Colour you can feel
UV printing on wood, metal, glass and acrylic
With my UV printer I put your artwork straight onto wood, metal, glass, acrylic, leather or stone. Pin-sharp in photo quality, and if you like, as a relief you can feel with your fingertips. From a single piece.
300+
printable materials
1,440 dpi
print resolution
330 × 420 mm
print area
5 mm
tactile relief
6
channels: CMYK, white and gloss
What it can become
Six ideas where UV printing really shines. Perhaps yours is already among them.
Gifts with your logo
A slate coaster, a wooden box or a metal bottle opener, in your company colours and with your logo. Pieces like these stay on the desk, whether for customers, an anniversary or your own team. You bring the items, and I print them for you.
Type plates and front panels
Labels, scales and control panels in colour, directly on aluminium or acrylic. Even a prototype or a control cabinet then looks as if it came off the production line.
Photos on wood, glass and stone
The wedding photo on a slice of wood, the family pet on slate, a favourite landscape on glass. A white base layer keeps the colours bright even on dark or transparent material.
Texture you can touch
The printer builds up the ink layer by layer, up to 5 mm high. That gives you wood grain, leather texture or a raised logo that you do not just see but feel.
Finishing 3D prints in colour
A housing from my 3D printers gets its logo, labelling and colour right here from the UV printer. One place, one contact and a finished part at the end.
One-off or small run
Because the artwork is digital, there is no screen and no printing plate. A single gift is just as possible as fifty identical parts, and each piece can carry its own name if you like.
How a UV print comes about
At heart it is an inkjet printer that does not need paper. The print head passes over the object, and UV light cures every droplet almost the moment it lands. That is why the colour holds even where ordinary ink would run.
- 1
Aligning by camera
A camera with 8 MP photographs the print bed. On screen I place the artwork exactly where the object lies, instead of measuring with ruler and template.
- 2
White as a primer
On dark, coloured or transparent material the printer lays down a white layer first. On top of it the colours come out bright and clear.
- 3
Colour at 1,440 dpi
A piezo print head places the finest droplets in cyan, magenta, yellow and black. The UV light cures them at once; the colour then sits on the surface instead of soaking in or running.
- 4
Relief and gloss
For texture the printer builds layer upon layer, up to 5 mm high. To finish, gloss varnish can pick out individual areas or seal the whole design.
UV printing or laser engraving?
Both are in my workshop, and each has its strengths. I am happy to tell you which suits your piece better.
UV printing
- Full colour, gradients and photos
- Sits on the surface, as a relief if you like
- Thanks to the white primer, on glass and dark material too
Laser engraving
- Engraved into the material, the shade comes from the material itself
- Highly resistant to abrasion
- The first choice for serial numbers on bare metal
What works well, and what less so
So that you can judge beforehand whether your object is suitable, both are listed side by side. For taller pieces I am glad to look at the dimensions before we plan further.
Well suited
- Flat objects and surfaces up to 330 × 420 mm
- Objects weighing up to 1.5 kg
- Wood, metal, glass, acrylic, leather, stone and plastic, including parts from the 3D printer
Difficult to impossible
- Strongly curved or uneven surfaces. The printer compensates for height by only ±0.5 mm
- Surfaces in contact with food, such as chopping boards or the inside of a mug
- Textiles that go through the wash regularly. Textile printing is the better choice there
How it runs
- 1
You send me your artwork
A logo as a vector file, a photo in good resolution or a sketch. Along with a picture or the dimensions of the object it should go on.
- 2
I check and advise
I tell you whether material and artwork go together, whether a relief or gloss is worth it, and what it costs.
- 3
A sample for runs
For several identical parts I can print one first for your approval. That way you see colour and position on the real piece before the rest follows.
- 4
Collection or by post
The workshop is in Root LU, just outside Lucerne. You collect the finished pieces around the clock from the collection box, or I send them to you.
Do you already have a design in mind?
Send me your logo or photo and tell me what it should go on. You will get an honest assessment and a quote, gladly for a single piece too.