RADIATION CURING OF COATINGS

The literature on radiation curing of printing inks and coatings is reviewed. Radiation sources considered include electron beam, ultraviolet, infrared, and microwave. Other uses of radiation are also discussed briefly. Technical feasibility has been proven in a wide variety of applications, but early expectations of the near-complete replacement of conventional curing by radiation methods have not been realized, principally because of economic factors such as the less than anticipated severity of the fuel shortage, the probably irreducible higher cost of radiation curing materials, the high capital cost of electron beam equipment, progress in some alternative techniques, and occasional marginal difficulties with a few key properties such as adhesion.