In his blog post, “Considerations for Applying UV Coatings,” John Owed lists five great reasons why any print finisher should consider a UV coating machine.
We were most interested, however, in the environmental benefits. Specifically, Owed says that when formulated as one hundred percent solids, no solvents are present in UV coating material.
Since solvents are major pollutants, this means that regular inks are more harmful to the environment. Conversely, UV coatings hurt the environment a lot less than other coating types that contain these chemicals, such as laminates and varnishes. Indeed, UV coatings decrease pollution in several other areas as well. These include allowing a green printer to reduce the number of VOCs, HAPs, and NVPs they produce.
Given that print finishers and their customers are both under pressure to be more environmentally friendly these days, the value of being able to offer a green printing option is huge.
As more and more customers are looking for green printers, having a UV printing capability can set you apart from the non-green competition. And benefits to the environment are just the tip of the iceberg as far as reasons to offer UV coatings are concerned.
In addition to containing fewer pollutants, Mike Kelly says that UV coatings are more environmentally friendly than other coatings because they require less energy to cure. Less energy used usually translates to less fossil fuels burned, hence an already green print finishing process becomes even greener.
It also translates to lower energy bills and lower operating costs for your firm. Armed with a UV coating machine, your print finishing will benefit the environment and save you money at the same time.
Put differently, in the case of UV coating machines, green is the color of money.
