UV ink is neither oily nor water-based. Generally speaking, oily and water-based ink is based on the dispersion medium of ink. In short, oily ink disperses pigments in oil, such as mineral oil, vegetable oil, etc. The ink fixes pigments on the printing medium through oil penetration and evaporation; The water-based ink takes water as the dispersion medium, and the ink fixes the pigment on the printing medium through the penetration and evaporation of water.
Oily ink and water-based ink have different dilution and cleaning media due to different dispersion media. Oil can only be diluted and cleaned with solvent, while water-based ink can be diluted and cleaned with water. We know that it is troublesome to decompose and recycle grease, so water-based ink is more environmentally friendly.
Both oily and water-based inks need to be dried or naturally dried to achieve a surface dry state.
On the surface, UV ink is similar to oily ink, but the use and curing process are completely different.
UV ink uses a different principle, that is, light curing resin is used as a dispersant, and UV light irradiation causes a chemical reaction to cure the resin into a film. UV ink is attached to the printing medium by the adhesion of resin. It can form a good film even if it is impermeable, so it can be printed on metal, glass, ceramics and other materials. UV ink has a very short curing time and does not volatilize solvent, so it is also an environmentally friendly and harmless ink. However, the decomposition and recovery of photo curing resin is also a big problem, so UV ink is not 100% environment-friendly ink.
Now that we are talking about solvent ink, it is a dispersant or diluent of dye or pigment with solvent. The solvent used is usually highly volatile, so as to shorten the drying time of ink. The problem is that the solvent usually has a strong taste, which is sometimes harmful to human body and the environment. Therefore, solvent based ink is not considered as environmental friendly ink, so pay attention to keeping the working environment ventilated and human body protected when using it.