DUO#FlexoDry® - Efficient Drying Systems for Flexographic and Digital Printing Machines
Maximum drying performance with minimal energy consumption — ensuring stable printing processes, higher machine speeds and measurable ROI in sheet and web production lines.
Which Challenges do Drying Systems Solve?
In modern corrugated board and packaging printing, drying is a critical stage of the process. Inadequately dried inks often lead to a loss of quality and high waste rates. DUO#FlexoDry® drying systems address these challenges by effectively drying water-based inks and make a direct contribution to the cost-effectiveness of your printing line.
The Right Drying Technology for Every Application
Example test conditions: fully coated paper, approx. 8 cm³/m² ink application.
- Hot Air (HA) – convective drying using heated air
- Infrared Medium Wave (IR-MW) – medium-wave infrared emitters
- Infrared Short Wave (IR-SW) – short-wave infrared emitters
Comparison of Drying Technologies
Selecting the appropriate drying technology depends on several process parameters, including ink coverage, substrate type, machine speed, moisture load and available installation space.
Criterion | Infrared (IR) | Hot Air | IR–Hot Air Hybrid |
|---|---|---|---|
Physical principle | Radiant heat | Convective evaporation | IR + convection |
Typical application | Fast surface drying | Final moisture removal | High-performance flexo |
Suitable printing processes | Flexo, digital, offset | Flexo, gravure | Flexo |
Substrates | Sheets & webs | Mainly webs | Sheets & webs |
Suitable ink systems | Water-based, solvent-based | Water-based, solvent-based | Mainly water-based |
Drying speed | High | Medium | Very high |
Typical process temperature | High (emitters >200 °C) | Low to medium (~80–120 °C air) | Optimized |
Heat input into substrate | Localized and fast | Even and slower | Controlled |
Energy consumption | Medium | Low to medium | Optimized |
Investment costs | Low to medium | Low | Medium |
Operating costs | Medium | Low | Optimized |
Fire/explosion risk | Medium | Increased with solvents | Reduced |
Installation space | Compact | Large | Medium |
Retrofit capability | Very good | Good | Good |
Typical applications | Corrugated board, paper | Film, packaging | High-performance corrugated printing |