UltraViolet Inks
According to Charles Finley, Ph.D., author of Printing Paper and Inks, curing is the "conversion of a wet ink film or coating to a solid film through polymerization as opposed to mere vehicle evaporation, which is called drying (402)." Ultraviolet (UV) inks cure rather than dry, thus making the total production process faster. This paper will discuss both the pros and cons of using UV ink, as well as safety measures that should be taken when dealing with these inks. In order to better understand the pros and cons of UV inks a basic understanding of the process used when printing these inks would be beneficial. UV inks contain particles that cure, or join together to form a solid film, when exposed to a high intensity UV light source. Shortly after the ink is applied, the substrate passes underneath a high intensity UV light source thus causing the ink to cure. There is no need to allow for the drying time conventional inks must have. This demonstrates the first benefit of using UV inks, virtually no drying time. Tony Beam, manager of energy curable inks, Sun Chemical Corporation told Jenn Hess, Associate Editor for Ink World Magazine,"UV technology will... cut down on production time because the ink dries instantly (Bright Fu
, this provides UV inks with the ability to produce a greater ink density than conventional inks. The final benefit of UV inks is that they are more environmentally friendly than conventional inks. Wearing protective gloves would also help in reducing exposure, especially those designed to come over the sleeves of shirts. Sometimes tiny bits of ink may get airborne. The lack of solvents within UV ink means that virtually all of the material applied to the surface of the substrate remains there after curing. To start, it is a good idea to have good personal hygiene and to keep to work area clean. These clothes should not be put with personal clothing. These lights also require more electricity to run, therefore raising the hourly cost of running the press. The second way to reduce health risks is reducing the chance for contact with solvents and inks. As mentioned above UV inks are free of solvents. " This meaning that there is almost zero dot gain, providing a sharper printed image.
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