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UV Handling & Safety Seminar. HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL. Overview. 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.
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UV Handling & SafetySeminar HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL
Overview • 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
Safe 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.
Safe 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.
Safe 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.
Safe 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.
Safe 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.
Safe 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 100°F. 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.
Safe 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.
Safe 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.
Switching 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.
Safe 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 300°F. 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.
Press 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 arethixotropic 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.
Press 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
Press 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.
Press 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.
Press 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.