Gidue S.p.A. of Turate, Italy, introduced UV Time! flexographic technology in October 2007, promising reduced odor and ink migration for food packaging labels and narrow-web flexible formats. The system cures UV ink under a nitrogen inert atmosphere by creating a thin "nitrogen blade" that breaks the boundary layer of air carried by the web, rather than flooding the entire press with inert gas.
According to Gidue, the inert atmosphere prevents UV photo-initiators from forming unwanted radical combinations with oxygen at the substrate surface. Target oxygen presence between 50 and 30 parts per million (ppm) could be achieved with minimal nitrogen consumption when paired with outdoor gas supply systems from Air Liquide. Deeper, faster curing allowed heavier ink laydown for opacity and scratch resistance while reducing thermal stress on extensible films.
UV Time! was designed for retrofit onto existing Gidue flexo platforms and for integration with the Athena press in widths from 530 mm to 730 mm. FoodNavigator reporting positioned the launch amid growing brand-owner scrutiny of UV ink photoinitiators following benzophenone migration surveys and the 2005 Nestlé ITX recall.
The technology foreshadowed a drupa 2008 alliance in which Gidue, IST Metz, Air Liquide, Softal, and Sun Chemical would present a turnkey "UV flexo for Food Packaging" solution on the Athena press. That demonstration combined Aldyne inline plasma treatment, UV Time inert-atmosphere curing with IST Metz MBS lamp modules, and Sun Chemical Solarflex LM Inert low-migration inks.
For narrow-web converters serving dairy, beverage, and condiment labels migrating toward flexible pouches, inert-atmosphere UV offered a solvent-free alternative without abandoning flexo register control. Capital and gas-supply logistics remained barriers, but Gidue's 2007 launch established inert UV as a credible food-packaging flexo pathway before wider OEM adoption at drupa 2008.