Heat and Hardware To keep the mercury vapor stable, we use high-purity quartz glass. It stops the tube from clouding up when things get hot. But here is a pro tip:**clean your reflectors every single week.**If dust builds up, your irradiance drops. You’ll find yourself slowing down the whole line just to get the ink to dry, which kills your productivity. Also, keep an eye on your cooling blowers. A 120W/cm lamp throws off a massive amount of infrared heat. If your fans can’t keep up with the total wattage of the bank, you’ll end up with warped quartz or leaking end-caps. It’s a simple trade-off: more power means faster speeds, but your cooling system has to be able to handle the sweat. Setting it up These are designed to be simple drop-in replacements. They just work. Once you’ve got it wired up, double-check your ballast settings. If the voltage is off, the lamp will either flicker or you’ll fry the electrodes way too early. One last thing—keep a log of your operating hours. Mercury degrades over time. Even if the lamp still looks bright to your eyes, the curing power is slipping. Tracking the hours tells you when it’s time to swap it out before you start seeing uncured ink on your finished jobs.