Device and method for drying printed containers

An apparatus comprising a drivable transport element, a container-handling station, a container feed, a container discharge, a control-and-evaluation unit, a drying-and-curing device, and a sensor, wherein said transport element moves said container-handling station along a movement path between said container feed and said container discharge, wherein said container-handling station comprises said drying-and-curing device and said sensor, wherein said drying-and-curing device causes an exothermic reaction on said container, wherein said sensor is configured to detect emitted heat energy from said exothermic reaction during a sensing interval that is between 50 milliseconds and 1 millisecond per angular degree of said container surface.

A method comprising determining an extent of dryness of printed containers, wherein determining said extent of dryness includes holding a container having a printed region that has been printed upon, using said transport element, moving said container along a movement path between a container feed and a container discharge, causing an exothermic reaction on said printed region, said reaction being one of a drying reaction and a curing reaction, and during a sensing interval that lasts no more than fifty milliseconds for each angular degree of said printed region, sensing heat energy emitted as a result of said reaction.