What is UV printing?

By the Aavro print team, Udaipur · Last updated 13 November 2026

How it works

A UV flatbed printer has a flat table where the item lies, and a carriage of printheads that moves over it. The heads fire tiny droplets of UV-curable ink. LED UV lamps on the same carriage follow straight behind, and their light turns the liquid ink into a hard solid film in a fraction of a second.

Because nothing needs to dry, the piece can be handled straight off the bed, and the ink sits on top of the surface with crisp edges instead of spreading into it. Our own machine is a flatbed UV LED printer with Epson i3200 printheads, printing CMYK colour, white ink and clear varnish at up to 720 × 1800 dpi, with ONYX RIP colour management.

White ink and varnish: the two extra layers

Ordinary printers rely on white paper to make colours look right. UV printers often print on clear, dark or coloured surfaces, so they carry white ink. White under the colour makes a photo on clear acrylic look solid. White on its own gives white text on black or clear material.

Clear varnish is printed like an ink. It adds gloss, protects the print, and in several layers builds a raised texture you can feel: spot gloss on a logo, braille-style dots, or an embossed look without a die.

What UV printing is good at

• Printing on rigid materials directly, with no sticker or transfer
• Full colour, photos and gradients, which screen and pad printing cannot do easily
• One piece or a short run with no setup cost for plates or screens
• A different name, number or photo on every piece in a batch
• Sharp small text, fine lines and QR codes
• Finished, assembled items: boxes, plaques, panels, covers

Where it is not the right choice

We would rather tell you another method suits your job better than sell you the wrong one. See UV printing compared with screen, DTF and sublimation.

• Very large quantities of one design on paper: offset printing is cheaper per piece
• T-shirts and fabric that stretches or is washed: DTF, screen printing or sublimation suit them better
• Surfaces that touch food or the mouth: keep the print away from them
• Soft, very flexible items such as silicone, where the ink can crack
• Fully round items, unless the printer has a rotary attachment

Is UV printing durable?

Cured UV ink is hard and scratch-resistant, and it does not smudge or rub off with handling. On non-porous surfaces such as glass, metal and stone, a primer is what makes it hold. Back-printing on clear acrylic or glass seals the ink behind the sheet, the most durable option of all. Indoors, colours last for years. In strong direct sunlight any printed colour slowly fades, so outdoor pieces get a varnish layer and a realistic expectation.

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