Highly Sophisticated High-definition Ultraviolet Printing Utilizing 10-micron Dots

Abstract

With the development of the ultraviolet (UV) 10-color press, the world's first "high-definition UV printing method (using 10-micron dots)" has been commercialized to maximize the advantages of UV printing (increased production efficiency, volatile organic compounds-free and thus environmentally friendly, and adaptable to special substrates) and high-definition printing (detailed photographic reproduction, greatly reduced ink usage, and consistent machine maintenance) .To put this special printing method into practice, not only was a new printing machine developed and custom-built, but also research and development into the ink, dampening solution, and machine settings was carried out over many years. Ultimately, the UV high-definition printing method was combined with the Japan color system, which is compatible with international standards, to prove it is possible to control the detailed printing conditions during daily operation. This method is utilized for two-pass, high-density printing on plastic substrates with the four primary color system, on deposited aluminum by using a perfecting unit (single-pass printing on both sides), and on coated paper by merging waterless printing with the current method. A topic requiring ongoing research is energy-saving, since large amounts of electricity are required for the curing of UV inks. This topic is part of our ongoing agenda, and it presents a challenging task.