UV inks are increasing in popularity for numerous reasons. Water-based inks are awkward to dry, and solvent-based inks necessitate removing part of the solvent after the transfer, which is difficult to dispose of with environmental regulations. Both water-based inks and solvent-based inks necessitate a drying procedure that takes time and also decreases the ink’s effectiveness as ink costs in volume and around forty percent of the ink base is misplaced in curing or drying.
UV ink does not dry in the air. They have no evaporative properties and do not require them. Like liquid plastic, they respond only to exposure to UV radiation, causing the liquid to solidify. This indicates that about 100% of the ink volume is utilized, decreasing the cost of printing considerably. Additionally, because the ink does not dry until it is cured, the printing cells can be left with ink on them, even over the weekend, without the necessity for cleanup and with no dried-on ink.
Benefits of UV Ink
The numerous benefits of UV inks comprise the following:
- Environmental friendliness is one of the most important benefits of UV inks.
- The total volume of ink is utilized which can significantly decrease the overall cost of printing. This is a well-known benefit.
- Good light fastness is another benefit. UV inks can catch and imitate light, which also assists boost readability.
- Their murkiness is good: The print job stays clean and clear on the page and simple to read.
- They have sharp contrast: Contrast is another marvelous aid to readability.
- A pleasant gloss: A pleasant high gloss is both aesthetically advantageous and easy to maintain with this ink.
- It saves a great deal of money, time, and environmental waste by decreasing need for steady cleaning
- They are smearing resistant: Resistance to smearing is another benefit of UV ink, as regular ink might smear and look unprofessional and unsightly.
- It maintains the steadiness of print: the entire run’s print job will look the same without fading.
UV inks offer several benefits, being more environmentally friendly than solvent-based inks, light-fastness, good opacity, sharp contrast, resistance to smearing, and a nice gloss. The UV inks, again due to the lack of evaporative agents, will maintain consistency all through the whole press run, never getting thick or sticky.
Even water-based inks frequently use chemical catalyst components that necessitate harsh cleaners to eliminate when cleaning the printing equipment. Cleaning should be done on a regular basis to prevent the plugging of the printing cells, leading to high costs over time. Thus UV inks save money, time, and environmental waste by greatly decreasing cleaning.
The UV curing fluorescent ink range is suitable for use in general label printing and has recently undergone full beta testing. Print trials to date have shown increased colour strength, allowing lighter aniloxes to be used whilst achieving the same density, as well as showing a smoother lay, resulting in a higher quality label.
In the present times, UV inks are still increasing in use and will likely carry on. They are overall safer, better for the environment, and are more cost-efficient than water-based and solvent-based inks. And with all the benefits offered by UV inks, many printers of several types would benefit from making the change to UV inks.
