UV inks are inks that are cured by ultraviolet (UV) light and not oxidation (air).   These inks are not only sharper and more vibrant than regular conventional inks, but they make printed pieces look crisper.  UV inks “sit” on top of the paper or plastic material and do not get absorbed into the substrate like regular conventional inks do. 

We are able to print UV inks on our offset presses, and we can print on various thicknesses of paper and synthetic substrates, such as PVC, Polystyrene, Vinyl, and Foil.

More Environmentally Friendly

·         UV inks are 99.5% VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) free, unlike conventional inks making it more environmentally friendly. 

What are VOC’S

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic chemicals emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids, including soy based inks.  VOC’s evaporate at room temperature and react in sunlight to form ground-level ozone. According to the EPA, VOCs can cause various ailments and diseases.

Superior finishes

·         UV Inks cure almost instantaneously unlike conventional inks…

o   Eliminating the possibility of offsetting and most ghosting.

o   If matching to sample colors, reduces the variance in colors between sample and live job (dry backing).

o   No additional dry time is needed and job can go straight to finishing.

·         UV Inks are more resistant to scratching, smudging, scuffing and rubbing.

·         Unlike conventional inks, UV inks allow us the ability to print on a variety of substrates, including plastics.

·         UV inks printed on uncoated paper will have crisper look to text and graphics due to the ink not being absorbed by the paper.

·         UV Inks provide superior finishes to conventional inks.

·         UV inks increase special effect capabilities. 

With conventional inks, customers often request for their printed pieces to have aqueous coating added to the process to make the piece more resistant to scratching and marking.  Unless a customer wants to add a glossy finish, or a very flat dull finish to the piece, aqueous coatings are not needed.   UV inks are cured right away and are more resistant to scratching and marking. 

Putting a gloss or satin aqueous coating on a matte, satin, or velvet stock will not give any significant visual effect.   There is no need to request this to protect the ink on this type of stock and because you are not improving the visual look, it will be a waste of money.   Below are a couple of examples in which UV inks can have a significant visual effect with an aqueous coating:

·         Printing on gloss paper and want to add a glossy finish to the piece

·         Printing on a dull paper and want to add a flat dull finish

We would be more than happy to discuss with you what technique would be best for your printed piece to stand out and can also send you free samples of our capabilities. 

Reticulating varnish with high gloss UV coating

Strikethrough varnish with high gloss UV coating

Please feel free to contact us for samples of these types of effects.

Cost varies, but as always, the cost is dependent on the type of job and quantity being printed, so the higher the quantity, the per piece cost will be less.  That being said, it is vary comparable to printing with soy based inks, without the added worry of quality issues if your project was printed with regular conventional inks.

Varnish files should be created as a layer in the page program.  The varnish should be a spot color set to overprint. The spot color used should be label accurately (i.e. matte, gloss,UV, etc).

·         Varnish files should extend .125 past trim area, to cover the bleed if needed.

• All photos with background dropouts, should have clipping paths created.
• Varnish files should be 100% fill, not a screen tint.

There is currently no widely accepted, universal UV Ink logo.  We have a couple of different logos that you may use on your printed piece with our permission.