Ultra-Violet Coatings Tricks and Tips

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ULTRA-VIOLET COATINGS TIPS & TRICKS

The U.V. coating of printed sheets produces a tough, high gloss finish demanded by
many product applications. However, although the process is simple, the printer
should be aware of numerous pitfalls that can occur, and take active steps to
eliminate them.

Below are listed a number of these problems and some suggestions that will prevent
them from occurring on your printed jobs:
Make sure jobs that are required to be treated with an Ultra-violet coating do not
contain wax, polyethylene, silicones or other surface active materials (Your ink
supplier can provide this information)
Make sure that the fountain solution used does not contain glycols, glycol ethers
(which are often used as alcohol substitutes), silicones, etc. as these materials
can promote the pickup and retention of water which can affect the adhesion of
subsequent primers or inks.
Spray powders used to prevent offset should be minimized and a minimum
particle size should be selected. Wax or surface coated powders should not be
used.
Inks must be produced from pigments that resist bleeding into the acrylic
monomers and polymers used in the coating formulation. Avoid the use of
troublesome pigments such as Rhodamine Red, Rhodamine Purple, Reflex
Blue, etc. Your ink supplier can supply similar colours made from resistant
pigments if they are requested to do so, although they are generally more
expensive formulations.
Do not use fountain solutions that have low pH readings (below 4.5) as printing
under these conditions will often cause the inks to dry very slowly. (The driers in
the inks become deactivated under these conditions.)
Avoid the use of metallic inks as they are a known cause of poor coating
adhesion, and will often show problems with the bonding of hot stamping foils
and film laminations. (The use of wax free formulations does not guarantee
success with these products.)
Always allow inks to dry completely before any finishing is attempted. This
should be a minimum of 24 hours (48 hours preferred). However, printed sheets
should not be left too long before coating because the inks may become
crystallized which can cause crawling (reticulation) of the U.V. coating.
Primer coatings are often used over litho inks to prevent drying back or
differential absorption of the final Ultra-violet coating. These coatings prevent
the fast penetration of the coating into the paper or board stock, which can
cause yellowing and retained odour. If used they should be chosen carefully to
ensure that they are compatible with the other inks and coatings used. (Primer
and size coatings can affect intercoat adhesion and foil stamping).
The highest quality coated finishes are obtained when the printed surface has a
minimum dyne level of 38 as this will give better coating adhesion and film
smoothness.
It is recommended that testing be carried out prior to printing, thus ensuring that
all of the components are compatible with each other.


Reviewed November, 2010

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