Illuminating Innovations: Exploring UV Printing Applications and Advantages

By Allee Bruce

UV Printing Trends

With UV printing’s capability and allure, it’s only natural that a few fun trends pop up. Experts share some worth trying out:

Layered prints that create a tactile 3D look and feel.
Spot varnish/gloss for a realistic or luxury look and feel.
Printing to unfinished wood (epoxy coating helps for extra durability).
UV printing DTF transfers.

David Lopez, Professional Imaging, Epson America, says more and more PSPs are using UV technology to create tactile, layered prints. “By printing multiple layers, the output becomes 3D and has a tactile feel,” he explains. “This is being used frequently for bathroom signs — the raised symbols can be printed — and art canvas reproduction with varnished layered brush strokes to give the effect of a realistic painting.”

Deborah Hutcheson, Agfa, says gloss or spot varnish elements on an image can evoke emotion for viewers: “For example, imagine a picture of a bottle of soda. A gloss varnish can take an image from ordinary to cool with water droplets that appear to be sweating. This makes the image come alive and look more realistic, causing the viewer to look twice and connect with it.”

This application works well for luxury brands looking to have their logo or other graphic elements come off the substrate, and Hutcheson says users can control the density of the effect via the graphic user interface at print time.

Another trend coming out of the direct-to-film market is using a UV printer to create a peel-and-stick transfer. “PSPs are printing directly to a UV-compatible film and then applying the print to rounded objects,” Lopez explains. “These prints are permanent and hold the same fade and scratch resistance as printing direct to object or substrate, making it ideal for mugs and tumblers, as well as larger applications such as sailboats.”

The versatility of UV technology allows printers to get creative with applications and diversify their businesses. The special effects, quick production turnaround, and substrate variety that UV printing offers, makes this printing process a win-win-win for printers, their customers, and the end-viewer/user.

From flatbed to roll-to-roll, UV printing technology brings a level of versatility and flexibility to print production, allowing print service providers (PSPs) to dip their toes into new opportunities. With UV printing, PSPs can offer a wider range of print applications, cut down on production time, take on more jobs, and explore untapped markets. UV printing experts share the latest in technology, top advantages, applications, limitations, and trends to watch.

Technology Advancements

Since the inception of UV inkjet printers in 2000, there have been some unforeseeable breakthroughs, says Deborah Hutcheson, Agfa’s director of strategic business development and distribution, digital print. Whether it’s faster printing speeds, more flexible inks, or wider color gamut, the technology has been fine-tuned to ensure the best print quality on several substrates.

For Agfa, some of that innovation has focused on better print quality, speed, and automation. “Print engines continue to advance in terms of print speeds and quality coupled with material handling automation to speed up production, streamline manufacturing and reduce the number of touchpoints throughout the entire production process,” Hutcheson explains. “This is accomplished by incorporating an automated color-managed workflow and by adding print standardization tools like Agfa’s PrintTune that ensure more accurate and consistent color and quality across all print devices.”

In addition to speed, inks and color gamut have made strides in UV printing. Jay Roberts, Roland DGA’s product manager for UV printers, says the company has hit on all these marks — enhancing image quality and color, as well as increasing production capabilities, in its UV printers.

“Each of our new TrueVIS LG Series printer/cutters feature two new staggered printheads that allow for unsurpassed print quality and definition,” Roberts explains. “The adding of ECO-UV 5 (EUV5) red and orange colors to the ink options available to our UV printer users has also widened the gamut considerably, allowing for incredibly vibrant output that never fails to wow our customers.”

David Lopez, product manager for Professional Imaging, Epson America, touches on similar points as Hutcheson and Roberts, calling these advancements “hardware feature expansion.”

“The Epson SureColor V7000 is an entry-level priced UV printer that leverages 10-color, semi-flexible ink technology, including red ink, gray, and opaque white, plus a varnish, to allow customers to achieve high-quality prints with an expanded color gamut,” Lopez explains.

Whether it’s ink advancements, faster print engines or automation, UV technology has come a long way since its inception. And based on what manufacturers have come to market with thus far, there’s likely plenty more innovations to come.

UV Printing Advantages

With all these advancements come a myriad of advantages for printing companies employing UV printing technology — some in place of more traditional methods and some working in tandem. From its eco-friendly aspect to color vibrancy and quick runs, UV printing has made quite a name for itself.

A promotional product printed using a SureColor V7000 UV flatbed printer. | Credit: Epson America

One of the standout advantages, for Roberts, is the print-readiness of UV printing. “UV print does not have to rely heavily on ICC profiles to print with great accuracy, as with eco-solvent printers,” he states. “With UV printers, the image sits on top of the surface of the material being printed on, so the need for ICC profiles for every media is far less important. Since the print operator doesn’t need to focus on media profiles, the time required between jobs when switching out media or materials is significantly reduced, allowing for greater productivity.”

Lopez agrees with Roberts’ print-ready sentiment but highlights UV printing’s faster drying times. UV-LED curing allows the print, whether it’s on wood, plastic, metal, or non-wearable fabrics, to be ready immediately. This allows a print shop to turn jobs around quickly, leaving them the potential to take on more projects.

Looking at substrate compatibility, users will be hard pressed to find something that doesn’t work with this print process. “UV inkjet printing offers the unique advantage of being able to print on virtually any substrate, whether it is rigid, flexible, natural, synthetic, etc., thus significantly expanding the scope of the applications for PSPs,” Hutcheson says.

Other advantages of UV printing include durability (fade, scratch, and moisture-resistance), no need for lamination after printing, and a low-VOC emission factor.

Plus, printers with UV-LED technology can reap the benefits of energy savings and being “greener,” adds Hutcheson. LEDs take less energy to run than mercury lamps and don’t produce ozone gas.

Application Station

Diving more into the various application opportunities that UV printing can bring wide-format PSPs, sources have a few solid suggestions.

Spot varnish printed on packaging using a Jeti Tauro UV-LED printer. | Credit: Agfa

From the more obvious indoor/outdoor and soft and rigid signage applications to vehicle wraps, UV printing can make a lot of sense for wide-format PSPs. One category PSPs shouldn’t look past is promotional products. Roberts says personalization is worth tapping into if PSPs are looking for new growth opportunities. “UV printing can be used to create customized promotional products for businesses of all sizes in a variety of different markets,” he says.

Lopez agrees, saying promotional products are perfect for UV printing. Being able to print directly to hard goods without needing to do any image transfer or finishing of the product makes it the perfect fit for items like golf balls, tumblers, skateboards, coasters, and more. And these are all items customers are likely looking for or sourcing elsewhere. With UV printing, wide-format PSPs can upsell current customers and enter new markets, including packaging, signage, point-of-purchase, art, and interior/exterior design, says Roberts. Via UV printing, diversification can become a reality for printing businesses.

“As the convergence in our industry continues, we will continue to see this diversification accelerate, allowing PSPs to take advantage of growth areas while streamlining their internal processes,” Hutcheson says. Why not dip a toe into convergence corner and see what verticals you can tap into?

Limitations and Advice

While UV printing offers media and application versatility, Lopez says there are some limitations.
“With any UV printing, the substrate must be as flat as possible for accurate dot precision and high-quality image output,” Lopez advises. “Therefore, when printing on a rounded item, like a tumbler, it’s essential to keep the print to a confined space that is relatively flat.” If PSPs want to print images on odd-shaped objects, Lopez says an alternative method known as UV direct-to-film (DTF) printing is on the rise.

Again, while UV printing technology can print to nearly everything, Roberts says it’s not typically suitable for printing on wearable fabrics due to the inks’ “scratchy feel” and tendency to crack. For apparel, he advises PSPs to explore dye-sublimation or direct-to-garment.

Because taking on anything new can be overwhelming, Hutcheson advises PSPs to lean on their suppliers for guidance and direction. Suppliers can support print businesses in their strategy and help them understand the technology available that can put them on a path to achieving their goals.

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Allee Bruce Author's page Allee Bruce is the content editor for NAPCO Media.