The future development trend of UV ink!

In the years since UV inks first hit the market, their advantages have become quite evident. Faster dry times, no VOCs, compatibility with a wide range of substrates, and improved print quality are all evident. Still, there are other advantages, including reduced sensitivity to temperature and humidity, no water waste, and even being non-flammable.

UV inks are also suitable for a wide variety of other applications, including self-adhesive labels, shrink sleeves, foil lids, short-run flexible packaging, and more. They are especially suitable for applications requiring high physical and chemical resistance or fine design. The latter is because each layer is cured individually immediately after printing, making it easier to achieve intricate and colorful designs.

With all of this in mind, the question seems obvious, why is the flexo market not adopting UV inks as much?

First, they are not suitable for most jobs. These inks are not suitable for use with highly absorbent materials, have compliance issues when in contact with food and other sensitive products, and do not dry unless exposed to certain kinds of light.

There may also be adhesion issues with untreated or uncoated plastic substrates, some thermal papers can react with certain components in UV inks, and for long runs there is a problem from the cost and durability of inks and plates Sexually, that probably means gravure is the better choice...

Compared with other systems, the cost of UV inks and varnishes is slightly higher, so this can reasonably explain why many flexo printers do not use UV inks. Another big hurdle to moving to UV flexo may be a lack of expertise in the technology.

UV inks have been used in letterpress and offset printing since the 1970s. UV inks provide stronger ink coatings, higher abrasion resistance and adhesion.

Apart from this, cost, sustainability, recyclability and compostability are all key drivers from the upstream supply chain.

Consumers are demanding less plastic, less waste, more sustainable packaging, value for money and food safety. As in many industries, sustainability is one of the key drivers.