What’s the difference between UV printer and Eco-solvent printer?

By AntPrint      6 minute Read      Keyword: UV Printer & Eco-solvent Printer

It called the “ flatbed printer ” when the first flatbed printer appear to the year about 2003 in China. Because this new inkjet printer just can print on the flatbed products surface.

About two years later, some people design the special cylinder adapter and mug cup adapter, so this flatbed printer can print on cylinder / mug cups based on the help of adapter. So, many people called it multifunction flatbed printer.

As this multifunction flatbed printer can add different ink, and the first type ink is eco-solvent ink, so many people call it eco-solvent printer. Similarly, there are textile ink add into the flatbed printer, and people called it textile flatbed printer; Adding the edible ink and people called it food flatbed printer.

About the UV flatbed printer, it is developed from the eco-solvent printer, people add the UV system ( cooling system and LED UV Lamp ) into the normal multifunction flatbed printer, and add the UV ink, and then it become to the UV flatbed printer.

So, generally speaking, UV flatbed printer just being added the UV system and become to the UV printer ( the China first UV printer is in the year of 2011 )

UV printer can add different ink as well, but only UV ink can dry at once because this special UV ink can make Chemical reaction with the LED UV light, that is why UV printer can dry at once ( not because of the high temperature).

So, you can add different ink into the UV printer, but they will not dry at once. For example, when you add the eco-solvent ink / textile ink/ edible ink into UV printer, the UV printer will work as normal flatbed printer, just they can not dry at once, because the LED Light is useless to them.

So, what’s the difference between the UV printer and the normal eco-solvent printer?
1.UV printer added the UV system based on the normal eco-solvent printer;

2. Ink is different:
The color of the ink (white ink):
1)UV ink just has 5 color: C,M,Y,K,W ( of course you can add double white because printer and accept 6 color/8 color);
Eco-solvent ink has 6 color ( for 6 color printer) or 8 color (for 8 color printer), you will know, eco-solvent ink has no white color, so eco-solvent printer can not print on black items;

2) Printing process:
As the UV ink is a kind of special ink, it can print directly on most materials except metal, wood, glass.
But eco-solvent ink should spray coating ( coating is a colorless liquid, which can help the eco-solvent ink being absorbed on your products surface) on your products before printing (will show you the video ) no matter what materials you are printing, drying by high temperature and then printing with ink, and final drying by high temperature. So compare with the UV printer, eco-solvent printer will be a little trouble when you printing.

3) Drying at once
As we said before, UV printer can made Chemical reaction with the LED UV light, so it can dry at once. But eco-solvent printer need dry under than high temperature. So, after you printing, you will need heat your products, or wait about two hours for drying under the normal temperature (28 degree).
PS: you will need heat/ wait for drying after coating and printing with ink.

4)Print with embossment
As the UV printer can print white ink and dry at once, so you can print with embossment by the UV printer. But eco-solvent printer can not do that.

5) Printed color
As UV printer just has 5 color and eco-solvent printer has 6 or 8 color, so the printed pictures by eco-solvent printer will be more vivid and colorful.

6) scratchproof
Generally speaking, both of them will be keep for a long time. For example, the printed picture on your phone case will keep for about 3 years. Just know that no matter it is UV printer or eco-solvent printer, both of them can not print on rubber, it will scratch out easily after printing.

7) Ink cost
One liter ink can print about 100 SQ.M with full size, no matter it is UV ink/ eco-solvent ink/ textile ink or edible ink. For example, if your phone case size is 5*8cm, one liter ink can print about 25000 pcs white covers.
UV ink price: $90 per liter;
Eco-solvent ink: $58 per liter;

As now, there are more and more people like the UV printer when they need print on different materials. And if they just print on t-shirt or food, the normal flatbed printer will be best choice.

Then how to know it is UV printer or normal flatbed printer/eco-solvent printer?

Just check if there are UV system ( UV lamp and cooling system), and you can check the ink pipe: If the pipe is black color, it is UV printer ( Because the special UV ink can not watch the light, so the UV printer ink pipe must be black color ).

Sent inquiry to us if you are interested in the UV printers right now~