UV inks being matte/dull

Discussion in 'UV' started by Hman1956, Jan 10, 2017.

  1. Hman1956

    Hman1956 Member

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    we have been having a problem with our UV inks becoming matte/dull when cured.
    the funny thing is the when we cure them in the unit we print the ink in it loses all the gloss, but if we wait until the EOP the gloss is good.
    this is just the ink, no coating, printed on 18pt sbs, coated side.
     
  2. spikeboy

    spikeboy Senior Member

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    H man are you using the corect powder some powders will take out gloss also if temps in dryer are too high can cause issues call ink suppliers lab and ask
     
  3. Hman1956

    Hman1956 Member

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    it's UV inks we don't use any powder
     
  4. AKJ

    AKJ Member

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    Check your FS with glycol refractometer it should be below 1.8%. The reading comes from the wetting agent (sub) the lower you can get it and still print clean the higher the ink gloss.
     
  5. Hman1956

    Hman1956 Member

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    AKJ,
    we get the same results when we run the ink as a "dry" solid.
     
  6. AKJ

    AKJ Member

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    Have you check the output of the lamps? But I'm thinking its an ink problem.
     
  7. Hman1956

    Hman1956 Member

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    AKJ,
    we see this happen with every ink we tried, 12 different inks from 4 different ink companies.
    it also has an impact on the gloss of AQ coating over the cured UV inks.
    if you would like more info on the press config, and what we print I would be happy to tell you what we do and how we do it but it's a long story.

    Bill
     
  8. AKJ

    AKJ Member

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    Bill
    I have some ideas, but this is how I make my living. Contact me at ajenkins@leduv.org
    I will be working in Farmingdale NY the week of Feb 14-18 so I will close to your location.
    Allen
     
  9. Hman1956

    Hman1956 Member

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  10. Hman1956

    Hman1956 Member

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  11. rchamness19

    rchamness19 Member

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    Hman have you tried T&K Toka just got done doing some gloss test and this ink has a comparable gloss to conventional. Toka is the largest UV company in Japan.
     
  12. Hman1956

    Hman1956 Member

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    we did and if we cure them in the unit it prints in we lose the gloss, if we wait and cure them at EOP the gloss is good.
     
  13. SSniveling

    SSniveling Member

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    My guess is the inter deck curing increases the trap of the next color down. Lighter ink layers on top of dark is dulling it. We have run 4/c over 4/c perfected work without coating for years. The component we print gets intermingled with pages printed on conventional, heat set and digital presses and never had complaint. Because of the way our press is built with drying stubs first side down does get inter deck cure between KC and MY then again before perfector. second side gets cured before coating unit. So the color is a little different in Blues and greens but usually not noticeable if we jockey densities slightly.
     
  14. LarryGC

    LarryGC Member

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    Uv ink will always come out matte finish. You're doing nothing wrong. If you want a glossy uv ink, try Sun LED inks.
     

  15. PrintPrint

    PrintPrint New Member

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    I have seen this also. I think it has a lot to do with how long the ink is wet on the sheet. So if we cure after the last printing unit it’s not as glossy, infact almost flat and dull versus curing in the extended delivery where the sheets are v glossy. We cure after pu6 in general and 4 colour work is glossy but if we press on pu6 it flattens the print off. It can be a tricky one to manage and sometimes thought needs to be given on how jobs are produced so the correct effect is achieved!
     
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