What is the difference between conventional printing and UV printing?

You can be forgiven if you have not heard of digital UV Printing. It is a new technology that many printers and manufacturers are beginning to provide as there are a number of advantages for the printer company as well as the end customer. The printing process is very similar between conventional and UV printing; the key difference comes in the inks and the drying process involved between the two.

Conventional offset printing use solvent inks – though they are not the greenest option because they evaporate into the air, releasing VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds). Because of these, spray powders are often used to help the drying process, this in turn can dilute the original colour leaving a dull appearance. As conventional inks are absorbed into the paper, the downside is that they cannot be used on other materials such as foils, plastics or acrylics.

UV inks work very differently to the conventional paper ink. Rather than being absorbed, the UV inks dry through a photo mechanical process. The ink is exposed to an Ultraviolet light as it is printed which instantly turns the liquid in to a dry state. This process leaves for very little solvent evaporation and almost no absorption of ink on the paper. So what does this mean? It means that you can print on virtually any type of surface and material! That’s a big advantage in itself!

Because UV dries on contact, they don’t smudge or smear. The best part is that unlike conventional printing, you do not have to wait days for the job to dry! At Pakko we are super proud to print in large format via our Digital UV printers. This is specifically used for samples, low volume runs and custom printing on any of our stock line items.

-Jackson our Designer can’t contain his excitement with the arrival of our new printer.