What’s actually going on inside your M&R dryer lamps?
You’ve probably noticed that not all infrared lamps are created equal. A lot of the high-end tubes inside M&R dryers actually come from our shop under OEM contracts. These aren’t just some off-the-shelf bulbs we found in a catalog. We build them to hit a very specific temperature window—hot enough to cure your plastisol inks perfectly, but not so hot that you torch your shirts. The battle against hot spots Here’s the thing about power and voltage: it’s a balancing act. If the voltage is even slightly off, you get hot spots. And in this business, a hot spot means a ruined garment and a frustrated customer. To stop that from happening, we use high-purity quartz glass. It handles “thermal shock” like a pro, meaning the lamp can jump from cold to full operating temp in a few seconds without cracking or failing. Why some bulbs just last longer Ever wonder why some lamps burn out way faster than others? It usually comes down to the tungsten evaporating. We use a specialized halogen filling to slow that process down, which keeps the filament intact longer. Then there are the connectors—the R7s pins. We crimp these to handle heavy current loads. If a connection is loose, you get resistance. Resistance creates heat. And heat at the socket is a nightmare because it can actually melt your wiring. Not something you want to deal with mid-shift. Getting them installed The good news? These are simple drop-in replacements. You don’t have to mess with your wiring or call in an electrician to switch from a brand-name lamp to our version. It just works. But a quick heads-up: if you’re pushing your lamps to max wattage, keep an eye on your power supply. Running a full bank of high-wattage tubes puts a real draw on your electrical panels, so just make sure your facility can handle the load. Deep curing, no guesswork We spend a lot of time obsessing over the spectral output. By tweaking the gas pressure and the thickness of the filament, we make sure the infrared energy actually sinks deep into the ink. That way, the bottom side of the print cures just as well as the top. No more “half-baked” prints.