UV printing is a direct digital printing technology developed in the past decade. It uses computer and software to directly print the desired pattern on the surface of something. UV printing uses ultraviolet light emitted by LED to make the printed thing dry immediately during the printing, and the pattern will not be blurred.

 

Three things of UV printing

 

1. Ink

 

Different from water-based ink, textile ink, oil-based ink and solvent-based ink, the features of UV ink are between solvent-based ink and oil-based ink. It is a chemical ink that dries immediately after printing. It has high adhesion.

 

2. Curing

 

When talking about curing of UV printing, it uses the internal cooling curing in a very short time without generating odor, heat, bubbles, etc.. This is mainly determined by the photosensitizer present in UV ink.

 

3. Printing

 

For direct piezoelectric inkjet printing, the nozzle is between 12.5px and 25px above the material. Inkjet printing is the way to go. UV ink is sprayed directly onto the surface of the material, and then irradiated by LED lights on both sides of the nozzle, then the ink dries.

 

Advantages of UV printing

 

1. Good look and high durability

 

UV printing has good printability for most substrates. The products have clear dots, good tone reproduction, bright color, and high printing consistency.

 

Since the UV curing is a photochemical reaction process, both the ink layer and the varnish layer have the advantages of strong adhesion, durability, water resistance, chemical corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and aging resistance.

 

2. High productivity

 

Drying is done by light curing, which does not require heat source or solvents, and the curing time is very short. The general process can achieve a line speed of 400 meters per minute, which greatly improves production efficiency.

 

After ink printing, UV glazing and machine processing are carried out, and the printed products have high gloss and smooth and uniform surface.

 

Die cutting, creasing, gluing and hot stamping can be completed immediately, which is very conducive to the development of high-speed printing.

 

High speed means that the storage cost and financial pressure of raw materials and finished products can be reduced. Due to the low energy consumption of UV curing, the usual operating costs are also greatly reduced.

 

3. Environmentally friendly

 

After curing, the solid content of UV ink is close to 100%, and it contains almost no VOC (volatile organic compounds), that is, no or very little volatile organic compounds are emitted during the curing process, which will not cause harmful environmental pollution, and it will reduce waste and save energy.

 

4. Good adhesion

 

The chemical substances in UV ink form high molecular weight three-dimensional network polymers through cross-linking reactions. Therefore, UV ink can make the ink layer strong, quick-drying and cross-linked. Such an ink layer has high abrasion resistance and chemical resistance.

 

5. Fast curing

 

UV ink will only dry under the irradiation of ultraviolet light. Even if the ink is stored in the ink fountain for a long time, the performance can remain stable. There will be no crusting on the ink roller.

 

Once exposed to ultraviolet light, ink can dry instantly. It only needs 1/10 second to completely dry and fix on the surface of the substrate, greatly improving the production efficiency of printing.

 

6. Wide application

 

For UV printing, making screen is not needed. It has bright and rich colors. UV printing is wear-resistant, and is simple and convenient to operate.

 

It has a very wide range of applications, and is a comprehensive color printer that can handle unlimited materials across multiple industries. It has the features of low cost, simple operation, simple process, and small area.