Comparison of UV Ink

Review
The composition of UV ink is very different from traditional ink. The film formation of UV ink is a chemical reaction, where monomers and polymers undergo polymerization reactions under the action of initiators, while the film formation of traditional ink is a physical reaction. The resin is already a polymer, and the solvent dissolves the solid polymer into a liquid polymer, which is printed on the substrate. Then, the solvent evaporates or is absorbed, causing the liquid polymer to return to its original solid state.
Composition and advantages
The structure of UV ink includes resin, monomers instead of solvents, additives, and photoinitiators. The resin in UV ink is very different from that in solvent volatile ink. It is reactive and can react with a product from other chemical reactions. In UV ink, it can react with monomers. Monomer is a low molecular weight chemical substance that can replace solvents to some extent and reduce viscosity, making it suitable for printing. But in addition to serving as a solvent or diluent, it also has a very important role - participating in chemical reactions. Each component in UV ink can undergo a chemical reaction because it is 100% cured, and all components will become solid through chemical reactions.
Advantages of printability
Compared with solvent based ink, UV ink has greatly improved printing adaptability and printing quality. Due to the fact that UV ink is 100% solid and has no volatile solvents, the viscosity of the ink does not change with changes in environmental conditions. In the past, printing workers had to complete a long cycle of printing, especially when printing fine patterns, they always encountered the problem of viscosity changes. During printing, ink was scraped before and after, and solvent evaporation caused viscosity changes. Every once in a while, the thickness of the ink layer would vary. And UV ink, the viscosity of the ink will not change after working for a day, and the quality of the printed products is exactly the same. In terms of cleaning, UV ink is immediately put into the curing equipment for curing after printing, so the printed product does not come into contact with impurities and can keep the product clean. Solvent based inks require a long time to dry after printing, and when there is a lot of dust in the environment, it can contaminate the product. When making illuminated signs, it is often necessary to print them thicker and multiple times to meet the thickness requirements. In this case, traditional ink printing requires a walk in the drying oven after each printing, which consumes a lot of time and energy. By using UV curable ink for printing, there is no need to dry it in a drying oven. After each printing, it can be cured immediately and proceed to the next step, greatly saving time and energy. Overall, UV ink will make a big push into the fields of vehicle advertising and banner printing. UV ink has always been in a process of development and change, and more and more printing factories are adopting new UV digital printing inks. When UV curable inks were first introduced to the market, they had certain issues with fragility, adhesion, and curing properties. But with the emergence of new UV inks, all problems have been easily solved. The new products have higher viscosity and greater flexibility, which can meet the needs of roll to roll printers. Moreover, they have made great progress in terms of color gamut and ink formula diversity compared to previous products. The new UV ink, also known as "cationic UV ink", uses cold UV light curing technology that can dry instantly without waiting for 24 hours. In the future, these inks will make a big push into the digital printing market dominated by solvent based inks, especially in the fields of vehicle advertising and banner printing.