UV coaters are true print finishing machines that are used to coat printed items or documents with a durable ultraviolet coating for a crisp and professional finish. Essentially, a UV Coater applies a particular coating (usually satin, matte or gloss) to a printed document and “cures” the coating with ultaviolet light for a finished look. Most UV Coaters today rely on either a hand-fed or automatic feed process of uv coating. UV Coaters come in many different styles, sizes and variations such as an inline or offline UV Coater.
The Benefits of UV Coating
UV coating printed materials is an excellent way to preserve, protect and add durability to nearly any paper product. Once a UV coating is applied to a product and is properly cured through ultaviolet light, the product becomes hardened offering an unparalleled application of use than standard printing. Most printers enjoy finishing their products through the use of a UV coater especially when their products are going to be used for direct-mailing, hand delivery or another form a document transportation. As most documents are ruined during packaging and distribution, UV coaters can prevent nearly 94% of the damage a document receives during its life time.
Adding a UV Coating to your printed items also adds the practical application of shine and elegance. After a document has dried, or cured, it will take on a luster like no other printing machine or printer can do with standard paper (no matter what type or weight of paper used). Most printers offer UV coating to their clients for an impressive look for anything from business cards to full sheet information packets for a professional and clean display.
In addition to the “shine” a uv coater leaves on printed documents, colors will appear to have much more vibrancy than conventional printing. Blues and blacks will become much more visible and highlights will standout better with the use of an Ultraviolet coater.
Profitability is also a huge reason why most printing and copy shops have switched to a UV coater. As higher quality documents can be created with less labor and less printing costs than other machines, UV coaters add value to your printing and allow your printing to be worth much more than traditional finishing methods.