What are the differences between UV printer and traditional plate printing? For most friends who use traditional plate printing, UV printing machines are a rising star for the printing industry. In recent years, they have gradually replaced a large part of the printing process, such as silk screen printing, offset printing, and thermal transfer printing, etc. UV printers have replaced most of the traditional printing processes.
The characteristics of UV printing machines are convenient and fast, availability of print one sheet, no need to make a plate, fast dry speed. In recent years, UV printers have been favored in the printing industry. The application industry of UV printers is very extensive, and more importantly, there are no restrictions on materials. The function of small UV printing machine makes printing closer to life and more accessible. Because of the uniqueness of UV characteristics and digital printing, small-batch personalized service has also developed with the development of the machines.
Traditional Printing Process
Traditional printing is divided into three stages:
1. Pre-press→refers to the pre-printing work, generally refers to photography, design, production, typesetting, output film proofing, etc.;
2. Printing→refers to the mid-printing work, the process of printing the finished product through the printing machine;
3. Post-press→refers to the post-printing work, generally refers to the post-processing of printed materials, including glue (laminating), UV, oil, beer, hot stamping, embossing, mounting, binding, cutting, etc., mostly used for publicity and packaging Class prints.
The production of traditional printed matter generally goes through five processes, including the selection or design of the original manuscript, the production of the original plate, the printing of the printing plate, and the post-press processing. That is to say, first select or design a manuscript suitable for printing, and then process the graphic information of the manuscript to produce an original plate for printing or engraving printing plate (usually called positive or negative), and then use the original to make the printing plate. The printing plate for printing is finally installed on the printing press, and the ink is applied to the surface of the printing plate by an inking system. The ink is transferred from the printing plate to the substrate by the pressure machine, and a large number of copies are copied in this way. The printed sheet is processed after printing to become a finished product suitable for various purposes.
UV Printing Process
The operation of the UV digital printing machine is simple, and the correct operation steps are as follows:1. First, import the finished picture, namely, the picture that needs to be printed, into the computer and use PS or CAD to simply process the size of the picture you printed.2. Clean the surface of the material to be printed, and keep the surface of the material free from dirt. The way to remove dirt is: use a clean, lint-free cloth to wipe the surface of the material. Do not wipe it back and forth to avoid scratching the surface of the material.3. Then spray a layer of coating on the surface of the material. The surface of the material is smooth, if the ink is not sprayed, the printed ink will be wiped off. Therefore, it is necessary to spray a coating on the surface to increase the adhesion of the ink and make the image complete, clear, and beautiful.4. When the above preparations are made, before starting to print pictures, first check whether the UV printer can work normally. When the printing is finished, check the printer's effect. If there are any brushing, white edges, etc., check the problem and perform the printing after troubleshooting.
The Differences Between the Two Printing Process
First factor: the difference in cost
If the quantity is large and the color is simple, the overall cost of traditional screen printing is very low. Although plate making is required and the UV printing cost is relatively expensive, the finished screen can be produced in large quantities to reduce costs. Therefore, we can only rely on mass production to reduce costs, requiring a large number of participants, and it is impossible to produce small batches or print samples for customers.If the quantity is small, the advantages of UV inkjet printers will come. There is no need to make a plate, only a digital picture and a piece of material are needed, and the products can be made in different categories. Only need simple picture processing, you can directly print out the computer.
Second factor: the printing process comparison.
The traditional screen printing process is more complicated. Based on the original image, the plate making and printing process are selected according to different printing materials, and different materials have different processes, and the overall operation is very troublesome.
The process of a UV printer is very simple, just put the material to be printed on the printer platform, fix the position, and operate it directly on the computer. One person can operate multiple devices and print one or more products at a time. It saves a lot of manpower, time, and cost.
Final difference: color effect contrast.
Traditional printing usually will be a single color, with poor color saturation. It can not make the gradient effect. On the contrary, UV printers can customize patterns at any time with vivid colors. Especially the gradient effect, the traditional printing process simply cannot achieve.
Some Other Suggestions
The printing process you choose depends on your business form. If it is a small batch of personalized customization, it is best to use a UV printer for printing. If it is a unified mass printing, then you can use a suitable traditional process. This is the choice of a qualified business leader. It is also proof of ability.
