Ink jet printer with apparatus for curing ink and method

An ink jet printing apparatus for printing onto a substrate with a radiation curable ink, the apparatus comprising a print head for directing the ink onto the substrate and curing means for curing a printed image by exposure to appropriate radiation, the curing means being adapted to cause a time period between printing and curing to be substantially the same for all portions of the substrate, wherein

• the curing means comprises first curing means for directing radiation at the substrate from a first position at a predetermined distance from the print head in the direction of movement of the substrate, the first curing means being adjustable so that the predetermined distance may be varied.

A process of forming an image upon a moving substrate, the process comprising the steps of ink jet printing a radiation curable ink onto the substrate with a print head and subsequently curing the image by exposure to appropriate radiation, in which a process time period between printing curing is substantially the same for all portions of the substrate, wherein first and second curing means are provided to direct radiation at the substrate from a respective first position and a second position at different predetermined distances from the print head in the direction of movement of the substrate, and wherein the first and second curing means are of the same form.