How to Choose Wide-format UV Digital Printer? - There are Three Types for You

Hi, nice to see you again, my dear friends. May people often ask me how to choose wide-format UV digital printer? There are three types: roll ro roll UV printer, flatbed UV printer, hybrid UV printer. Reading and following, I will share you more.

1. Roll-to-roll is self-explanatory: media is loaded on a roll (usually on the back of the printer) and feeds through to print and then, in many cases, to a take-up roll.
2. Flatbed UV printer is also pretty obvious: the media or rigid substrate is loaded onto the bed of the printer and the print head moves via a gantry system to print the image.
3. When referring to a hybrid UV printer, for the purpose of this article, I mean that you can load a roll of material, which will feed through the printer using a belt or rollers, or you have the ability to attach a flat table to the front and/or back of the printer to load a rigid substrate that is transported via the same belt or rollers.

Print Technologies
The first question you need to ask is which printing method is best for most of the work you are currently doing or for the work you plan to do in your facility. If all you do is banners, then an RTR printer will do a great job for you. Conversely, if all you do are rigid signs then a flatbed printer will fit the bill.

Ink Sets

When it comes to ink sets, chemistries are changing all the time, and it’s hard to keep up with what’s going on. It used to be that many UV inks were only good for rigid substrates, so you would only see UV inks on a flatbed printer. No longer. Now UV inks have been designed that can stretch enough to be used on vehicle wraps, and there are a number of UV printers and ink sets that have the warranty, which means that Skyimage has approved the ink for use on their vehicle wrap vinyl and will warrant their durability and longevity.
Applications
Let’s take a look at some applications and identify which printer platform is a better fit. Under the RTR printers you will find banners, adhesive back vinyl, window perf, backlit display graphics, static cling films, specialty films such as no-curl banners for trade show graphics and some textiles (make sure that the textile you choose matches the ink set you are using).

Flatbed printers are designed for rigid substrates of all types including, foam board, PVC, polystyrenes, wood, some metals and acrylic. Some will say you can also print roll goods on a flatbed printer; that is true, however it means either pre-cutting the material or retrofitting a roll system (which some flatbed printers do offer for a cost) onto the printer.

Hybrid uv printers can do a good job on a combination of each of these applications with the caveat being the weight limit that the feed system can manage. A belt feed system can manage heavier pieces than a hybrid that started its life as a RTR and has been re-fitted with removable tables and is still using the grit and pinch rollers to move the material.

Okay, this is all I introduced the three types UV printer. If you want to learn more about UV printer, welcome to contact us at any time. We will provide you the best quality product and service. Hope my article can be useful to you. Thank you for your reading.