With the delivery of a module to a U.S. printer, Dutch manufacturer of drying equipment for web printing Contiweb passes the mark of 100 Ecoset dryers sold.
Ecoset is the flagship product for commercial offset printing from the former Goss International subsidiary. The product, which was first introduced in 2000, is a hot-air dryer for web offset presses with web widths of 1,020 and 2,860 mm (16 to 96 pages). Its unique feature is that it combines drying, post-combustion and cooling functions in a single unit.
The integrated afterburner incinerates the ink solvents in the thermal scrubber to produce clean exhaust gases. The thermal energy obtained from the combustion of the solvents is reused in the heating process, reducing the press gas consumption by up to 60 percent.
"Although the market for web offset with thermal dryer is generally declining, we are seeing increasing demand from printers to reduce CO2 emissions and fossil fuel costs." says the Dutch group.
"In general, we have found that the gas crisis, as well as the scarcity and rising prices of fossil fuels, have played a key role in increasing demand for our drying products." comments Rob Bosman, director of sales at Contiweb, in a statement. He also believes that state subsidies to help companies produce in a more environmentally friendly manner and reduce energy consumption have contributed to the investment in these dryers.
In total, Contiweb has more than 1,000 dryer installations in all product lines.
