Current Technology
Printing Process, coating equipment and curing systems are continuously improving based on better and stronger light sources such as UV, LED in order to increase drying speed, save on energy and to reduce costs.
The coating components technology is also improving at the same time presenting new formulations in order to keep up with the corresponding improvements in the printing press industry. Current printing and coating procedures have evolved due to the interaction of many factors such as the substrate media, thickness of coatings, curing systems, press speed (determined mainly by flow-out time needed and absorption factors) giving the final result produced by today’s technology.
Printing Companies normally adopt what best is available or affordable in the market today. In order to achieve a better result than inline coating, most have to proceed off-line with a second pass or outsource the process to specialist finishing companies, using specialty coatings or laminating to finally achieve the desired gloss finish result. However this process is inconvenient, time consuming and expensive, but at the same time unavoidable since there has been no other alternative until now.