OlymPak was one of the first UV printers in the USA. Our UV presses use interdeck lighting, which means they cure after each print unit, giving us the ability to print on almost any surface with beautiful, high-quality images.
UV Printing Process
UV inks dry through a photomechanical process. The inks are exposed to ultra-violet lights as they are printed, immediately turning them from a liquid to a solid with very little evaporation of solvents and almost no absorption of the ink into the stock. So, you can print on virtually whatever you want when using UV inks!
One of the big advantages of UV printing is that there are fewer emissions of volatile organic compounds into the environment since there is no evaporation of the solvents like with conventional inks. Another advantage of UV printing is that the inks can dry on plastic and other non-porous substrates. Because the inks dry through a photomechanical process, it is not necessary for the ink solvent to absorb into the stock.
Basically, if you can get the stock through the press, you can print on it. Since UV inks dry when exposed to UV light, the inks do not have time to soak into the stock. The ink dot is left sitting on top of the uncoated sheet, where it presents a cleaner, less contaminated dot, ultimately resulting in more vibrant colors. Because UV inks dry on contact, they never smudge. That means no matter what type of paper you use, you will never need to add costly coatings to protect against smears and rub-offs.
UV Printing Offers Many Advantages:
- Better for the environment – the unique drying process results in fewer emissions of volatile organic compounds into the environment.
- Greater flexibility – UV inks can dry on a variety of substrates, including plastics and other unusual stocks.
- High-quality finishing – High gloss and protective UV coatings allow for vibrant color and long-standing quality.
- Wide range of applications – UV has applications in coldset web, heatset web, sheetfed and flexographic printing.
Combined with high-quality products, UV printing offers a wide range of benefits, making it the preferred choice for a wide range of unique and high-quality print work.