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According to Dunklee, inks designed for
mercury arc curing typically have a blend
of photoinitiators that respond to many
different wavelengths simultaneously, and
some contain an initiator that reacts to the
specific wavelength being output by an
LED lamp. However, the cure may not be
as efficient or complete if the ink has been
exposed to a multi-chromatic UV bulb.
“This situation can lead to two problems.
If the ink doesn’t contain a photoinitia-
tor that can react to the LED wavelength,
it will not cure. If the ink does contain a
photoinitiator that can react, the question
becomes one of having enough initiator in
the formula to fully cure the ink,” he adds.
Influences on a Wide Scale
UV ink is influenced by a number of
factors. Customer demand and new appli-
cations propel advancements in this field.
Additionally, enhancements to hardware
require improved ink compositions.
“The increasing demand for more in-
novative solutions, including hardware,
printheads, and accessories, influences the
development of digital UV inks. Compe-
tition within this market constantly drives
product development,” shares Roberts.
Rockow says Collins’ customers—the
users of the inks, are driving the achieve-
ments. “When they use an ink that won’t
adhere to a new substrate, cracks instead
of bending, or doesn’t cure well with their
printer, we develop one.”
“It is the market opportunities for using
UV-curable ink that influence innovation
and creativity in formulating new technol-
ogy,” agrees Reid.
Eyal Duzy, marketing segment manager,
HP Scitex worldwide, Hewlett-Packard
(HP), points to new applications like
corrugated displays and boxes. “Stacking
high stacks of printed media, folding with
no cracking, creasing with no scratching
or smearing, and cutting with no chip-
ping calls for great durability and high
flexibility from the ink set.”
Matching the ink to the hardware is still
top priority. “The requirements of the
printhead remain one of the primary
considerations in developing inks. If the
physical properties aren’t matched—noth-
ing works. The fine detail comes later
but viscosity is still the first thing. The
internal flow paths in the printhead affect
formulation choice as the pulse input is
transmitted through the architecture and
the ink fluid,” explains Saunders.
generally more affordable.
Although, he points out
that in some cases—such
as metallic or special col-
ors—those raw materials
may be more expensive,
which translates to higher
specialized ink costs.
The printheads’ ability to jet smaller
dots also plays a role. “As the technology
advances and the sizes of the droplets
fall to two to five picoliter, the ink must
be developed to work in these newer
printheads. Every year the speed at which
these printers print increases and as such
you must have an ink that can keep up
with the demand of these new high-speed
printhead technologies,” says McGettrick.
UV technology is becom-
ing widespread and in
recent years there have been
a number of alternative
options available to PSPs
in the form of third-party
inks. “The introduction
of quality non-OEM inks
influences the prices of
wide format ink for every
technology including UV,”
cites Evron.
Reid agrees, citing specifics such as smaller
drop size, higher frequency, addressable
resolution, and single pass compared to
multi-pass applications. “The chemistry
must keep up with hardware speeds, so
jetting reliability is much more impor-
tant in these new single-pass LED cure
systems,” he continues.
In addition to the printheads, other de-
sign elements of a printer—such as build
quality, how vibration is minimized, static
reduction, and step accuracy—are critical
to image quality and long-term perfor-
mance, points out VanHorn.
On a larger scale, forces outside of the
graphic arts effect UV ink’s development.
End customers demand “greener” output
and while UV is designed in many respects
to combat this, there is still room for
improvement. “There are global regulations
that effect UV ink enhancements, making
them safer for customers to handle and for
those who come in contact with the final
printed graphics,” says Goodearl.
The Cost of UV
With compositional and usage modifica-
tions, it is no surprise that the cost of UV
ink continues to change as well. The price
of UV ink is decreasing for two reasons—
cost of materials and competition, which
creates product volume.
McGettrick explains that the raw materi-
als used in the development of UV ink are
Additional ink types are
an influence on cost. “As
other technologies continue
to improve, it does drive
down the price of UV ink.
The customer is aware of
the roll-to-roll cost of latex
versus UV,” shares Larson.
This price decrease will
continue, foresees Salomon.
“Cost per square foot has
come down and probably
will continue as the display
graphics industry main-
streams into the general
printing world, which has
been more of a commodity
for a while. This industry
has moved from being
a niche or specialty to a
manufacturing business.”
Critical Segment
UV ink will play an impor-
tant role in the direction of
the graphic arts. Changes
in the ink’s chemical
composition mean a wider
variety of substrates can be
printed to without damag-
ing a print. This expan-
sion of printable materials
presents PSPs with new
opportunities. D
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