Knowledge
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- by John White
UV Printing vs Screen Printing: Where Each One Wins
The comparison is usually framed as old against new, which is why so many shops end up with the wrong answer. Screen printing has not stopped being economical on long repeat runs, and direct UV printing is not cheaper at...
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- by John White
Retail Displays and POP Panels: UV Printing Workflow and Version Control
A retail campaign fails at the store, not at the printer. The panel that arrives with the wrong offer, in the wrong language, drilled for the wrong fixture, or in a colour that no longer matches the rest of the...
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- by John White
UV Printing on Wood and MDF: Surface Prep, Coatings and Edge Quality
Two panels ordered from the same supplier in different months can print differently, and the difference is not the printer. MDF density, plywood construction, face veneer, resin content, moisture condition and the coating applied at the mill all change how...
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- by John White
UV Printing on PVC, ABS and Corrugated Plastic Sheets
Three sheets that look similar in a sample rack are three different printing problems. PVC board is a solid or foamed vinyl compound, ABS is a different resin with different additives, and corrugated plastic signage is usually fluted polypropylene with...
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- by John White
UV Printing on Metal and Aluminium: Primers, Adhesion and Forming
Metal is the substrate that most often gets quoted from the material name alone, and it is the one where that shortcut costs the most. An anodised aluminium panel, a powder-coated steel sheet and a brushed aluminium face can look...
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- by John White
UV Printing on Leather and Faux Leather: Texture, Elasticity and Wear
Leather is the substrate where a print can pass every workshop check and still fail in use, because the finished part is not a flat surface. It is bent around a corner, stitched along an edge, fitted with hardware and...
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- by John White
UV Printing on Glass: Adhesion, Primers and Production Settings
Glass is the substrate that fails most quietly. A printed glass panel can look perfect at the end of the bed and develop a lifting edge three weeks later, once the panel has been handled, cleaned or exposed to temperature...
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- by John White
UV Printing on Foam Board, Acoustic Panels and Stone Surfaces
These three substrates have little in common chemically and everything in common operationally. Each one is a flat panel that will fit a flatbed, and each one fails for a reason that a specification sheet does not capture: a soft...
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- by John White
UV Printing on Ceramic and Porcelain Tiles
A tile that prints beautifully in the workshop and fails in a bathroom has usually failed for a reason that was visible before the job started. Glaze chemistry, factory coatings, surface texture, contamination and porosity differ between tile types even...