There's an endless supply of UV inks on the market, ranging from good to bad, imported, domestically produced, and even Sino-foreign joint ventures. Even someone like me, a professional, sometimes struggles to distinguish them, let alone those less knowledgeable. Let me explain how to identify a quality ink, I'll explain this through the following six key points:
First, low odor and non-toxicity. Good ink must be odorless and free of volatile, irritating odors. Printing environments today are generally quite comfortable, mostly in air-conditioned, cleanrooms. If there's an unpleasant odor in a closed space, you can imagine how uncomfortable it would be-and harmful to your health.
Second, good flowability. This is the minimum requirement for a printhead. Generally, after a bottle of ink is used up, there should be no needle or ink breakage, unless there's a problem with the printhead itself. For continuous operation, this requirement is met for 24/48/72 hours of printhead operation, provided the printhead is in good condition and under varying temperatures and humidity.
Third, solvent-free is a requirement for eco-friendly UV inks. Adding solvents makes them less environmentally friendly. Furthermore, solvent-based inks cure differently, resulting in a relatively lower price. We've encountered this type of ink in the market. While cutting costs to capture market share can actually significantly harm a healthy market, it's crucial for the product.
Fourth, strong adhesion is a key requirement for inks. For example, a phone case must resist fading. If it flakes off sooner or later, it'll ruin your mood. Different products have different adhesion coefficients, such as stainless steel and glass. Current UV ink technology can't address this adhesion issue, so a coating is the only solution.
Five, accurate color density. The four CMYK colors in UV ink vary in color density from manufacturer to manufacturer. This can be clearly seen by printing each color individually on a printer. Generally speaking, higher color density comes at the cost of lower adhesion, so finding the right ink formula is the job of R&D personnel.
Sixth, good compatibility, which refers to two aspects. One is compatibility with equipment or software. Some equipment manufacturers will lock the ink, and if the ink is incompatible, it cannot be used; most equipment manufacturers will not lock the ink. Better ink will be compatible with most equipment, whether it is the print head, printing software, or jetting status. The other aspect is compatibility with printing materials. For example, crystal mark ink must be compatible with AB film, and cylindrical ink must be compatible with thermos cup material. Doing this kind of compatibility test is also very laborious.
