What is a UV offset printer?

UV offset press is an offset printing machine that uses UV ink. A UV curing machine or a built-in UV curing system must be installed on the UV offset press. Due to the special nature of UV inks, the corresponding parts on the press also need to be modified accordingly to meet the needs of UV curing.

Ink rollers and rubber blankets: Offset UV inks, due to their strong corrosive properties, may cause the normal printing ink rollers and blankets to swell, affecting the stability of the printing pressure. In severe cases, peeling or surface cracking may also occur. Therefore, UV offset printing on the rubber roller and blanket requirements are extremely high, ink roller, blanket selection must be compatible with offset UV ink. Please note the following:

Ink rollers: Ink rollers need to be replaced by UV or dual-use. A rubber roller made of EPDM rubber (EPDM) or silicone rubber is usually used, and the hardness is preferably at 40 Shore. the above.

Cooling device: Since the UV curing device is a heat source, the cooling device cannot be ignored. The performance of cooling devices corresponding to devices such as UV curing machines must also meet the requirements. The better the performance, the less the substrate is heated, the smaller the deformation, and the better it is for printing and registering.

Blanket: The blanket needs to be replaced by UV or dual-use. The following two blankets are available.

UV Blanket: The UV-resistant resin is added to the blanket mix. It is resistant to UV light. The blanket is not easy to powder.

UV self-adhesive blanket: The rubber surface contains anti-UV resin, which can be used for UV printing.

Gripper: Under the irradiation of the UV lamp, the common gripper will be thermally deformed, affecting the registration and printing. Therefore, the gripper on the unit with the UV curing system must be replaced with the UV gripper. The requirements of ordinary offset printing units for grippers are not very strict.

Special printing plate: printing plate can use UV special or dual-purpose plate, can also be obtained by ordinary plate heat treatment, according to the conventional method of drying ordinary PS plate, you need baking version of 10 to 15 minutes (temperature 250 C). The CTP version also requires baking for 10 to 15 minutes (temperature 250 °C).

Fountain Solution: The fountain solution should be a fountain solution that does not contain too much gum arabic.

Ink cleaning agent: The ink cleaning agent is selected for UV printing. Using ordinary ink cleaning agents will damage the UV printing plate.

The cost of UV offset printing presses is higher than that of ordinary offset printing equipment. Offset printing ink has a wider range of applications than ordinary offset printing. The market is dispersed and the market development investment is large. Therefore, the market starts slowly and the investment risk is high.