What is Direct UV Digital Printing?
Direct UV Digital Printing prints special UV ink directly onto a product. This UV ink is cured (or in laymans terms: dried) instantly using ultraviolet light. Unlike traditional printing, which relies on heat or air drying, this method ensures a fast, precise finish with exceptional durability. In our opinion here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of this type of branding:
Advantages
UV digital printing can achieve photo-quality results with smooth gradients and fine details. The UV ink adheres to a wide range of materials therefore, making it a highly versatile option across a variety of different types of promotional products.
Visually, UV prints have a sleek, appealing visual look with a print result that pops. Depending on the material and print settings, you can also achieve a glossy or matte look and even create slight texture variations for added depth.
Disadvantages
UV digital printing is a top-notch choice, but it’s not perfect for everything like any method. So here are a few things to consider:
- Cannot be used for Fabric: This method isn’t suited for clothing or other textiles, unlike embroidery or screen printing.
- Works Best on Flat or Lightly Curved Surfaces: Deep curves or highly textured surfaces can affect print quality.
- Slightly Higher Cost Per Unit: While incredibly durable, UV printing can be more expensive than more straightforward methods like pad printing.
If these factors work for you, UV printing is a brilliant way to get bold, long-lasting branding that stands out!
How is it Applied to Promotional Items
The process starts for branding promotional items with UV Printing is:
- Preparing the Design: Our team uploads and fine-tunes your logo’s or chosen artwork’s colours.
- Surface Preparation: After this, the team cleans and prepares the surface to ensure the ink sticks when applied.
- Ink Application: Then, our high-precision printer applies UV ink directly onto the surface to capture every detail.
- Instant Curing (drying): After, the UV light solidifies the ink instantly to eliminate the smudging and reduce production time.
- Quality Check: Then, we do a final visual quality check to ensure the print is done correctly.
Surfaces Suitable for UV Printing
UV digital printing is incredibly adaptable to many surfaces. Here are some of the surfaces we recommend this branding technique for:
- Plastic: Ideal for promotional items such as phone cases, drink bottles, and tech accessories.
- Metal: Perfect for metals like nameplates, badges, and corporate gifts.
- Glass: Great for premium drinkware and awards.
- Acrylic: Works mainly for signage and other display branding.
- Wood: Elevates the wood with a rustic yet polished look on certain promotional gifts made from wood.
