What is wide-format UV printing?
The speed, durability, and high resolution of the prints made over a wide surface have transformed the printing industry all over the world with the introduction of wide-format UV printing. Unlike solvent or latex printing, the UV-curable wide-format printing employs the use of ultraviolet (UV) light to harden the ink immediately on different media, causing the immediate drying process, vivid colors, and outstanding surface durability. Under this progressive process, photoinitiator-containing UV-curable inks are subjected to UV LED lamps or mercury lamps and are polymerized to convert the liquid ink into a solid film. The wide-format UV printers are energy-efficient, eco-friendly, and very versatile in use in the industry by suppressing the use of heat-based drying systems. Working Principle Wide-format UV printing is based on a photochemical reaction that is called photopolymerization. The monomers and oligomers in UV-curable inks (CMYK + white and varnish) are in the liquid state when deposited on a substrate, and then they become solid when exposed to a particular UV wavelength, usually 365nm, 385nm, 395nm, or 405nm. UV flooding, UV flood, or UV LED curing lamp. The UV flood system produces an ultraviolet light, which is reflected off the photoinitiators in the ink to cause a crosslinking ...