Getting Your MHM Heat Just Right
If you’re running MHM printing presses, you already know that the IR heat profiles are everything. They’re the difference between a perfect cure and a total mess. But here’s the problem: when you stop buying the factory lamps, things can get dicey. You start worrying about uneven heating or, worse, tubes that burn out way too fast. To get that OEM feel, you can’t just buy “something similar.” You need a replacement that hits the exact same wattage, voltage, and spectral output as the original flash lamps. It’s all about the power density. If your setup calls for shortwave IR, we use high-wattage halogen-filled quartz tubes. These give your substrate an immediate thermal punch. We make sure the voltage and amperage match your original specs exactly. Why? Because if the wattage is too low, your line speed crawls. If it’s too high, you’re looking at scorched shirts or blown fuses. Neither is a good day at the shop. Then there’s the build quality. We use high-purity quartz because these things go through a lot of thermal shock every time they cycle. And let’s talk about the connectors. Most of the time, that’s where things fall apart. We use industrial-grade terminals that lock tight. A loose fit is a nightmare—it creates an arc that can fry your socket in seconds. We also offer coated options if your specific ink needs to penetrate deeper. This isn’t some generic, one-size-fits-all part. We map the lamp’s footprint so it sits perfectly flush in the reflector. If the lamp is off-center by even a few millimeters, you’ll see hot spots on your print. It’s that simple. Installing them is the easy part. You just pull the old tube, wire it up, and run your tests. Just a heads-up, though: high-density shortwave lamps put out a massive amount of ambient heat. If you’re cranking the wattage to push more through your line, keep an eye on your exhaust fans. Your cooling system has to keep up, or you risk overheating the machine’s electronics.