Inkcups releases Nano Pin Curing Technology

Inkcups has announced the commercial availability of its award-winning, patent-pending Nano Pin Curing technology for the Helix range of cylindrical direct-to-object UV printers.

Nano Pin Curing debuted at the 2024 PRINTING United Show and won a  2024 PRINTING United Alliance Pinnacle Award in the technology category in September 2024. The technology enables printing on transparent cylindrical vessels such as glassware, clear plastic bottles, wine and spirit bottles, candle holders, and assorted drinkware without filling the vessel with a UV-blocking substance or stuffing agent. Removing this process reduces production time and maintains the sterile environment inside the bottle.

Additional key enhancements include a reorganisation of the printheads within the system, enabling the ability to print seamlessly on the sham of glassware and incorporating a precision laser alignment tool to ensure optimal print positioning. By repositioning the varnish printhead, Nano Pin Curing users can achieve a 10% increase in print speed, further enhancing production efficiency. Glass vessels with a sham, or the thick base portion, traditionally present challenges due to light reflection during the UV curing process. This innovation allows printing to commence from the bottom of the glass, progressing over the sham and upwards. Lastly, integrating the laser alignment tool ensures consistent and precise positioning, optimising print quality with each cycle.

Ian Bedford, Senior Project Engineer at Inkcups who was instrumental in developing the technology, comments, “Stuffing transparent items with a foxtail or pellets and cleaning them afterwards is time-consuming, but for a long time, it has been a necessary step to preserve the life of printheads. We developed this technology to change that for Inkcups Helix customers, enabling them to save both time and their printheads.”

Nano Pin Curing is now available to the market both as a field-upgradable retrofit for existing Inkcups Helix customers and as an optional feature on new Inkcups Helix, Helix+ and Double Helix direct-to-object cylindrical UV printers.