Title: HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL
1UV Handling SafetySeminar
HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL
2Overview
- Safe Use and Handling of UV Curables in the Press
Room. - Switching Between Water-base and UV.
- Safe Use and Handling of Hot Melt Products in the
Press Room. - Press Set Up and Quality Control (QC) Procedures
for UV Integrated Label System
3Safe Use and Handling in the Press Room
The processing of any chemistry, whether it be in
the printing industry or in other industrial
applications, requires that safety be given high
priority. It is important to understand the
products that are being processed and the
protective measures required.
4Safe Use and Handling of UV Curables in the
Press Room
- Ultraviolet (UV) curable inks, adhesives and
coatings are used in many press rooms today. Like
other chemistries, UV products require that
specific precautions be taken for use and
storage. The focus is on the liquid material as
UV products pose no health consideration once
they are cured.
5Safe Use and Handling of UV Curables in the
Press Room
- Prevention
- Wear gauntlet-style Nitrile rubber gloves when
handling liquid UV curables. Gloves should be
removed and discarded if exposed to liquid. - Wear safety glasses with side shields or chemical
splash goggles to prevent eye contact when
handling liquid UV. - Do not wear contact lenses when working with
liquid UV.
6Safe Use and Handling of UV Curables in the
Press Room
- Corrective Action - Skin and Eyes
- If the skin is exposed to liquid UV, wash the
affected area immediately. Use mild soap and,
beginning with cool water, gradually increase the
water temperature until the area is thoroughly
cleansed. - For minor skin irritation or burns, a 1
hydrocortisone cream should be applied. The area
should be kept clean and shielded from direct
sunlight. - For more severe irritations, consult a doctor.
Provide the MSDS information to the doctor so he
or she knows that the class of irritant involved
is acrylate. Typically, physicians prescribe a
topical steroid cream or an internal steroid
pill. - If liquid UV comes in contact with the eye, both
eyes should be flushed for at least 15 minutes
with eye flush solution. Consult a doctor to
ensure that the eye has been completely cleaned.
7Safe Use and Handling of UV Curables in the
Press Room
- Corrective Action - Clothes and Shoes
- If liquid UV adhesive or coating is splashed or
spilled on clothing, remove the article of
clothing immediately. (Wash the affected skin as
instructed.) - Do not launder the affected article of clothing
with other clothing. Before laundering, soak the
affected area of the clothing with concentrated
alkaline laundry soap. This will remove the
liquid UV compound completely. - Liquid UV will soak into leather or canvas shoes
and cannot be removed. To prevent contact with
the skin, remove shoes immediately if liquid UV
is spilled on your shoes. Discard the shoes.
8Safe Use and Handling of UV Curables in the
Press Room
- Handling and Storage
- UV adhesive and coatings should be stored out of
direct sunlight at temperatures below 100F.
Containers of liquid UV that are not in use
should be closed with the cover supplied and
should have air space over the surface of the
liquid.
9Safe Use and Handling of UV Curables in the
Press Room
- Do not expose the liquid UV to acids, bases,
copper, brass, carbon steel or rusty iron. Such
contamination can cause the liquid UV to begin to
cure and gel. - Allow head space in the container 1 Gallon
can - 1 inch 5 Gallon pail - 3 inches 55
Gallon drum - 5 inchesIf you pour the adhesive
or coating from one container into another, make
sure the second container has adequate head space
(see above). - Do not use high shear pumps and do not overfill
pumping vessels in order to ensure adequate head
space (see above). - Keep the work area clean. If liquid UV is spilled
or splashed on the press, remove it before it is
spread by hand contact to other parts of the
press such as switches or controls. - Never add water to UV products.
10Safe Use and Handling of UV Curables in the
Press Room
- Spill Control
- Absorb the liquid UV with towels or spill
granules. Place in sealed, marked container. - If possible, incinerate the soaked towels or
granules. Otherwise, dispose of these in
accordance with local, state federal
regulations. - For assistance in disposing of liquid UV that is
contaminated due to a major spill, contact the
manufacturer as stated on the Material Safety
Data Sheet (MSDS). - After a spilled UV compound is picked up, wash
the area with soap and water.
11Switching Between Water-base UV
- Switching from Water-base to UVWhenever
switching from anything water-base to a UV
curable material, a complete clean up is needed.
Any pot or pan should be drained and cleaned with
IPA or 50/50 IPA/Xylene. The pot or pan should
also be completely dry before adding the UV
curable material. Since UVs are not water-base,
any water can inhibit curing. - Switching from UV to Water-baseThe same clean up
procedure should be followed as above.
12Safe Use and Handling of Hot Melts in the Press
Room
- HandlingWhen using hot melts, one should always
be aware of the temperature at which hot melt is
applied. Most hot melts are applied at
temperatures greater than 300F. Therefore,
extreme caution should be taken when handling and
filling hot melt equipment. - CleaningThere is no real clean up necessary
after using hot melts besides turning off the
equipment and allowing it to cool before handling
the equipment.
13Press Set Up and Quality Control Procedures
14Press Set Up and QC Procedures for ILFS
Integrated Label System (with UV Silicone)
- For Flexo Applied Applications
- Utilize a photopolymeric plate
- Handling and Substrate Requirements
- L9091L UV free radical and PC-605 UV cationic
silicone release coatings are both one-component
systems that are thixotropic in rheology,
offering excellent hold out characteristics on
uncoated paper stock. Both products should be
mixed for a few minutes prior to running. Also,
it is best to keep constant agitation on the
products while running.
15Press Set Up and QC Procedures for ILFS
Integrated Label System (with UV Silicone)
- Use Nitrile rubber gloves when handling UV during
mixing process. - Do not leave pails or drums of UV open when not
in use due to the inherent UV light sensitivity
of this type of product. - Shelf life for these products is three to six
months. - UV Curing Requirements
- 200 fpm per 300 watts/inch lamp
16Press Set Up and QC Procedures for ILFS
Integrated Label System (with UV Silicone)
- On Line Quality Control Procedure (before
adhesive is applied) - Use a micrometer to ensure that the volume of UV
silicone release coating remains at no less than
0.15 mil. - Check reverse side of web after UV application
and make sure no UV silicone has penetrated. This
should be done visually as well as with a
permanent pressure sensitive label (shipping
label) by sticking the label on the reverse side
of the web and making sure fiber tear occurs. - Using your fingernail, scratch the surface of the
cured UV to make sure only an insignificant
amount of UV silicone is coming off. This is a
quick test to confirm that cross-linking has
taken place.
17Press Set Up and QC Procedures for ILFS
Integrated Label System (with UV Silicone)
- Visually check the curing of the coating. If
coating remains in liquid state after the UV
lamps, take the following steps - Make sure the lamps are operating properly.
- Make sure the paper has not been exposed to a
high degree of relative humidity. If high
humidity is an issue, increase the UV application
until cross-linking is observed. - Check the effectiveness of the release coating
with a permanent pressure sensitive shipping
label before hot melt coater is engaged. If
clean release is observed, turn on the hot melt
coater.
18Press Set Up and QC Procedures for ILFS
Integrated Label System (with UV Silicone)
- As Final Quality Control Check After Hot Melt
Coater is Engaged - Peel hot melt labels off integrated label piece
and make sure no streaks are observed on the
release coating surface. - Directly off line, pinch long way on label
label should almost fall off. - Make sure dies are not set too deep so as to
punch through back of piece. This will result
in fiber tear of the label.