UV Decorative Gravure and Flexographic Inks – Photoinitiator
UV decorative screen printing ink varieties, single performance, some use trouble, low production capacity, for this reason, people also try to use gravure printing and flexo printing to print decorative patterns, thus developed UV decorative gravure ink and UV decorative flexo printing ink. This is our self-developed packaging printing technology and decorative ink, which not only has perfect decorative effect, but also has good anti-counterfeiting effect.
① Gravure printing method for printing decorative ink. It is mainly realized by making plates with decorative patterns by electric engraving method or laser engraving method, and at the same time developing decorative gravure ink for its matching use and installing UV curing equipment on the gravure printing machine. Gravure printing patterns produced by the layout, size and depth of the dots and lines of the plate to determine, as long as the production of a printing plate with different effects of frosted, refractive, ice flowers, wrinkles or coral and other patterns, with a kind of ink can be printed with different decorative patterns, so that the prints are more artistic. In view of the good consistency of gravure printing, as long as a printing plate, with the same ink and the same kind of paper, even if printed on millions of sheets, the uniformity is also very good, so it has a good anti-counterfeiting function. Gravure printing rate is fast, the ink layer is thick, it is difficult to completely cured, UV decorative gravure ink for this UV decorative gravure ink in addition to the use of a new type of active oligomer, active diluents and photoinitiators to the clever combination, but also added to improve the curing rate and to overcome the nanomaterials of the oxygen blocking polymerization, the preparation of a printing speed of more than 150m/min of UV decorative gravure ink.
② Flexographic printing method for decorative inks. Digital laser flexo technology is used to make flexo plates, anilox rollers are used for ink transfer, and the thickness of the ink layer can be transferred to more than 10μm as far as possible, and UV inks are made of materials with good optical properties (high refractive index or high scattering), and the prints are not only full of decorative effects but also good anti-counterfeiting effects after being used in combination. Due to the limitations of the flexographic printing process, the printed ink layer is thin, such as the need to print some special effects of the thick ink layer, the available roller screen printing machine for printing, and for this reason the development of UV decorative screen printing ink for roller screen printing machine.
A practical selection route for photoinitiator-related projects
When technical buyers or formulators screen photoinitiators, the most useful decision frame is usually cure quality plus application fit: which package cures reliably, keeps appearance acceptable, and still works under the lamp, film thickness, and substrate conditions of the actual process.
- Match the package to the lamp first: mercury lamps, UV LEDs, and visible-light systems can rank the same photoinitiators very differently.
- Check depth cure and surface cure separately: a film that feels dry on top can still be weak underneath.
- Balance yellowing with reactivity: the strongest deep-cure route is not always the best commercial choice if color or migration risk becomes unacceptable.
- Use the final formula as the benchmark: pigment load, monomer package, and film thickness can all change the apparent ranking of the same initiator.
Recommended product references
- CHLUMINIT 819: Useful when a formulation needs stronger absorption and deeper cure support.
- CHLUMINIT 1173: A practical comparison point for classic short-wave UV initiation.
- CHLUMINIT ITX: A useful long-wave support route in many printing-ink packages.
- CHLUMINIT CQ: A direct reference for visible-light and color-sensitive curing discussions.
FAQ for buyers and formulators
Why are blended photoinitiator packages so common?
Because one product may control yellowing or lamp fit well while another improves cure depth or line-speed performance, so the full package is often stronger than any single grade.
Should incomplete cure always be solved by adding more initiator?
Not automatically. The real limitation may be the lamp, film thickness, pigment shading, or the rest of the reactive system rather than simple under-dosage.
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Quick answer: For practical formulation work, photoinitiator screening starts with the light source and film build, then checks yellowing, adhesion, and cure completeness under real production conditions.
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