SignCenter has printers that use both technologies: our OCE 550 GTX has the older vapor lamps, but our new VUTEK GS3250 and GS2000 LX Pro Ultradrop hybrid printers have LED’s. As the LED lamps don’t generate heat we are able to now print much more delicate and thinner media without the risk of warping or melting.
The great advantage to UV cure printing technologies is the ability to print directly to nearly any substrate without a special coating. This is why we are able to direct print rigid media up to 2″ thick that ranges from plastic to metal to wood, and flexible media that includes paper, plastics and fabrics up to 126″ wide.
UV cured inks also dry nearly instantaneously which creates the opportunity to lay down multiple layers of ink in one pass. All 3 of our UV printers have multiple channels of white ink, so this layering is used to produce projects such as incredibly vivid and color accurate backlit images by printing a color layer, a white layer, and then another color layer.
UV printing is considered environmentally friendly because the inks don’t have toxic solvents but instead rely on the power of light to cure the binder.
