The ongoing development of equipment and consumables in our industry continues to bring new and surprising outcomes. UV ink, while no longer new to inkjet applications, can be seen as a prime catalyst for much of this change. There are a number of factors contributing to this.

　　UV is currently the ink that allows for direct printing onto the widest variety of substrates. This ability alone has allowed direct access to new markets for a number of imagers who have brought UV inkjet – most commonly by way of a flatbed machine – into their facilities. In fact, much of the market and applications expansion we’ve seen in the industry over the past few years has grown specifically from the unique capabilities of UV-curable inkjet inks.  Successful printing onto leather, glass, wood, metals and other exotic and non-exotic media products has broadened the possibility for both innovation and profitability.

　　Another strong advantage of UV is that it is dried (cured, actually) almost instantaneously using UV light. It is because of this process that UV may be the key to high speeds in inkjet printing, specifically as the process enters sheet-fed production areas such as the printing of product packaging, where drying through evaporation is much too slow.

　　UV ink, however, does have its disadvantages. First, the ink is quite expensive. This, linked with the fact that UV inkjet equipment comes with a higher sticker price than its solvent-based brethren, may serve as a deterrent for companies looking to purchase a new printer. Another disadvantages stem from the area of ink development. Currently, companies using UV inkjet expect the ink to adhere, and stay durable, on a wide variety of substrates. In the past couple of years in particular, ink developers have made strong advances on this goal.

　　As the ink continues to develop, many of the initial concerns about the inks have been addressed, either through better formulations, or formulations specific to clusters of uses. One example of this is the recent development of “stretchability” in some UV inkjet inks. This allows the once-brittle inks to be used on media products that are bendable or stretchable, and allows for the use of UV inkjet inks for applications such as vehicle wraps. This has also led the increasing number of UV roll-to-roll units being installed in shops around the world. Much of this development chips away at areas once considered the exclusive domain of solvent-based ink technologies.

　　With many eyes today on environmental and sustainability concerns, some companies have embraced the environmental favorability of UV inkjet ink, which neither contains nor emits volatile compounds found in solvent ink systems. Add to that recent developments in LED-UV curing, which delivers full curing of ink, while at the same time using only a fraction of the electricity needed to do so, and UV inkjet becomes an even more attractive choice for specialty imaging companies committed to controlling both emissions and energy use.

　　Ink development is truly a moving target. Inks are constantly under development, and it can be assumed that they will continue to grow in durability, color quality and adhesion diversity. While game-changing new ink systems may be just around the corner, the main choice today is between UV, Solvent and aqueous systems. Today, it is most important to make sure you understand the relative advantages and disadvantages of the inks you consider for your business, and take account of what you need in comparison with what the inks can be expected to provide. UV or otherwise, make the choice a good one.

[时间：2008-12-04  作者：Dan Marx  来源：互联网|#]