When you buy covers for your furniture or outdoor TV or anything that you want to use outdoor and retain its good looks throughout the seasons, it might be that you would like to add a personal touch to it. This would necessitate printing the custom covers, especially for you, by ensuring that the print quality is the best. You must also ensure that it can withstand the outdoor conditions. You must consider the space and the environment where you place the furniture and the extent of outdoor exposure it receives. How much of rain, wind, and sunlight the furniture is likely to bear will determine the most suitable printing technique for long-lasting of the printed design and colours while retaining the quality of finish and good looks.
Sun protection with UV resistant inks
The ultraviolet rays of sunlight are most damaging for outdoor furniture covers because it can damage the fabric as well as the printing. To protect the printed graphics of outdoor covers, you must ensure that the cover supplier uses UV inks for printing, which is a staple choice for any outdoor printed material. The inks have special properties of resisting the harmful effects of UV light that ensures that the graphic design remains glossy and shining through the years. By using UV inks that have a UV index less than 7, you can ensure long-lasting of the printed surface.
What is UV resistant ink?
UV resistant inks are special not only because of its UV resistant properties but also because it only suits digital printing. When you choose UV ink for printing covers, it will require digital printing. UV inks are different from the inks used in inkjet systems because the latter uses dyes that tend to fade during prolonged sun exposure due to the UV rays of sunlight. The ability of inks to withstand UV rays depend on the UV index of the ink.
Special curing technique
The curing technique of UV inks is also different from that of ink-jet inks. During digital printing that uses UV inks, the method of drying or curing is special because it uses a photochemical process of drying like the one that was introduced for drying gel nail polishes quickly during manicures. The same technique is now used in digital printing for printing any substrate from brochures to signages and from beer bottles to covers. The printing process is the same as traditional printing, with the difference in the drying process and inks used.
Curing with light
Unlike traditional printing that uses heat for drying or curing, UV printing uses LED light or mercury or quartz light that are specially designed to suit the needs of UV printing. As the ink spreads on the medium, the UV light closely follows it and dries it as soon as it meets the surface. As the ink transforms from solid to liquid almost at a fraction of a second, there is no evaporation and hence no chances of releasing VOCs or toxic fumes.
The printing process with UV ink is much faster and produces a better-quality print that lasts much longer.