Pigment UV ink is a specialized ink for inkjet printers, which has the advantage of being very durable but easy to cause ink blockage. This is one of two types of ink used for color inkjet printers.
1. What is UV Pigment Ink?
Currently on the market, there are mainly 2 types of ink used for color inkjet printers , which are Dye UV ink and UV Pigment ink , in addition, there is another type of ink, Sublimation thermal transfer ink , but this ink only uses specialized and less common. Each type of ink has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it should be used with each type of machine and for different purposes.
Pigment UV ink belongs to water-based water-resistant ink system including 6 colors: B, C, M, Y, LC, LM enhanced with UV to create color fastness against ultraviolet rays.
2. Compatibility
Pigment UV ink is an oil-based ink that can only be used with Epson color inkjet printers, not Canon printers. The reason is that Canon and Epson use two completely different printing technologies for color inkjet printers:
- Canon’s color inkjet printers use heat-burning printing technology to create inkjet pressure on the printed paper (thermal spray), so it is only compatible with Dye UV water-based inks.
- Epson’s inkjet printers use micro piezoelectric technology to spray ink directly on the paper (cold spray), without using heat, so it does not change the color or physical and chemical properties of the ink due to the heat effect. This technology can use oil-based Pigment UV ink.
Pigment UV ink is compatible with Epson nozzles such as: T50, T60, A50, R1390, P50, A1430, R1400, … and large models, limited to 4-color machines such as: Epson SX125, T13, T11…
3. Characteristics of Pigment UV ink
Advantage
- Durable, long-lasting, won’t smudge when exposed to water, and won’t fade under strong light.
- Printed on many materials including PVC, so it is often used to print plastic cards, name cards, customer cards, bank cards…
- Good ink conductivity, no damage to the nozzle.
- Beautiful, sharp images.
- UV Pigment inks tend to last longer and resist fading over time, making it the best choice for customers when printing important documents.
- Pigment UV ink has more color fastness than Dye UV ink, but the color of photos printed with Pigment UV ink will not be as vibrant as on photos printed with Dye UV ink.
- The ink is suitable for both Offset and Flexo printing technologies . In case you need to print printed publications such as invitations, packages, vouchers, flyers, etc., then offset printing is suitable. And if you want to print in rolls: labels, etc., then flexo printing is the perfect choice, flexo printing machines combined with die-cutting and laminating units will help print quickly, save time, and ensure aesthetics. high america. Moreover, in flexographic printing in large quantities, the printing cost is relatively reduced.
Defect
When using Pigment UV ink, if you do not print often, it will be easier to clog the nozzle than Dye UV ink. Therefore, you must carefully consider your printing needs, thereby making a plan to choose the most appropriate ink to ensure two factors that are print quality and durability of the inkjet printer. .
4. Application of Pigment UV ink
Inkjet printers using Pigment UV ink often print for products such as:
- Print titles, print envelopes, documents, print CD labels, print disc covers, print ultrasound images, print warranty cards
- Print cards, portraits, worship photos, travel photos
- Print decals used to stick on souvenir products with crystal, porcelain, wood, plastic, stone, glass materials….
- Print tattoo stickers on the skin.
- Print PVC cards such as: car card, Vip card, employee card, financial card, Membership card.
- Print PVC decal for car stickers, cell phones, laptops, helmets…
- Print decal paper
- Print plastic decal (clear plastic decal, milk plastic decal …)
- Printing warranty stamps (tank stamps), 7-color decal printing…
Pigment UV ink has many outstanding advantages but is limited in compatible printers. Therefore, only offices or printers that use Epson printers can use this ink.
5. Should UV Pigment ink be used for color inkjet printers?
As mentioned above, Pigment UV ink has more color fastness than Dye UV ink, but the color of the image printed when using Pigment UV ink will be somewhat sadder, not as vibrant as on the printed photo. with Dye UV ink.
And there is another very important feature that when using Pigment UV ink, if you do not print often, it will be easier to clog the nozzle than Dye UV ink => Therefore, you must carefully consider your printing needs. From there, we offer a plan to choose the most appropriate ink to ensure two factors: print quality and durability of the inkjet printer.
Advice:
- If you print services, print cards, print a lot, print continuously, need to print for outdoor publications => You should use Pigment UV ink.
- If you only print office documents, want prints with beautiful, bright colors => You should use Dye UV ink.
