Large-format inkjet technology is an organic combination of large-size substrates and small-particle printing inks.
Sericol Corporation of Kansas, United States, has been applying various types of ink technology in the screen printing process and has developed some famous products. Depending on the application area of ​​the product and the different substrates, the screen printing companies use a wide range of ink products, and they also need to be able to easily switch between various ink systems. After quite a long time of research and development, the available technologies and products are increasing.
Digital Printing: Different Requirements from Screen Printing Digital ink jet technology is a more complex technology. It is not a wise move to change the ink. It may take one day to replace the ink. The greatest advantage of digital printing is that it will run fast. Cycle - to completely obliterate.
For this reason, Sericol and Inca of Cambridge, UK, decided to jointly develop a new type of digital printing press that uses a multi-functional UV (ultraviolet) curing ink to complete a new generation of digital printing.
To date, many manufacturers of digital printing equipment and inks have focused their efforts on the functionality of the device rather than the application. This has led to the choice of ink as a secondary factor, as long as traditional ink technology is used, such as solvent inks. In solvent inks, the solids (pigment and resin) are less than 20% of the total, and the rest is composed of solvents. These solvents not only help control the viscosity of the ink, but also help disperse the pigment particles. The UV ink is 100% solid and it is difficult to control the viscosity of the ink.
How UV inks work
UV-curable inks polymerize under ultraviolet (UV) radiation and change from a liquid to a solid. UV light initiates a chemical reaction that produces a matrix of crosslinked materials that gives the solid ink film a certain degree of chemical resistance, gloss, and durability. The molecular weight of the ink is lower and the viscosity is lower, but the polymerization initiated by the UV light source can produce a high pressure tight solid, forming a cured ink film.
For the printing industry and large format image applications, choosing the right pigment and achieving the desired particle size are the most important challenges for inkjet printing, regardless of the ink technology used. The application of UV ink systems in the field of screen printing has been more than 30 years old. In the screen printing market, the commonly used mesh size is 30 μm, and the ink particle size requirements are not high.
The small-particle digital ink uses inkjet technology and its dimensions are critical. UV inkjet inks are very different from traditional inkjet technologies and require a new set of operating parameters.
First, digital ink is approximately 50 times smaller than its closest screen printing ink. Second, the ink nozzle opening of the British inkjet printer Inca's Eagle inkjet printer is similar to human hair diameter. A slightly larger pigment particle can clog the nozzle and cause trouble. Uvijet digital inks feature less than 1 micron pigment particles that are uniformly dispersed in the carrier and remain discrete. Finally, the type and ratio of the appropriate monomers (reactive diluents), oligomers (responsive resins), and light absorbers (UV light absorbers) can be selected to produce stable, low-density inks for effective ink jet performance. .
During the development of Uvijet digital inks, Sericol optimized the surface tension, viscosity, and overall physical properties of the inks to not only control print quality, but also control end-user characteristics such as tackiness. This means that digital UV inks can be applied to a wide range of substrates.
Dr. Carole Noutary, Sericol's image technology manager, said: "Because UV inks cure instantly when exposed to UV light, it is the only ink technology that can meet the increasing speed of piezoelectric inkjet printers. Inca's Eagle inkjet printers There are 16 print heads, a total of 500 nozzles, and each nozzle has only one hair-size opening, so the particle size becomes a very important issue.Only the best dispersion technology can achieve the desired quality. This becomes UV digital. The key to the ultimate success of printing.In addition, because the UV-curable ink is a non-volatile product, it can prolong the life of the print head, but also effectively reduce the downtime.At the same time UV digital ink using non-combustible materials, more environmentally friendly ."
Without the use of UV ink technology, Inca's Eagle inkjet heads cannot achieve many key advantages, such as: printing speeds in excess of 90 square meters, printing on the widest range of viscosities across a wide range of materials, and without laminating and Coating, with strong outdoor adaptability and superior color intensity.
With the development of Inca Eagle printers and Uvijet inks, the relationship between Inca and Sericol continues to increase. This is a closed but not exclusive relationship that allows both partners to open their minds and find different solutions. Sericol uses UV digital inks for other inkjet applications, and Inca Digital can use any of the other developers' future products. The research and development of both parties are continuing, and the potential of UV inkjet technology has just been recognized.
About Eagle 44 Large Format Digital Printer
The Eagle 44 is a versatile flatbed printer for printing high quality promotional materials and advertisements for hard and soft display materials. Printing with UV-curable ink does not require coating and coating processes.
Eagle 44 features include:
1. No need to install plates or screens to print fewer jobs
2. Four-color yellow products can be printed in black and blue, with products ranging from back-through advertising to posters;
3. Directly on hard and soft sheets of paper up to 40mm thick;
4. Allow marginless printing without trimming;
5. Can use paper of a specific size, save money;
6. Can be double-sided printing, printing accuracy within 0.05mm;
7. If necessary, it can be combined with a screen printer to print images;
8. The degree of color stability in the same job is high, the effect of the first printed sheet is the same as the effect of the last printed sheet.
9. Simple color correction can be done with RIP within a few minutes.
10. Each printing can be customized according to customer requirements, and RIP can be performed during the printing operation.