Water-based, UV/EB, and solvent-based coatings are workhorses in the package-printing industry.

By Tom Polischuk

“Certain UV formulations offer exceptional flexibility and resistance to detergents, alcohol, and grease,” adds Bob Waddington, general manager, UVitec Printing Ink. He also points out that UV coatings can be formulated to provide excellent bonding to difficult substrates.

A noteworthy advantage that UV systems have versus solvent-based coatings is their lack of VOCs. “It’s a 100 percent solids system, which is environmentally-friendly and easy to use on press,” says Mike Kucharski, market manager, graphic arts for Cytec.