Why UV Printers Are Growing in Popularity

The UV printing market is growing fast and new applications for this technology are being discovered weekly. UV printers are bringing with them significant change, offering printers greater flexibility than ever before to work with previously unprintable surfaces and create innovative client products.

Globally the market is expected to reach £1.37 billion in 2027, up from 280 million in 2019 as the UV curing processes continues to revolutionise the industry and rising numbers of traditional printers increase their investment in UV print.

The Science Behind UV Printing

Unlike traditional printing techniques, a UV printing machine allows printers to print onto an object using a photomechanical drying method – UV inks are sprayed directly, and then a UV light is used to cure and dry it. The technology was originally developed from using UV light to cure or dry gel nail polish.

There are several advantages to using UV printing over traditional methods:

• Instant drying/curing = Improved workflows: UV inks cure instantly, which means that prints can be instantly finished and/or shipped out straight away.

• Energy efficient: UV printing typically doesn’t require any heaters like solvent, latex or heatpresses that are associated with sublimation. This means that UV printing uses far less power.

• High-quality printing: As the ink is instantly pinned and cured by the UV lamps, you don’t get dot gain/bleed compared to other ink technologies. This means very fine details and droplet sizes can be used, for super small/fine details.

• Versatility – UV ink can be used on almost anything, even uncoated materials and products.

Business Benefits Of UV Print

UV printing machines enable printers to offer customers a far wider choice of product. While it has mostly been limited to paper, acrylics and card in the past, UV printing can now be applied directly to a wide range of products from clothing and cars to instruments and metals. The potential for business diversification is enormous.

Not only that, but it can also be used on a wide variety of shapes both large and small. Plus, UV LED printing can be completed faster, boosting productivity. It’s highly durable meaning printing machines have a long lifetime, and it is extremely energy efficient, leading to energy cost savings. It’s not hard to imagine a future where UV print becomes the gold standard in the industry.

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