UV curing ink application digital wide printing

All industries will move toward adopting technology and successfully obtain so-called profits. In the field of digital wide-format printing, UV-curable ink has been praised by everyone as an innovative technology. But is it really a reality?

It's hard to break rumors of a market downturn from a dismal sales reality, especially when the results are surprising. However, there is a requirement that is essential, that is, this new technology can achieve the desired result.

Who will benefit this?

Let me first state here that UV-curing inks have many benefits for the inkjet printing sector. For the hard material printing market, Sai Angel offers its own UV curing solution, Saite Angel VEEjet+.

Digital printing with UV-curable inks can bring a variety of print quality advantages, while UV inks can also adhere to many substrates, and the dots are fast-fixed to eliminate dot diffusion or bleeding between dots. At the same time, the printing density can be increased. This is the advantage of UV-curable ink in the screen printing market.

Another feature of UV-curable inks that should be noted is the low volatility of organic compounds. This means that the printing process is more environmentally friendly, allows workers to access less dangerous substrates, and reduces the degree of environmental pollution.

Since the UV ink cannot be dried on the printing head, it can reduce the trouble of cleaning and cleaning the nozzle and removing insoluble matter. In theory, greater print production speeds can be achieved through the use of UV inks because you don't have to wait for the solvent to dry or use a large dryer.

In addition to these, for wide-format printers, before starting the investment, we must pay attention to a lot of problems in the use of UV inks.

These issues cover the scope of all production processes and the special needs of printing companies for optimal results. Some difficulties may arise from shipping and storage, or ventilation and light conditions (in printing equipment), and print head operations, ink adhesion, cleaning, and cost.

In addition, UV inks limit color transparency and translucency, and the ink is less elastic and more susceptible to corrosion in poorer environments. The challenge now facing UV-curing ink-jet printing - which is an obstacle that can be overcome - is generated by today's market and pricing system.

Estimates of benefits

Today's UV curable inks cost about $120 per litre, and the process is still much more expensive than screen printing. In order to reach an economic advantage of 50 cents per square meter, the price of ink should actually be in the range of 60 to 70 US dollars per liter. Taking into account the constraints of today, in order to obtain more reasonable profit expectations, the price of digital UV-curable inks is required to be lower.

Bottom line

Investments in new technologies are always risky. The basic question is: “Is potential profit worth the risk?” The answer to the question is: “Not less than the conditions of the existing market for the UV-curable ink web take-up rotation system.”

Although soluble inks have begun to take a disadvantage, UV-curable inks have many advantages, but the return on investment is not very high. End-users are not yet able to pay more for UV-curable inks. Compared to soluble ink systems, printers need to sell more and print 40% to 60% more to achieve the same return on investment.

The real market for UV curing products is on materials with higher hardness, where soluble inks are not competitive. This new area is for printers who are willing to invest and who want to promote technology and business development. As mentioned before, before making decisions, people must pay special attention to the economic efficiency of the program and different options for the workshop. Do not be dazzled by the opportunity UV technology brings to the printing market for hard materials and the erroneous results in other parts of the market.

In the ultra-wide format flexible substrate market, soluble ink systems have become more and more widely used. These printing companies can withstand price pressures and develop their ultra-wide-format printing sector into a commodity market.

The technology of UV-curing inks is very popular recently, and it is also a technology that many people who want to improve the printing quality research and develop. However, today's printing companies have not been able to obtain a higher return on investment through soluble inks, and the price level of UV inks remains at the level of 100 US dollars or more.