What is UV printing?

UV Print is a new type of printing method. Unlike screen printing, UV print can print full color. Whether it is photos, Pantone colors, trademark, partial white ink, or spot varnish. It can print graphics directly from the computer onto acrylic, metal, and other materials. Therefore, there is no need in time or cost for making screens. UV printing is not just fast, but also diversifiable, and can produce in small quantities. A1 Workshop focuses on printing quality, color accuracy, and material adhesion for giving our customer the good quality.

What is digital printing?

Digital printing is the most widely used printing method today. It can print directly from digital graphics. In contrast, the traditional printing method needs to make printing plates before printing, and the ink takes a long time to dry, so the lead time is longer. The printing plate requires one color per plate, and the colors are toned manually. Therefore, the colors are more likely to be misaligned. It is more suitable for mass printing on paper due to the complicated process. Also, the printing plate needs to be washed after printing, and the ink often cause environmental pollution. Digital printing does not require a lot of workers and time. It can print digital graphics directly onto the materials, fast and accurate. It does not need to make a printing plate, so the lead time is shorter. Digital printing can print small quantities and not only on paper, there are many types of materials that are printable. Also, the colors are not limited by the printing plates, the color gamut that printable is wider and the gradient color is more detailed. The ink for digital printing is more environmentally friendly. Digital printing is more customizable and can print relief effects.

Is UV printing same as inkjet printing?

Different from UV printing, inkjet printing is a widely used digital printing equipment. Although the operation is similar, the ink of inkjet printer must be absorbed by the material and then air-dries. While UV printing uses ultraviolet light to cure ink on the surface of the material. Therefore, inkjet and UV printing can be applied to different area. UV printing can be printed on acrylic, glass, metal, leather, etc., which can make products like signboards, interior decoration, packaging boxes, etc. Unlike inkjet printing, the best advantage of UV printing is the color accuracy, and it will not change color for at least three years outdoor. The inkjet printer uses solvent inks, non-solvent inks, or water-based inks, which are not suitable for outdoor usage and often start fading in less than a year.

What is “flat-bed”, and “roll-to-roll”?

Flat-bed is a type of printer that has a platform, which can put flat materials on to the platform for printing. A roll-to-roll type printer is different, it can automatically feed the rolled materials, and then receives the material in rolls too. The roll-to-roll model is better for printing flexible materials in large quantities and at a fast speed. A1 Workshop uses a flat-bed printer, so cannot work with large format paper or canvas.

Comparison with other printing methods

Comparison with hot stamp

Comparison with screen printing

Comparison with inkjet printing

Application of UV printing and features of A1 Workshop

6-colors printing

UV printing does not need to make a printing plate. It can print the graphics directly onto the surface of the material. Therefore, UV printing is a fast, highly customized, and low yield. UV printing can print full color, most of the Pantone colors, partial white ink, and spot varnish: Most of the printers use four-color process (CMYK), while A1 Workshop uses six-color process, which has additional light blue (Lc) and light red (Lm), the benefit is to smoother gradient. In other words, light colors such as pinks become more saturated and skin tones become more reddish.

The colors are printed by small dots. The darkness of a color is produced by using the (visual) illusion, which uses the “dot size” and the distance between “dots”. For example, if we use a blue (dark) to print light blue, then the dots need a larger spacing to show a light blue. If we use light blue ink, the spacing will be small, and the color will look smooth and the dots are fine.

Pantone colors

A1 Workshop uses the latest version of ONYX printing software (RIP) to manage colors, so we can print Pantone spot colors more accurately. Pantone spot colors use six-color simulation, with a coverage rate of about 84%.

Printing white ink

UV print can print partial white ink. It can be printed directly onto transparent material.

Printing spot varnish

Spot varnish needs to be produced through screen printing, which needs to add another process after printing. But UV printing provides clear ink. The printer can print clear ink immediately after printing the graphics. The clear ink can be added onto the whole surface, or just a portion and achieve the effect of spot varnish.