In UV printing in non-permeable materials, UV printers utilize light curing technology to achieve effective adhesion and accurate imaging. An example of a high-end mobile phone glass cover manufacturer, the UV printer cures the ink under 395nm wavelength UV-LED light to 3H (pencil hardness test standard) within 0.8 seconds, compared with the traditional thermal curing method (120℃ for 30 minutes), energy consumption reduces by 65% (power density is merely 4.2W/cm²), and thermal deformation risk does not exist. Yield increased from 82% to 99%. It was discovered, according to the 2022 Journal of Materials Science study, that adhesion strength between UV ink and non-permeable surfaces such as glass, metal, and ceramics is up to 5B grade (ASTM D3359 cell test) and peeling force more than 15N/cm², i.e., 200% higher than solvent ink. At the same time, the pretreatment process (e.g., plasma or primer) is reduced by 90%, with cost savings of 1.5 yuan per piece, and annual production capacity exceeds 5 million pieces.
From the environmental conformity perspective, VOCs emissions of UV printers on non-permeable substrates are close to zero (detection limit < 0.1ppm), as compliant with the EU EN 16516 indoor air quality standard. Taking a building materials company for example, after converting its aluminum-plastic panel printing line into a UV printer, its scrap rate reduced from 18% to 2%, the cost of hazardous waste treatment per year reduced by 2.7 million yuan, and 30% export tariff concessions were obtained after passing the GREENGUARD certification. In addition, the solid content of UV ink is as high as 98%-100% (the traditional ink is merely 45%-60%), the consumption of unit area is reduced by 40%, and the price of ink is reduced from 8.5 yuan to 4.2 yuan when printing 1 square meter acrylic plate, and the profit margin is increased by 12.7%.
As for complex surface adaptability, piezoelectric nozzle UV printers (minimum ink droplet 6pL) and 3D positioning system (precision ±0.02mm) are able to print micron-scale images on curved metal cases with 0.5mm curvature radius or 0.3mm-thick PET films (resolution 1200×1200dpi). For example, an automotive interior components supplier used a UV printer to print imitation wood grain on chromium-plated plastic parts, color difference ΔE was controlled at 0.8 (ISO 12647-2 standard), and wear resistance was 10,000 steel wool friction (ISO 105-X12 test), and customer order delivery time was reduced from 21 days to 5 days. Market share increased by 23%. According to Frost & Sullivan data, in the world non-perfect materials printing market in 2023, the penetration rate of UV printers reached up to 54%, mainly due to the fact that it can support single-time multi-layer printing (e.g., background color + white ink + gloss), and save 60% of the process switching time.
For use in severe environments, UV printers with close-loop temperature control system (operating temperature range 5℃-40℃) and humidity compensation algorithm (adaptive to 10%-85% RH), in order to ensure ink flow fluctuation < 1.5%, to avoid traditional printing caused by environmental factors due to 50% color deviation. For example, a medical device company uses a UV printer to engrave scale lines on the surface of titanium alloy surgical instruments, which can sustain high temperature steam sterilization (135 ° C /30 minutes) for more than 5,000 cycles, and marking life is more than 15 years, according to FDA 21 CFR Part 11 traceability standards, and customer complaint rate has decreased to 0.05%.
At the level of return on investment, even though the original purchase price of the UV printer (approximately 800,000 to 3 million yuan) is higher than that of the screen printing machine, it allows for small batch customization (minimum batch size of 1 piece) and rapid conversion (line change time < 10 minutes), so the flexibility of enterprise orders increased by 90%. For example, in a high-end packaging company, after the use of UV printers, the rate of customized orders increased from 12% to 58%, the unit cost increased by 35%, and the investment recovery cycle stood at merely 14 months. According to industry calculation, the comprehensive efficiency index (quality, efficiency, environmental protection) of UV printers in printing non-permeable materials was up to 92.4 points, which is 63% higher than the conventional process, and is a hard equipment for high value-added industries such as consumer electronics, automobiles, and medical care.