Discussion on Factors Affecting UV Printing Quality

With the improvement of living standards, Chinese consumption habits have gradually become more refined and quality-oriented. In addition, industries with high printing demands have shifted to the mainland. The domestic printing market shows a situation of abundant capital, but traditional printing methods can no longer meet the requirements. UV printing-related methods, such as flexographic printing and gravure printing, have reignited considerable discussion in the lithographic printing industry in recent years, as the lithographic printing industry has experienced significant price competition due to over-investment, even reaching below-cost levels, leading many manufacturers to actively seek transformation or invest in other printing methods.

For the traditional sheet-fed printing industry, transformation is not easy. Although there are inks and materials available for printing, the puzzle illustrates the fact that intertwining is like a mountain.

UV printing is most commonly used in the packaging industry. In addition to protecting products, packaging can also increase the added value of products, achieving the role of promotion and conveying product information. With the improvement of people's living standards and the acceleration of the modern pace of life, the role of packaging in various industries will become increasingly important. Today's society has developed to the extent that all goods must be packaged, and all packaging must be printed. With the continuous development of the social economy, people's consumption concepts have undergone tremendous changes. While people pay attention to the quality, performance, and price of goods, they also attach increasing importance to their packaging. People's demand for goods has gradually transformed from the past single practical concept to a new concept of beauty, practicality, and advancement; fierce market competition also requires products to have a strong visual impact in the market.

2. Historical Background of UV Ink Development

In the past, when there was only monochrome or two-color printing, drying and time were not as critical. However, after 1955, the prominence of four-color printing presses and the continuous increase in printing speeds affected back printing and printing issues caused by printing. Problems such as stickiness, post-processing waiting time, and drying also became prominent.

In 1960, due to environmental requirements and increased productivity, other drying methods were continuously developed. Drying methods include UV, EB, infrared, etc., among which UV drying became the best choice.

The UV patent was obtained in 1964, but it only became truly practical in 1969. However, due to insufficient understanding, it remained difficult to control usage, printability, and post-processing components, leading to frequent failures.

In the late 1980s, with the gradual demand for relevant testing technologies, various ink manufacturers also actively formulated better testing methods ("China Printing Industry Yearbook"), and as good testing methods were produced, the quality of UV inks also improved. Through good improvements, the performance of related post-processing gradually improved.

Starting from the 1990s, the development of UV inks has been moving towards higher ink film thickness, but technical problems have continuously been difficult to overcome. With continuous improvements in formulations, the printing performance of UV inks has surpassed that of traditional oxidative inks.

In 2000, due to the high corrosivity of UV inks, ink rollers and related printing equipment had to have better corrosion resistance. Due to the efforts of ink manufacturers, traditional printing presses could not replace relevant ink rollers. In this situation, as long as UV lamps are installed, the dream of UV printing can be realized, and in a short period, transparent ink was the best choice for UV printing. Hy-bryte is a type of UV ink, but its use is not significantly different from other ordinary inks. It can be cleaned with general emulsion, and does not require special ink rollers, blankets, plates, etc. Because it has a wide water supply range to obtain clearer dots and does not oxidize or skin in the ink fountain, it has high stability on UV printers and does not contain volatile solvents. The difference between traditional inks, UV inks, and moss can be clearly compared in the table below.