中文Hoenle, the Gilching-based industrial UV technology specialist, has extended its UV Scan MACS dosimetry platform with the macsStrips 950 LED, a measurement strip engineered specifically for LED-UV curing systems. For converters and printers who have migrated from mercury-vapor lamps to LED-UV technology, the new strip closes a measurement gap that has frustrated quality managers since the LED transition began: the inability to verify, directly on the substrate, whether every position across a UV-LED array is delivering the intended dose.
Why LED-UV Measurement Matters Now
LED-UV curing has been one of the most consequential shifts in industrial printing over the past decade. The technology offers lower energy consumption, instant on-off capability, longer lamp life, and the elimination of mercury. It has been adopted across offset, flexographic, inkjet, and screen printing applications, as well as in coatings, adhesives, and electronics manufacturing. But the migration has come with a hidden challenge.
Conventional UV measurement tools were designed around the broad spectral output of mercury-vapor lamps. LED-UV systems operate at narrow wavelength bands — typically 365, 385, or 395 nanometers — and the intensity distribution across an LED array can vary in ways that blanket radiometers cannot capture. A reading taken at one position may not represent what is happening at another. In production, that uncertainty translates into under-cured ink, poor adhesion, delamination, and customer rejections.
Hoenle’s macsStrips 950 LED addresses this by putting the measurement directly on the substrate, at the specific wavelengths LED systems use. The strips cover a dose range of 60 to 950 mJ/cm² and are available for 365, 385, and 395 nm applications, covering the most common LED-UV configurations in the printing industry.
How the Technology Works
The UV Scan MACS system, co-developed with technology partner PRUUVE, is based on a patented delayed-phosphorescence principle. Each macsStrip is individually calibrated before use, compensating for any production or storage variations. During measurement, the strip absorbs a portion of a previously calibrated reference dose. The macsReader readout unit then calculates the actual applied UV dose from the difference between the reference and the absorbed amount.
This approach is fundamentally different from the color-change indicator strips that many production environments still rely on. Color-change strips are notoriously sensitive to storage conditions — temperature, humidity, and ambient light can degrade them before they are ever used, producing readings that may be wrong without the operator knowing it. Hoenle’s phosphorescence-based system is stable for more than twelve months under standard room conditions, requires no refrigeration, and is insensitive to ambient light and humidity.
The substrate-based measurement approach also enables local evaluation of individual areas within a UV-LED array. This is particularly valuable because LED arrays are composed of multiple individual emitters, and intensity can vary across the array width due to aging, contamination, or electrical degradation. A radiometer that measures only a single point or averages across the array may miss variations that affect specific print lanes or coating zones.
Comparison with Industry Standards
Comparative measurements conducted by Hoenle demonstrate a linear 1:1 correlation of UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C values with the established industry standard Power Puck II radiometer. The macsStrips, however, are significantly thinner and more flexible, allowing them to be used in applications where the Power Puck II cannot physically fit — for example, inside printing presses with tight clearance, in coating lines with limited access, and on three-dimensional surfaces that rigid radiometers cannot conform to.
For label converters running narrow-web flexo presses with LED-UV, for wide-format printers curing UV inks on rigid substrates, and for packaging converters applying UV coatings, the ability to measure dose directly on the production substrate — at the exact position where curing occurs — represents a step change in quality assurance capability.
Data Management Without the Cloud
In an era when many measurement tools push data to the cloud by default, Hoenle has taken a deliberately offline approach. The macsReader stores up to 2,000 measurements locally on the device, with no smartphone or cloud connection required. For further analysis, data can be exported as a CSV file via USB. This addresses data privacy concerns that are increasingly relevant in manufacturing environments where process data may be considered proprietary.
The macsStrips 950 LED are available immediately and complement the existing UV Scan MACS portfolio. The system represents a practical response to a real measurement challenge that emerged as LED-UV curing moved from a niche alternative to a mainstream production technology. As more printing and converting operations replace mercury-based curing with LED systems, the ability to verify dose accuracy on the substrate — at the right wavelength, at the right position — will move from a nice-to-have to a requirement for quality-certified production.
The macsStrips 950 LED enters a market where LED-UV adoption has been accelerating across multiple print sectors. In label printing, narrow-web flexo presses are increasingly specified with LED-UV curing to reduce heat exposure on heat-sensitive substrates and eliminate mercury from the production environment. In wide-format digital printing, UV LED curing enables printers to run thinner, less expensive substrates that would distort under the intense heat of mercury-vapor lamps. In offset packaging, LED-UV’s instant on-off capability reduces startup waste and enables faster job changeovers by eliminating lamp warmup and cooldown cycles.
Each of these applications has its own dose sensitivity requirements. A label on a pharmaceutical vial may require precise curing to ensure ink adhesion without damaging the substrate. An outdoor sign printed on rigid PVC may need a higher dose to ensure weather resistance. A food packaging carton may require documented dose levels as part of food safety compliance. Hoenle’s substrate-level measurement capability allows converters to validate dose at the application-specific level rather than relying on generic process settings.
The availability of the macsStrips 950 LED also addresses an increasingly common customer requirement. Major brand owners are incorporating UV dose verification into their supplier quality audits, particularly for packaging that contacts food, pharmaceuticals, or personal care products. Printers and converters who can demonstrate documented, substrate-level UV dose measurements gain credibility in these audits and reduce the risk of rejected shipments. As LED-UV becomes the default curing technology for a growing share of print production, measurement tools that match the technology’s wavelength profile will transition from optional accessories to essential quality infrastructure.
Source: Specialist Printing Worldwide, “Hoenle Extends UV Scan Macs Dose Measurement System With New LED Strip,” July 20, 2026.
