What is the difference between UV ink and UV varnish?

1、 Composition and composition

UV ink: UV ink is mainly composed of resin, pigments, curing agents, diluents, and other components. It is an ink that does not require solvents, has a fast drying speed, good gloss, and bright colors. UV ink has excellent printing adaptability, suitable curing and drying rate, and has characteristics such as wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and weather resistance.

UV varnish: UV varnish is mainly composed of various chemical substances such as acrylic monomers, plasticizers, photoinitiators, fillers, etc. It is a transparent coating with excellent leveling properties. After film formation, the surface is smooth and shiny, with a smooth texture.

2、 Purpose and application field

UV ink: UV ink is widely used in the printing of materials such as paper and plastic films, especially in the printing industry of screen printing, transfer printing, offset printing, and other important applications. Due to its environmentally friendly and efficient characteristics, UV ink has become a relatively mature ink technology.

UV varnish: UV varnish is mainly used in industries such as painting, printing, plastics, wood, metal, etc. After solidification, the printed material has high surface hardness, good wear resistance, and is not easily scratched. At the same time, it also has excellent wear resistance, scratch resistance, high hardness, and oil and water resistance.

3、 Features and performance

UV ink: UV ink has the characteristics of bright colors, high glossiness, and fast printing speed. In addition, water-based UV ink in UV ink is a new research direction in the field of UV ink. It uses water and ethanol as diluents, which have lower toxicity and better environmental performance.

UV varnish: The surface of printed materials after UV varnish curing is smooth and bright, with characteristics such as fine film formation and good hand feel. Its curing speed is fast, and it can achieve an efficiency of over 8000 sheets of paper per hour with sufficient UV machine energy. At the same time, UV varnish also has excellent wear resistance, scratch resistance, and high hardness, as well as oil and water resistance.

4、 Summary

There are significant differences between UV ink and UV varnish in terms of composition, usage, and characteristics. UV ink occupies an important position in the printing industry due to its bright colors, high glossiness, and environmental performance; UV varnish, on the other hand, is favored in the coating industry for its excellent wear resistance, scratch resistance, and efficient curing speed. Both UV ink and UV gloss play important roles in their respective fields, providing important support for modern industrial production.