Direct to Media – UV

Unlike our giclee printers which are roll-fed and use pigment inks, our UV printing facility utilises a flatbed and can print up to 2.5 x 1.25m. Its unique selling point is that it can print on any flat substrate that is no thicker than 50mm (2 inches), such as wood, leather, acrylic, canvas and even more unusual substrates such as stone. Utilising a set of UV lamps that are positioned either side of the bank of 7 print heads, as soon as the inks hit the substrate, they are immediately cured or dried by the UV lights, meaning that substrates such as glass can be successfully printed on where previously the ink would run before drying.

Different UV printers have differing numbers of channels, which allow for a variety of printing options. At their most basic, a 4-channel printer offers CYMK printing (Cyan, Yellow, Magenta and Black). At Ultimat, our Fuji Acuity 30 printer has a wealth of added options from it’s 7-channels, adding white, primer and clear.

White ink is one of the most versatile additions allowing us to create a neutral base colour to print on dark substrates, but also due to the fact that it is thicker than the other inks, it can be used to print and overprint, building up layers within an image to create an almost three-dimensional quality, before laying down the required colour over the built-up areas.

The primer channel, which acts like a glue, allows us to increase the adhesion of the CYMK and white inks on previously difficult substrates but also can be used to apply an accurate adhesive layer for further embellishment such as foiling and diamond dusting.

The clear channel further enhances our capabilities, allowing us to offer spot-glossing of certain areas of an image, which can be useful in emphasising reflective qualities within the image, such as water droplets

Dibond is actually a brand name for an aluminium composite sheet in the same way that Perspex is a brand name for acrylic sheets. As hugely recongnised brands, they are often used unknowingly to describe the products themselves. Aluminium composite sheets are also known as ACM (Aluminium Composite Material) and are made up of three components; a thin aluminium skin on the top, a composite core and an aluminium skin on the back with an overall thickness typically of 3mm.

Their versatility comes from a number of different characteristics making them an ideal substrate for UV printing. Firstly the aluminium skin on the top, can be coated white giving a great neutral base for printing on, but it can also be supplied in a range of colours and finishes such as brushed metal. This allows for the colour and finish of the material to be incorporated into a design, where certain areas are printed and certain areas remain unprinted, allowing for the colour or finish of the ACM to show through. As an example, using brushed aluminium ACM, a cityscape which exposed parts of the substrate could incorporate the industrial look and reflective qualities of the brushed aluminium into the artwork design, presenting the image in a way that is only possible with this amalgamation of print and material. The material is beautifully flat and smooth, making it an ideal substrate for a flatbed printer, but it is also incredibly versatile and can be fabricated into printed boxes, using our Biesse CNC machine.

As we cut sheets in-house, we are able to create artwork which does not conform to the traditions of square or landscape formats and can easily cut any other shapes, including irregular. The size limitation is determined by the sheet size of 8×4’ (244 x 122cm) and panels are often cut with radius corners for safety although this is not a pre-requisite. Once printed, they can be used in a number of ways, from floating on a wall on their own, using a hidden subframe, framed where the edges are hidden by the frame, or assembled within a tray frame, so that the edges are visible, but floating within the aperture of the frame.

Whilst there are a number of variables which can vary the price, an indicative cost for printing onto white-coated Dibond / ACM is around £110 + VAT per m/2. Other finishes as will texture printing will be more expensive, depending on the chosen options.