UV flatbed printer technology breakthrough: All-round printing solutions from soft to hard materials

catalogue

• Introduction: The road to innovation of UV printing technology

• Technological breakthrough: Compatibility leap from soft to hard materials

• Core advantage: The versatile features of UV flatbed printers

• Application scenario: cross-industry solution practice case

• Future outlook: Sustainable development path of UV printing technology

1. Introduction: The road to innovation of UV printing technology

UV flatbed printers (UV flatbed, UV inkjet printer, UV inkjet printer) as the core equipment in the field of digital printing, in recent years to achieve a comprehensive coverage from traditional soft materials to hard materials. Its core technology is based on the principle of UV curing, and the liquid UV ink is accurately sprayed to the surface of the material through the inkjet printer technology, and the LED ultraviolet light source is used to achieve instant curing, forming a high-strength, wear-resistant print layer. This technological breakthrough has completely subverted the traditional printing plate making and color matching process, and achieved an efficient production mode of "one print, one full color molding".

2. Technological breakthrough: The compatibility leap from soft to hard materials

• 2.1 Printing revolution of hard materials

Traditional inkjet printers (inkjet printers) are limited by ink curing speed and material absorption, it is difficult to achieve high quality printing on hard materials such as glass, metal, ceramics. The UV flatbed printer solves this problem through the following technological innovations:

UV curable ink: Using resin, pigment and photoinitiator combined UV ink, curing time is reduced to less than 0.1 seconds, avoiding ink diffusion or blurring.

High precision nozzle: such as Ricoh G5/G6 nozzle, support 720-1440dpi resolution, can achieve micron level ink spot control.

Coating free process: there is no need to pretreat the surface of the material, and it is directly printed on glass, tile, acrylic and other materials, reducing the production cost.

• 2.2 Compatibility expansion of soft materials

In addition to hard materials, UV flatbed printers also optimize the adaptation of soft materials such as PVC, leather and textiles through the following technologies:

Flexible ink system: Developed an elastic UV ink for soft materials to avoid coating cracking when the material is bent.

Tension control system: Equipped with automatic cloth feeding and receiving devices to ensure that the material remains flat during the printing process.

3. Core advantage: the multi-functional features of UV flatbed printer

• 3.1 A multi-purpose machine to meet multiple needs

UV flatbed printer (multi-function UV flatbed printer) integrates the advantages of traditional printing, inkjet, engraving and other processes, which are specifically manifested as:

• 3D relief effect: Through multi-level inkjet and grayscale control technology, the three-dimensional texture of 0.1-5mm is formed on the surface of the material.

• Anti-counterfeiting function: Support printing variable data (such as two-dimensional code, serial number) on documents, bills and other materials to enhance anti-counterfeiting performance.

• Environmental features: UV ink does not contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), zero emissions during the curing process, and meets green printing standards.

• 3.2 Efficient production and low-cost operation

• Print speed: up to 48-75 square meters/hour in sketch mode, production efficiency far beyond the traditional screen printing.

• Maintenance cost: LED light source life of more than 25,000 hours, compared to traditional mercury lamp energy saving more than 90%.

• Consumables versatility: Support CMYK+LcLm+W+V and other color configurations to meet the needs of different industries.

4. Application scenario: cross-industry solution practice case

• 4.1 Advertising Industry

• Outdoor billboard: Printing high weather resistance patterns on KT board and PVC board, with a life span of more than 5 years.

• Signage: For hotels, shopping malls to produce metal, acrylic material guide system, support personalized customization.

• 4.2 Home Decor

• Tile background wall: Print marble texture on tile surface, the cost is only 1/3 of natural stone.

• Furniture customization: Printing wood grain, stone grain and other effects on wood panels to achieve "what you see is what you get" home design.

• 4.3 Industrial Manufacturing

• Electronic product shell: Print personalized patterns on the shell of mobile phones and tablets to enhance the added value of products.

• Car interior: Printing imitation carbon fiber texture on leather and plastic parts to meet the needs of lightweight and beautiful cars.

• 4.4 Medical Packaging

• Drug packaging box: high-precision drug information is printed on the aluminum-plastic board, in line with GMP certification standards.

• Medical device identification: Permanent identification is printed on metal and glass materials to ensure traceability.

5. Future outlook: Sustainable development path of UV printing technology

• 5.1 Technical Upgrade Directions

• 5-layer printing technology: Complete 5-layer printing in a single operation, improve the color layer and three-dimensional effect.

• 2.5D printing technology: By increasing the thickness of the ink, the uneven touch experience is achieved.

• Intelligent control system: integrated AI algorithm, automatically optimize printing parameters, reduce the threshold of operation.

1. 5.2 Industry application development

• 3D surface printing: Seamless printing on curved surfaces and special-shaped materials, expanding to aerospace, shipbuilding and other fields.

• Variable data printing: Combined with the Internet of Things technology to achieve large-scale personalized customized production.

• 5.3 Green trend

Water-based UV ink: Develop water-based UV ink with low VOCs emissions to further reduce environmental pollution.

Energy recovery system: Optimize LED light source and cooling system to improve energy efficiency.

Conclusion

UV flatbed printers (UV printers) are becoming a core driver in digital printing with their full compatibility from soft to hard materials. In the future, with the deep integration of technology iteration and industry demand, UV printing technology will show the value of its "all-round printing" in more fields, providing key support for the transformation and upgrading of the global manufacturing industry.