Digital Printing

Solvent Based

Speed and Efficiency: Solvent printers are generally faster than water based at producing. Usually 25-50% more efficient than water based. Solvent printing is geared more for production and is an industrial type machine. They also have wider in diameter and higher in weight media capacity.

Cost of Ownership and Consumables: Solvent printing technology is designed every day, long-term high volume production runs. Their built to last, total workhorses! Solvent inks cost LESS than water based inks; this is a substantial savings considering it's the most expensive consumable you purchase! Inkjet media like canvas and paper is one more cost savings component. This varies of course with the quality of the substrate, and if there's an inkjet coating layer applied to the base. Solvent ink does not require an inkjet receptive coating, but it will indefinitely improve the output.

No Coating Saves Time and Money: there's no top-coating necessary with so is the most important advantage solvent inks have over water based! You print onto canvas, you wrap your prints, you ship the canvas prints. There's no post treatment with top-coating canvas prints. You eliminate a huge step of production, perhaps the longest step if you include lamination dry time for every print. And of course the waste incurred on canvas with coating rejects, or the trial and error with rolling and spraying liquid laminates.

Water Based

Extremely Soft Print, Cleaner Prints over Seams, or uneven surfaces Eco-friendly, contains no harsh chemicals, Can be used on Foil applications to add color to the design, Good washable, long lasting, Creates good distress and vintage effects.

UV Based

UV inks offer many benefits such as being more environmentally friendly than solvent-based inks, good opacity, light-fastness, resistance to smearing, sharp contrast, and a nice gloss. The UV inks, again because of the lack of evaporative agents, will maintain consistency throughout the whole press run, never getting thick or sticky.

Even water-based inks often use chemical catalyst components that require harsh cleaners to remove, when cleaning the printing equipment. Cleaning must be done on a regular basis to prevent the plugging of the printing cells, leading to high costs over time. Thus UV inks save time, money, and environmental waste by greatly reducing the need for cleaning.