KYOCERA Announces Development & Commercialization of LED-UV Curing System Which Supports the Industry's Fastest Label Printing

Contributing to faster inkjet label printing with 70% reduced power consumption

KYOTO, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kyocera Corporation (NYSE:KYO)(TOKYO:6971) today announced that it has developed the KVL-G3 Series LED-UV curing system, a key component in industrial printing machines, which supports the industry's fastest label printing (80m/min.)^*1 for use in UV curing-type printing — a printing method that hardens and fixes ink with irradiating ultraviolet (UV) rays. Moreover, the new product achieves a 70% reduction^*2 in power consumption by using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in place of conventional lamp-system products (metal halide^*3). The KVL-G3 Series was made available to the market on July 8.

Recently, the use of digital printing, which enables fast printing of even small-volume wide-variety labels in a short delivery time, is expanding in the label printing market mainly engaged in printing product packages for commodities such as beverages. Among the various printing methods, the UV curing-type attracts attention due to its convenience in allowing printing on a wide variety of non-paper media including plastic sheets, as it enables printing without the need for ink to penetrate the print medium, as well as its eco-friendly composition that does not use volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as solvents.

The KVL-G3 Series features a power-saving system which enables a 70% reduction in electricity consumption compared to existing lamp-system products (metal halide) by using LEDs as the light source for curing ink. In addition, thanks to Kyocera's proprietary high-density packaging technologies, the company has succeeded in arranging LED chips on a high-density surface as opposed to in-line conventional products. With this development, Kyocera has enabled the fastest label printing capability for the UV curing-type printing method in the industry (80m/min).

Kyocera has been actively rolling out inkjet printheads, key devices for digital printing, which feature high-speed, high-definition and highly reliable printing. With the launch of this product, the company proposes an even more efficient printing method by combining its inkjet printhead and LED-UV curing system. In addition, in other markets such as offset printing, Kyocera will actively encourage customers to replace their current UV curing systems — which use much higher energy-consuming lamps — with this new product by focusing on its superior energy-saving features. In doing so, Kyocera aims to contribute to reducing the environmental burden within the printing industry.

For detailed product features please see: http://global.kyocera.com/news/2011/0703_desa.html

Product Overview
Series	KVL-G3 Series LED-UV Curing System
Product	KVL-S05E-G3	KVL-S09E-G3	KVL-S09E-G3S
Size of irradiator (Width x Depth x Height)	252×83×170(mm)	360×83×170(mm)
LED wave length	385nm
Irradiation area	110×48(mm)	220×48(mm)	220×24(mm)
Designated life	15,000 hours
Weight	2.5kg	2.8kg
Controller	KVC-05 (200-240V AC)	KVC-09 (200-240V AC)	KVC-09S (200-240V AC)
Production Plant	Shiga Yohkaichi Plant (Shiga Prefecture, Japan)
Sales target	Starting from 300 million yen for FY2012 and aiming at 5 billion yen for FY2016

*1	Based on research by Kyocera. This speed is confirmed in inkjet type label printing (as of July 7, 2011).
*2	Based on research by Kyocera. Estimated using the KVL-S09E-G3 when compared to a metal halide lamp of 4.8kW, and based on the following conditions: 8 hours/day x 250 days of operation/year
*3	A lamp utilizing light emission with electric discharge of mercury and halogenated metal (metal halide).

For more information about Kyocera Printing Devices: http://global.kyocera.com/prdct/tfc/index.html

About KYOCERA

Kyocera Corporation (NYSE:KYO)(TOKYO:6971) (http://global.kyocera.com/), the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of fine ceramics (also known as "advanced ceramics"). By combining these engineered materials with metals and plastics, and integrating them with other technologies, Kyocera has become a leading supplier of printing devices, printers, copiers, electronic components, semiconductor packages, solar power generating systems, telecommunications equipment, cutting tools and industrial ceramics. During the year ended March 31, 2011, the company's net sales totaled 1.27 trillion yen (approx. USD15.3 billion). The company is ranked #604 on Forbes magazine's 2011 "Global 2000" listing of the world's largest publicly traded companies.

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