How Can We Help?

UV LED Strip for Curing Fishing Lure Painting

I am a custom fishing lure painter and use Alumilite UV clear coat. I've been using Solacure UV fluorescent bulbs for the past 3 years and want to convert them over to your 365nm LED strips. I'm building a 4ft long octagon-shaped light box for curing my work. I want to mount 4ft LED strips on the three angled side panels. How difficult will it be to wire up all 6 strip segments? What power supply do you recommend? 

Based on the details provided, we would likely recommend the 12V FilmGrade™ DC Power Supply for LED Strip for an impermanent installation, or alternatively the 12V TRIAC Dimmable Power Supply for LED Strip for a permanent installation that might also benefit from using a wall dimmer. 

​Generally speaking, we like to recommend using one dedicated power supply per full reel of LED Strip Lights. As such, we would likely recommend integrating an additional power supply and dividing your installation across those power supplies in the event that more than one full reel is needed for your curing station. 

In the hopes that it proves to be helpful, we have shared two LayoutMap diagrams below which illustrate the most common installation types and provide links to the recommended accessories and connectors. 

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 7021_4B

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 7021_4C

UV-A LED Lights for Cure Ink

I want to know which of your UV-LED can I use for cure ink like the Nazdar 2300 series for screen print UV-LED Curing: 2300 Ink Series cures when exposed to a Phoseon FireLine 4+ watt, 385-405 nm lamp at a distance of .15 to.25 inches (4 to 6 mm). Lamps of similar performance are expected to provide the necessary output to effectively cure the ink.

We were able to locate the datasheet for the ink and also able to locate the reference to the Phoseon product. It does appear that Nazdar used an empirical approach of testing and verifying that the Phoseon product works for curing, but unfortunately, this does not provide us with much information on the actual UV curing parameters needed.

​We were able to locate this document, but we're having some trouble understanding and translating these values into curing requirements from an irradiance or dosage perspective. (Values should be in units per area, such as mJ/cm², not just mJ).

​​In the meantime, it does appear that the 395 nm wavelength is what is being recommended for their product. As such, we would recommend either our 395 nm UV LED strip lights or 395 nm UV floodlights, both of which have linked below:

UV-A Light to Replicate Sun Bleaching and Polymerization Effects

Linseed oil for artists' oils is often left outside for bleaching and pre-polymerization effects. I'm curious if a UV-A lamp would do the same in a clear container inside. A "curing lamp" for linseed paint is sold by a company whose "Light output is filtered to minimize hazards from short and medium wave UV and bright visible light." It's called a UV400 curing lamp. I'm assuming it's a wide spectrum UV lamp with a filter to block B and C and allow A. Correct? 

I'm trying to find a way to replicate the sun bleaching and polymerization effects in a container, either glass or clear plastic, with quantities of 5–50 gallons. Shot in the dark reaching out, but perhaps you have some recommendations for UV-appropriate bulbs. 

As our expertise is primarily limited to our own catalog, we unfortunately do not have any information regarding the ultraviolet filtering methods used by the third-party manufacturer. We do sincerely apologize for any impact this may have on your installation planning. 

That being said, based on the details provided, you may also be interested in our 365nm realUV™ LED Strip Lights and 365nm realUV™ LED Flood Lights. We find that the 365nm option provides the greatest fluorescent effect against targets compared to the 395nm option. As can be noted within the photometric reports, our products emit a narrow band of ultraviolet output without requiring filtering. 

As a final note, it might be helpful to know that our LED Strip Light products are not IP rated for protection against the elements, such as contact with moisture or condensation. As such, any contact will cause electrical hazards and void the product warranty. 

UV Lights for Curing UV Resin

I want to build a lightbox to cure UV resin and I’m not sure which to get. The box I have now is 405nm and that’s barely strong enough to cure the UV resin. I’m not sure if I would need 395 or 365 for that purpose.

For your ultraviolet curing installation, we might primarily advise checking to see if the chemical process benefits from a specific peak absorption wavelength. Based on our understanding, some curing methods benefit from utilizing a precise ultraviolet wavelength. 

Generally speaking, as the 365nm version is further from the 400nm visible wavelength cutoff point, it will produce a greater fluorescent effect upon targets than the 395nm option. 

Due to a combination of this as well as the fact that the 395nm option is fairly close to the current 405nm solution currently being used, we would recommend utilizing the 365nm option. 

Can the strips be bent in a corner or would they have to be cut and joined?

I want to make a UV varnish curing cabinet for violins. Would one strip for the sides (34mm wide) and two strips for the wider back and front (220mm wide) give adequate exposure? Can the strips be bent in a corner or would they have to be cut and joined?

Our UV LED strip lights sound like a great fit for the UV curing application. That being said, it is a bit difficult for us to provide any assurances regarding UV irradiance as different materials will differ significantly in their exposure needs.

We are aware that UV curing is a function of both UV irradiance and exposure time. As such, if long exposure times are not a concern, even a lower power UV LED strip installation could be sufficient; conversely if shorter exposure times are needed, a higher power density UV LED strip installation (e.g. multiple rows) may be desired.

If possible, we would recommend taking an empirical approach and testing a small patch of UV varnish with various UV LED strip distances and densities to determine what works best for your needs.

The LED strips will bend vertically (i.e. up/down) but not laterally (left/right) so for turning corners, we would recommend cutting the LED strips and rejoining them using our solderless connector accessories.

An article has been published on the use of UV for curing wood and varnish in which your LED strips were one of the sources used, and worked as well as bulbs (which generate enough heat to require 15 cm distance and cabinet ventilation) if at a distance of 10 cm. 

What it didn't cover was the radiation pattern or effective angle per strip that would establish how many would be needed to cover a 220mm surface. The test was done with one strip and a standard 32mm rib width. The cabinet I will use will be around 32-36"X12"X 6". The bend I was positing was from the long side to the top and bottom. Exposure will be for whatever time is needed, frequently a couple of days.

Our LED strip lights emit at a 120 degree angle. The math works out quite nicely such that the coverage surface width is approximately equal to the distance between the LED strip and the irradiance surface.

For example, if the LED strips are placed 220 mm away from the irradiance surface, it would cover an approximately 220 mm wide area.

Since this is more than double the 10 cm distance used for testing by the article authors, you may see much longer cure times. One alternative would be to maintain the same 10 cm distance, but utilize two LED strip rows to ensure adequate coverage of the full 220 mm width.

UV LED Strip Lights for Cyanotype and Van Dyke Brown Printing

I am considering purchasing the realUV™ LED Strip Lights for cyanotype and Van Dyke brown printing but am unsure of which wavelength would be better. Can you help guide me with this?

Though we are not experts in photochemical reaction installations such as cyanotypes, we are aware that some cyanotypes require a specific nanometer output for optimal curing effects. 

As the 365nm version of our realUV products is further from the visible spectrum, it is able to provide a greater quantity of ultraviolet output for the targets. As such, we would likely recommend the 365nm option over the 395nm option unless your resources specifically recommend 395nm.

As a final note, we have the realUV™ LED Flex Panel in response to customer requests for cyanotype and curing installations, which we hope is a good option for you. This panel is easy to install, can be daisy-chained, and provides the same quality of output as the individual LED Strip Lights. 

UV LED Lights for Diazo and Photopolymer Photographic Emulsions

I wish to use these lights in an exposure system for diazo and photopolymer photographic emulsions. These emulsions are most responsive to UV wavelengths. We usually use metal halide lamps which are fairly high in shorter wavelengths but I think your UV lamps may be more effective. Given that these units will be used by novice fairly unskilled workers, will your UV lamps be safe for them to operate?

Generally speaking, it’s a bit difficult for us to provide assurances and guarantees regarding the safe use of ultraviolet LED products, as each installation and application can vary significantly. As such, we recommend consulting a UV safety expert if you have any further concerns about their use for your exposure system.

Both the 365 nm and 395 nm wavelengths fall under the UV-A wavelength range, which is a weaker form of ultraviolet radiation that is found in natural daylight so there are fewer concerns than other ultraviolet products that fall under the UV-B or UV-C wavelength ranges, for example.

That being said, below are some general safety guidelines that we would recommend following:

LED Lighting for Exposure Emulsion T-shirt Printing

I would like to make an exposure unit to expose emulsion for t-shirt printing. I need some help - emulsion exposes at 400 nm and a 300W LED chip gives the shortest exposure time. I am not familiar with the LED strips I know some exposure units use them. 

Our 365 nm UV LED strip lights have been a popular option for screen printing applications. I've included the product link below:

To replicate the 300 watts of LED power, we would recommend installing at least 65 feet of LED strip lights. This is based on our LED strip lights having a 4.5 watts per foot rating.

​In our experience, unless this is a very large surface, you would not need such a high quantity of LED strip lights, especially if the LED strip lights are mounted close to the exposure surface.

Most photopolymer emulsions expose best at 380-400 nm. A 300-watt LED chip in the 385-405 nm range will expose in 10 seconds which is most desirable. Someone on a t-shirt forum posted using a 100-watt chip and exposure was 20-30 seconds 200-watt chip was 8-12 seconds. His recommendation was the 300-watt chip. I am assuming that was using a chip in the 385-405 nm wavelength.

The specifics of emulsion curing are beyond the scope of our product development, so we, unfortunately, do not have any data or estimates on curing times. That being said, we do frequently receive customer inquiries regarding the use of screen printing, so we do hope that some additional product literature and testing can be published for this application soon.

We do believe that one or two units of our realUV flex panel might be sufficient, and we would perhaps recommend testing and taking advantage of our free returns policy.

UV LED Strip for Cure Booth Build

I would like to build a UV cure booth. I'd like to hit 575 mw/cm2 from 1 foot from lights. Your LED strip lights say the irradiance values increase linearly (theoretically). Does that mean that two strips would double the listed output of one? Also, how much heat do these lights produce? 

We can confirm that when two realUV LED Strip Lights are installed, the μW/cm2 falling upon the target will theoretically be doubled, though there will be some small differences depending on the spacing of the LED Strip Lights. 

We have attached a link to an article from our website regarding the heat that can be expected from the LED Strip Lights. In short, we have measured a typical temperature rise of 54°F (30°C) over ambient temperatures during operation. 

How Hot Do LED Strips Get? Is It Normal?

realUV LED Lights for Curing Polymers

We manufacture magnesium dies and part of the process is exposing the plate which has a light-sensitive polymer coating currently we use a Thorium Iron Doped bulb. The optimum spectral wave is 386nm to cure the coating. We have experimented with UV LED light. On both tests, the UV LED was very close to 386nm.

The first test was a cluster very tight together and the size of the LED was 3228 if I recall. The closer the light the better it would cure. In the second test, the size was 3228 however they are spaced ½” apart. What we noticed was the exposure didn’t change much when closer to the plate. So I’m not sure if the LED lights need to be closer together or if we need different UV LED lights.

What I noticed on your website you refer to your strips as real UV LEDs. Are there different levels of strength of UV available in UV LED lights? If so what do you have to offer and what makes the difference?

Though we do not sell 386nm ultraviolet products, we have attached a link to an informational article below regarding the differences between the 365nm and 395nm ultraviolet products in our catalog, which we do hope proves to be helpful for your installation planning. 

To summarize, the further the output is from the 400nm visible spectrum, the greater the ultraviolet effect is upon the target. As such, our customers most frequently purchase the 365nm option for curing processes to take advantage of the greater effect. 

As a further note, you might be interested in our 365nm Ultraviolet Flex Panel for curing and other installations. Below is the product link.

We have also attached a link to the 365nm realUV™ LED Strip Lights ultraviolet irradiance pattern below, which charts the microwatts output per square centimeter (μW/cm2).

What is the Difference Between 365 nm and 395 nm UV LED Lights?

UV Irradiance Pattern

365nm UV LED strip for Curing a UV-activated Resin

I would like to know if your 365nm UV light strip would be recommended for curing a UV-activated resin that requires exactly 365nm to cure. Also, can any 12v source be used to power, and no LED driver required? 

Though we have not performed any internal tests regarding the use of our ultraviolet products for curing processes, several of our customers have let us know that the 365nm version has been quite useful for curing processes in the past. 

We have attached a link to the product’s irradiance pattern and photometric report below, which we hope proves to be useful in your configuration planning for determining how many segments of 365nm product your curing process might require. 

Further, we are happy to confirm that additional drivers are usually not required in order to utilize a 12V power supply with our strip light products. So long as the voltage delivered is consistent and does not exceed 12V, the LED strip light should function well without issue. 

365nm realUV™ LED Strip Light Irradiance Pattern

365nm realUV™ LED Strip Light Photometric Report

Can you produce 5mw/cm2 over 240mm² area to be cured at less than 400nm wavelength?

Can you produce 5mw/cm2 over 240mm by 240mm area with a 2cm gap to the product to be cured at less than 400 nm wavelength? Are these UV strips used to cure materials or coatings? Can they operate for 10 hours at a time in a hot (100°C) environment?

First of all, our LED strip lights are not rated for hot environments, with a maximum recommended ambient temperature of 50°C. As such, if the 100°C ambient temperature is a firm requirement, our products will unlikely to be a good fit.

As far as irradiance is concerned, our UV LED strips produce approximately 0.23 mW/cm² from a distance of 12 inches. (This is our closest measured value). If the distance is reduced to 2 cm (< 1 inch), the irradiance will increase significantly and will likely meet your irradiance needs.

Our LED strips have a peak wavelength of 365 nm, which should work well for your curing application.

365 nm UV LED Light for UV Cure Doming Materials

I am trying to build a curing box for UV cure doming materials. It requires 365 NM for curing. I would like to run a couple of strips parallel to each other in the box, possibly even 4 strips. What do I need to order as far as components to make it all happen? Connectors, power supplies, etc. Looking at the 3.2 ft lengths.

The easiest set-up would involve using our 3.2 ft UV LED strip light reels, and daisy-chaining them. Below is a layout diagram along with a parts list showing how this can be accomplished:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/7021_4B

Parts list:

​The maximum daisy-chain length is five reels of 3.2 ft each.

UV-A LED Strips for Curing Etching Plates

I want to build a UV exposure unit to cure Tojobo Photopolymer etching plates using your 365nm realUV™LED strips. My largest plates are size A2 (16.5” x 23.735”) so I designed a grid of strips (about 12 meters) that covers that area as follows:

Strip length 500mm, Strip separation 13.75mm, Number of strips 22

Would this number of lights and arrangement work to expose photopolymer gravure plates?

We don't have any data or experience for this particular application, unfortunately, but we have had customers report success with our UV LED strip lights (particularly the 365 nm versions) for various curing applications, so I do believe that this should be a viable approach in concept.

​The biggest unknown, from my perspective, is the required UV irradiance levels for a satisfactorily fast cure time. If you have any data on the photopolymer material using as far as their recommended irradiance or dosage levels, that may help us provide some additional guidance in terms of irradiance needs.

Is the proposed strip separation a problem for even illumination of the plate at about 2-3"?

The LEDs emit UV radiation at a 120-degree angle. This generally means that the LED strips should not be spaced farther apart than the distance away from the irradiance surface. In other words, if the exposure irradiance surface is 2-3 inches away, the LED strip lights should not be spaced farther than 2-3 inches per row.

​Your proposed LED "strip separation" indicates 13.75 mm which works out to approximately half an inch, and furthermore dividing the 22 rows across 23.735 inches, we would not significantly exceed 1 inch between LED strip rows (on center), so I think we are well within the limits and should not be concerned about uneven irradiation.

Is this calculation correct?

Yes, the LED strip lights require 14.4 watts per meter, so the entire 12-meter section will need 173 watts, and the 350-watt power supply should be a great option for your needs.

Is this bus topology OK with your strips and the required power in my project? The copper power bus makes the soldering clean but I am not sure if it is safe (not sure where to get them either).

The proposed bus topology is perfectly fine from an electrical standpoint. In fact, this is probably the only feasible way for such an installation requiring a relatively high current draw, as the maximum LED strip run length is 5 meters (your proposal has a maximum run length of only 0.5 meters x 22 rows, so we are OK here since you are taking a parallel bus connection approach).

We don't have any specific recommendations, but I do know solar panel assemblies require a similarly high current carrying capacity, so that might be an area that could be worth looking into.

As far as safety is concerned, since we are using a 12-volt DC, the electric shock risk here is relatively low. The only potential concern would be high heat buildup, which may be caused by improper or loose wire connections, so we would recommend checking to make sure you do not see any unexpected behavior or hotspots during operation.

UV-A LED Strips for Tanning Wood and Curing Oil Varnish

I'm interested in these UV LEDs for tanning wood and curing oil varnish. They're listed as 12V units. My question is could I get higher intensity output by using your 24v power supply, or would that blow out the lights? 

As our LED products are designed at the circuit level with a specific voltage in mind, we do not recommend utilizing a 24V power supply with a 12V LED strip light product. In general, connections that lead to an over-voltage can permanently damage the LED strip lights and void the product warranty.

UV-A LED Strip Lights for Curing

Interested in UV LED for curing, 350 nm. I need 2 or 4 strips about 1 ft long. What products do I need, LED Power supply?

Based on the details provided, it appears that the closest product match would be the 365nm realUV™ LED Strip Lights. These products are available in 3.2 ft (1 meter) increments and can be powered using a power supply such as our 12V FilmGrade™ DC Power Supply for LED Strip products.

If you would prefer to connect multiple lengths using the pre-installed power plugs, you might be interested in our Daisy-Chain DC Connector for UV LED Strips product. Please note that these LED strip lights can support a maximum connected length of 16.4 ft (5 meters).

We have also attached two layout diagrams below, which illustrate some of the most common product installation configurations:

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 7021_4B: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/7021_4B?px=-2201&py=-2213.5&pw=1402&ph=1427&s=0.1

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 7021_4C: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/7021_4C?px=-2201&py=-2213.5&pw=1402&ph=1427&s=0.1

UV-A LED Light for Curing Glue-On Metal to Glass

Which UV light is best for curing glue-on metal to glass? Should I use 365nm or 395 nm? 

While we do not have any specific data on cure rates including the glue-on product, our 365 nm wavelength is generally better suited for curing applications and should be a good option for you.

The product I am using is CRL UV adhesive, UV KLEBSTOFF, high viscosity. I am attaching metal jewels to glass containers and need to know if this is the correct UV light before I order additional lamps?

We did a quick search online but was unable to locate any specific UV requirements for the UV Klebstoff product. However, we do believe that our UV-A lamps are in the general range of wavelengths required for most curing applications and should work sufficiently for your needs.

We would perhaps recommend testing and taking advantage of our free returns policy. If for whatever reason you find that the UV LED will not work for your project, we would be more than happy to pay for return shipping and offer a full refund. 

UV-A LED Light for Aging

I'm interested in an LED strip which can be used for accelerated life testing, preferably something that is close to the UVA-340 florescent lamps. 

While we do not have any specific guidance or test data, our UV-A LED strip lights could certainly be considered for ultraviolet exposure in simulating accelerated aging under certain lighting conditions.

Our 365 nm and 395 nm LED strip lights may be a good starting point for providing UV-A radiation output. I've provided the product link below.

​

UV LED Strip Lights for SLA 3D Print Curing

I am considering the use of your UV LED strips in the fabrication of one or more UV curing stations for SLA 3D resin prints. The print objects will be roughly 2-3 inches from the sides of the container during curing. I am looking to duplicate or get as close as practically possible to, the effect of leaving the prints exposed to direct sunlight. What would be the recommended length of your UV LED strip lights for this application? Will I need to consider ventilation to dissipate heat?

Our UV LED strips sound like a nice option for your UV curing needs. Unfortunately, while we completely understand the reason and nature of your question, it'll likely be quite difficult for us to provide you with a satisfactory answer as far as "how much" UV LED intensity would be needed.

The primary difficulty in making this determination is that natural sunlight produces a wide range of ultraviolet radiation, anywhere from 300 nm to 400 nm. It is a combination of these various wavelength energies that are likely producing the chemical reactions needed during the curing process, but without additional information from the resin material manufacturer, we can't be certain as to whether the curing happens most optimally at 320 nm, 340 nm, 360 nm or 380 nm, for example.

Our UV LED strip lights, on the other hand, are narrow-band UV wavelength devices. Our 365 nm LED products, for example, emit energy only in the 355 - 375 nm wavelength range. This typically is a wavelength range that happens to be within the range for many curing processes, but the extent to which this happens efficiently or optimally would ultimately depend on the specific resin material.

As a very rough estimate, we do believe that one or two rows of the LED strip lights, if placed 2-3 inches away from the curing surface, should be a good starting point for testing purposes. No special thermal management for the LED strips would be needed as long as they are used at standard room temperature.

To that end, we would perhaps recommend testing and taking advantage of our free returns policy. If for whatever reason you find that the LED strips are not going to work for your project, we would be more than happy to pay for return shipping and offer a full refund. All we ask is for you to keep the LED strips in their original condition, meaning that the adhesive liner must not be removed, and that the LED strips must not be cut into any shorter sections or otherwise altered.

According to the vendor for my printer and resins, they use a 385-405 nm UV wavelength, with the shorter end of that range being the more effective. How might this change your recommendation (if at all)? Also, when you say one or two rows of the strip lights, you mean the 1m length or 5m?

Based on this graphic published on Wikipedia showing irradiance levels of sunlight, we should be able to extrapolate approximately a 1.0 W/m² /nm irradiance level across the 385-405 nm wavelength range.

​If we do a basic integration across this wavelength range, we can estimate that the irradiance levels provided across that 20 nm wavelength range is approximately 20 W/m² .

​Based on our measurements of the LED strip light, the irradiance levels at 12 inches is approximately 228 µW/cm², which converts to approximately 2.28 ​W/m². 

​You mention that you will be using the LED strip lights from approximately 2-3 inches away. Extrapolating by using the inverse square law twice, we would estimate an irradiance level of approximately 36.5 W/m² at this distance, which will be sufficient to match the irradiance levels of natural sunlight, as suggested by the references above.

​Please keep in mind that these values are extrapolated using a combination of empirical and theoretical values, and actual results may vary. It seems, however, that we would be "in the ballpark" in terms of the required irradiance levels to match natural daylight, and we do hope this might be helpful as a first step.

Our suggestion of using one or two rows did not take into account the reel size, as the length of the reel would only affect the irradiance surface coverage laterally and not the irradiance of a single point. In other words, extending a 1 meter reel by another 4 meters would not alone increase the irradiance levels of a point near the beginning of that reel.

You are basically saying that a single one of your 1 m strips at 2-3 inches from the object (wrapped round the sides of the circular can pointed inward) should be able to roughly match the effect of sunlight for UV 385-405 nm range , yes?

I note that the measurement chart you linked to is based on the 365nm strip. Can I assume that the 395 nm strips (which fall within the correct exposure range for my resin prints) will behave in a roughly similar fashion?

The answer to both of your questions is yes, and as mentioned prior, we would recommend testing and taking advantage of our free returns policy. If for whatever reason you find that the LED strips are not going to work for your project, we would be more than happy to pay for return shipping and offer a full refund. All we ask is for you to keep the LED strips in their original condition, meaning that the adhesive liner must not be removed, and that the LED strips must not be cut into any shorter sections or otherwise altered. 

After your recommendation, I purchased a couple of 1 m strips of UV LED lighting to trial with 3D print curing. I also purchased a pack of PN 7096 daisy-chain connectors; unfortunately these are quite bulky and interfere a bit with what I am trying to setup. Do the PN 3072 LED strip to strip connectors work with your UV LEDs? These would be a much better solution in terms of space in my curing can. 

The first alternative would be to solder your own wires directly, thereby avoiding the thick cables and connector pieces altogether. Please do let me know if you would be open to this approach and I can provide additional guidance on the steps needed.

The second option would be to use PN 3071 to join the two sections together. This cable is thinner and should cause fewer issues for your installation. PN 3072 is also compatible, but does not include the cable so you would be constrained to joining two LED strip sections end-to-end (no turns allowed).

Both products in the second option are packaged in packs of 10. Unfortunately we are unable to split these into smaller packs and we do apologize for the inconvenience.

Does your realUV LED Floodlight properly expose a standard size silkscreen?

Could you tell me if your 20W 395nm UV-led flood light will properly expose a standard size 20"x24" silkscreen? If so, could you tell me what brand of emulsion is for solvent-based or plastisol-type inks? I can't find any info on your site that says it will work or won't work. Are the 395nm UV-led strips effective in the same application? Approximately how far apart should the strips be and approximately how far away from the screen?

Unfortunately, we do not have any test or reference data for silkscreen exposure applications. Several customers who have used our products have reported success using the 365 nm wavelength variant of our LED strip lights. The exact requirements are likely to depend on the emulsion product and variations among manufacturers and formulations. If you have any additional information on peak wavelength sensitivities or irradiance requirements, we may be able to provide some additional guidance here.

​For your reference, below is an example of a customer who successfully used the 365 nm UV LED strips to produce a similar solution:

We do apologize that we do not have any readily available literature or data on silkscreen UV applications. As we enter the new year we do hope to be able to provide additional information for this specific application as we have seen quite a bit of interest in this area.

In the meantime, we would perhaps recommend testing and taking advantage of our free returns policy. If for whatever reason you find that the LED strips are not going to work for your project, we would be more than happy to pay for return shipping and offer a full refund. All we ask is for you to keep the LED strips in their original condition, meaning that the adhesive liner must not be removed and that the LED strips must not be cut into any shorter sections or otherwise altered.

385 nm UV light for Curing Finishes

I am looking for an inexpensive way to cure some finishes. The finish I am using says natural sunlight or UV light at 385 nm. What would be your recommendation?

We, unfortunately, do not have any products that emit at exactly 385 nm, but we do have two options at 365 nm and 395 nm. I do strongly suspect that at least one, if not both, wavelength options would work for your needs.

Our UV flood light might be a great option for you: https://store.waveformlighting.com/products/realuv-led-flood-light

​We do offer a 30-day free returns policy, so we would recommend testing out both wavelengths to see if they are sufficient for your needs. If not, we'd be glad to pay for return shipping and provide a full refund.

How do I daisy-chain the realUV™ 365 nm LED strip light?

I'm looking to purchase the realUV™ 365 nm LED strip. What exactly do I need in order to cut the strips and daisy chain them?

As you mention, our realUV™ 365 nm LED strip can be cut to length in 1-inch increments and is a great option for a wide variety of UV applications.

You may be interested in our PN 3071 LED strip-to-strip connector, which will allow you to reconnect any cut segments back together (i.e. daisy-chain). Please see below for a connection diagram showing an example of how this can be accomplished:​

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/7021_4C?px=-5247.758879792562&py=-1572.6183425460667&s=0.45241870901798

Best UV light for emulsion curing

I am looking for the best UV LED light to cure emulsion in screen prints. Which product is the best option?

Emulsion curing generally requires energy between 350 and 400 nm in wavelength. The "best" wavelength will depend on the specific emulsion type and manufacturer. If you have any data or charts from the emulsion manufacturer, that would be the best way to determine the optimal wavelength choice.

We offer both 365 nm and 395 nm wavelength options. We would recommend our flood lights for the simplest setup. Our LED strip lights are also an option and may provide better uniformity, but will require some setup and assembly prior to use.

Building a 365 nm UV curing box

I would like to build a curing box, and am thinking of using your 365 nm LED strip lights. My thought is to run four rows of the 3.2 ft reels along the inside of the box. Can you tell me what components would be needed to make this work?

The easiest set-up would involve using our 365 nm UV LED strip light reels, and daisy-chaining them using our PN 7096 connectors. All four of the LED strip sections can be powered from a single power supply unit (PN 3091). Below is a layout diagram along with a parts list showing how this can be accomplished:https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/7021_4B Please keep in mind that the maximum daisy-chain length is five reels of 3.2 ft each, or 16.4 ft in total! 

realUV™ LED strip light grid array spacing for even exposure

I'm building my own UV LED strip light array for emulsion exposure with a panel size of 30" x 15", and am thinking of using 10 rows of your realUV™ LED strip lights in 365 nm with each row being 15 inches in length. The LED array will be approximately 3 inches from the exposure surface. How far apart can the LED strip rows be without any gaps in UV irradiance?

The LEDs emit the UV radiation at a 120 degree angle. This generally means that the LED strips should not be spaced farther apart than the distance away from the irradiance surface. In other words, if the exposure irradiance surface is 3 inches away, the LED strip lights should not be spaced farther than 3 inches per row, on center.

Based on your proposed UV LED strip array panel size, dividing the 30 inch length by a total of 10 rows will ensure that the distance between the LED strip rows will remain less than 3 inches each. Since we are within the 3 inch limit, there should not be concerned about uneven UV irradiation.

Thermal concerns with UV LED strip light exposure box?

I'm building a UV exposure box with your realUV™ LED strip lights. I plan on placing the UV LED strips in an array, with each row placed immediately next to one another. Will there be thermal concerns with this installation, causing the LED strip lights to overheat and burn out?

Our LED strip lights do warm up somewhat during operation, but they have been designed to stay within their thermal limits without the need for any special thermal management techniques commonly used for LED lamp and fixture design.

Placing the LED strip lights without any spacing will definitely add a bit more thermal concentration, but this should not cause it to exceed any thermal limits for the LED strip lights themselves. An absolute thermal limit based on LED strip circuit-board temperature is 185°F (85°C), so if there are any concerns, this would be the way to measure and determine if you are within those thermal limits.

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