Guide to UV Measurement
Lamp Power
The numbers associated with lamp power are often confused with the amount of UV reaching the substrate or surface being cured.
Lamp power is the power applied to the UV system. Watts per inch (or sometimes Watts per centimeter) are used to describe lamp power. The lamp power number is obtained from multiplying the volts x the amp and dividing by the length of the bulb.
The power applied to the system is not the effective amount of UV generated nor is it the effective amount of UV reaching the cure surface . There can be wide variations in the amount of UV reaching the cure surface from two systems with the same lamp power rating.
Typical applied lamp power numbers available on arc/microwave systems range from 200-600 Watts per inch (80-240 Watts per centimeter). Irradiance output can vary from as little as 100 mW/cm² to almost 10 W/cm² .