What should be noted when using UV fluorescent ink in the printing process?

Due to its special characteristics in the ink system, UV fluorescent ink has very strict requirements for printing processes, and the following issues need to be especially noted when using it:

1. In the printing process of drug packaging, gravure printing is commonly used, and it is crucial to choose the appropriate solvent. Solvent is the main component of gravure ink, which has solubility and volatility. The drying speed and printing quality of ink depend on the volatility of gravure ink, which needs to be appropriate. If it is too fast or too slow, it will not work:

(1) Slow volatility:

Advantages: Excellent reproducibility of printed images; Disadvantages: It cannot be completely volatilized, and the fluorescent ink layer is prone to adhesion, which causes anti-counterfeiting images to be blurry, the layout to be dirty, and affects anti-counterfeiting and appearance.

(2) Fast volatility: It causes phenomena such as ink whiteness, roller sticking, and ink layer sticking, which leads to the dirtying of the back of the packaging material and may also affect coating and composite processes.

Since different manufacturers have different printing equipment and operating environments, such as printing machine speed, drying structure, substrate material characteristics, indoor temperature and humidity, the use of solvents in the printing process needs to be considered comprehensively. It is recommended to compare the dissolution parameters of the binding resin and use 2-3 solvents with different boiling points to print a complete anti-counterfeiting effect pattern.

2. The proportion of fluorescent ink in the anti-counterfeiting printing layout is small. It is recommended to calculate it reasonably when printing fluorescent ink products to avoid waste due to the following reasons:

(1) The price of fluorescent ink is more than ten times higher than that of ordinary ink;

(2) Fluorescent ink cannot be reused and is easy to get dirty;

(3) Long-term solvent washing of the ink system will dilute the fluorescent pigment and fail to meet the anti-counterfeiting requirements.