LED for metal decoration

The German paint manufacturer Zeller + Gmelin has developed a new paint series that can be cured with LED technology at a wavelength of 385/395 nm.

Michael Rakoci, Product Manager Metal Decoration, explains:

Our development began in 2017, when LED technology for metal decorations was still in its infancy. Limited resources of usable photoinitiators and the continuous development of LED lamps were the challenge at that time.

Michael Rakoci, Product Management & Technical Support Metal Decoration

Today we have placed our new LED ink series for metal decoration with several customers for long-term tests. It is the first independent metal decor series based on FCM raw materials and was developed specifically for food cans. By the end of this year, we will have all the migration reports available and this series will have the product code U531FCM (5 = LED,3 = metal,1 = food contact material)

The range for long-term trials consists of CMYK + opaque white, followed by the full range of basic colors for mixing all Pantone shades.