Learn UV printing the practical way. From the surface to the cured print.

Modico + primer partners

Adhesion comes first. Modico systems from Germany combine several pretreatment technologies, including Pyrosil flame and plasma, in a single machine. Primers and UV inks come from Marabu (Germany), IT-Ink (Korea) and Palina Coating (Russia), matched to each material.

Direct Color Systems (DCS)

Flatbed UV LED printers from the USA for flat and rigid materials: glass, metal, acrylic, wood, leather and signage, including raised, textured and ADA Braille printing.

LSINC

Seamless direct printing from the USA on bottles, jars, tumblers, tubes and conical or tapered products. The item turns, the head prints a spiral, and there are practically no passes. No labels, no shrink sleeves, no plates.

wallPen

Direct-to-wall UV printing from Germany. Murals, branded interiors and large wall graphics, printed straight on the wall up to about 4 metres high.

IQDEMY

Hybrid UV printer from Switzerland for unlimited-length material. It takes material up to 20 cm thick and 2.5 m wide, at any length your room allows. Have a 4 metre glass or metal panel that needs printing? Bring it to us.

Imago

Edible printing from Poland, directly on chocolates, cakes, macarons and desserts, using food-grade edible inks. A different world from UV, with its own rules.

Color ink

Cyan, magenta, yellow and black. These four mix together to make the full picture, just like any color printer.

White ink

The base coat. On dark, clear or metallic surfaces, colors printed alone look weak and see-through. A layer of white underneath makes them bright and solid. White is heavy and settles, so it needs mixing and care.

Clear varnish

A transparent ink. It protects the print, adds gloss or texture, and when printed in many layers it builds raised, embossed effects you can feel.

Primer

Not really an ink. A helper liquid applied before printing. It gives the ink something to grab on hard surfaces like glass and metal. We work with several international primer suppliers: Marabu (Germany), IT-Ink (Korea) and Palina Coating (Russia).

Raised and embossed print

Layers of varnish or ink stacked on top of each other build height. The result is artwork you can feel with your fingers. Great for logos, luxury packaging and premium finishes.

Gloss or matte finish

The same varnish can look shiny or soft. If the lamp cures it immediately, the surface freezes with a matte feel. If the varnish gets a moment to level out before curing, it turns glossy.

Braille and tactile signage

Precise raised dots and letters for accessible signage. Every DCS model is built for this work, and DCS holds the required ADA certification in the USA. The software has a built-in tool that translates text from many languages into Braille automatically and keeps the correct dot size, shape and spacing, so the file is simply ready to print. The Braille tool is a paid software option.

White ink tricks

Print white behind the artwork on dark bottles. Print white on clear glass for a frosted look. Skip white in some areas so the material shows through the design.

Reverse printing

On transparent materials like acrylic and glass, we can print the artwork mirrored on the back. You look through the material at the print. It looks deep and stays protected.

Variable data

Every piece can be different. Names, numbers, codes, or a unique design on each bottle. Digital printing does not care if piece 1 and piece 500 are different.

The water drop test

Put a small drop of clean water on the material. If the drop spreads out flat, the surface has high energy and ink will wet it nicely. If the drop beads up into a tight ball, the surface has low energy. Ink will bead up too, and grip will be poor. Plastics like PE and PP almost always bead up. That is why they need special pretreatment.

What raises surface energy

Cleaning removes oil and dust. Flame, Pyrosil or plasma treatment with our Modico systems changes the surface chemistry itself. A matched primer adds a sticky bridge layer. Each material needs its own recipe, and the Pretreatment & Surfaces tab gives you one for every surface we work with.

Do this

• ✓Find out exactly what the material is. Glass, aluminium, acrylic, ABS, PET, wood, leather. Ask the supplier if unsure.
• ✓Check if the surface is coated, painted, lacquered or anodized. A coating changes the recipe completely.
• ✓Do the water drop test from the Start Here tab if the material is new to you.
• ✓Treat every new batch as a new material. Suppliers change coatings without telling anyone.

Avoid this

• ✕Assuming this batch behaves like the last batch.
• ✕Starting production on a material you have never tested.

Do this

• ✓Wear clean nitrile gloves. Your fingers leave invisible oil.
• ✓Wipe with 99% isopropyl alcohol, or the cleaner approved for that material, on a fresh lint-free cloth.
• ✓Wipe in one direction and turn the cloth to a clean face often, so the dirt is lifted off instead of moved around. Primer is applied differently, in circular movements. That comes in step 4.
• ✓Let the surface flash off and dry fully before the next step.
• ✓Print soon after cleaning. A cleaned surface picks up dust again fast.

Avoid this

• ✕Household glass sprays. Many contain silicone, and silicone is the enemy of adhesion.
• ✕Touching the print area after cleaning, even with gloves that have touched other things.
• ✕Flooding acrylic with strong solvent. It can craze and crack. Use a mild approved cleaner instead.

Do this

• ✓Glass, ceramics and many metals: use Pyrosil flame treatment. A special gas burns in the flame and leaves an invisible glass-like silicate layer, only nanometres thick, that ink and primer love. Our Modico systems bring Pyrosil, plasma and other pretreatment technologies together in one machine.
• ✓After Pyrosil, apply the primer or print within about 3 to 4 hours. The treated surface loses its power over time.
• ✓Work with dry parts at room temperature. In this climate visible condensation is rare, so there is no need to warm the material. Just do not treat something that has come straight out of cold storage into humid air.
• ✓PE and PP plastics: use flame, corona or plasma treatment. Without it, almost nothing sticks to them.
• ✓Keep the flame moving. Two or three smooth passes. The goal is treatment, not heat.

Avoid this

• ✕Holding the flame in one spot. You will overheat or crack the part.
• ✕Treating a dirty surface. Clean first, then pretreat.
• ✕Pretreating today and printing next week. The effect fades.

Do this

• ✓Use the primer matched to your material and your ink chemistry. Glass primer for glass, metal primer for metal. We supply primers from Marabu (Germany), IT-Ink (Korea) and Palina Coating (Russia), and our team will tell you which one fits your machine and job.
• ✓Apply it thinly over the whole area in circular movements, without pressure, using a lint-free cloth, a clean paper towel or a clean cotton pad. Too much primer smears and streaks.
• ✓Respect the flash-off time on the product sheet. Printing on wet primer is as bad as no primer.
• ✓Print within the working window written on the primer instructions.

Avoid this

• ✕Thick puddles of primer. More is not better. Thick primer stays soft and fails.
• ✕Using one primer for every material because it worked once.
• ✕Touching primed areas.

Do this

• ✓Run a nozzle check before the job. A few seconds now save you cleaning, reprinting and money later.
• ✓If the machine has been giving trouble recently, add a colour bar, also called a check bar: a strip of colour printed outside the design area that keeps every nozzle firing from the first piece to the last.
• ✓Set the correct print height above the material. Closer gives sharper dots, but never let the head touch.
• ✓Use a white underbase on dark, clear or metallic surfaces. Shake or circulate white ink before printing, because white settles.
• ✓Print one first piece. Check it fully. Approve it. Then run the batch.
• ✓Match resolution to the job. High detail for logos and small text, faster modes for large flat areas.

Avoid this

• ✕Running a full batch without checking the first piece.
• ✕Printing on warped or loose material. That is how heads get damaged.
• ✕Guessing the height. Measure it or use the machine sensor.

Do this

• ✓Check the cure on every new job. The surface should feel hard and dry, with no tack and no smell coming off on your glove.
• ✓Keep the UV lamp glass clean. Ink mist and dust block the light and weaken the cure.
• ✓Slow down or add lamp power for thick layers, heavy white, and raised varnish. Thick ink needs more light.
• ✓Follow the lamp service life in the manual. Old lamps look on but cure weakly.

Avoid this

• ✕Stacking or packing prints that feel even slightly tacky.
• ✕Looking at the UV lamp or defeating the covers. UV light damages eyes and skin.

Do this

• ✓Add a clear varnish layer over artwork that will be handled a lot, like bottles, gifts and packaging.
• ✓For perfume work, varnish over the printed artwork is standard practice, because perfume contains alcohol and alcohol attacks unprotected print.
• ✓For outdoor wall prints, ask us about a suitable protective coating. Indoors, wallPen prints can last more than 12 years in good conditions. Outdoors, life depends on sun and weather, and a protective coating extends it.
• ✓Let finished parts rest before hard handling and packing.

Avoid this

• ✕Shipping unprotected print into a harsh use, like a bathroom, a bar, or direct sun.
• ✕Promising outdoor life without knowing the exposure.

Do this

• ✓Run the cross-hatch tape test and the alcohol rub test on every new material, coating, batch or primer. Both are explained in the Testing tab.
• ✓For perfume bottles, test with the client's actual perfume on the actual bottle. Nothing else counts.
• ✓Keep an approved golden sample for every repeating job. It settles every future argument.

Avoid this

• ✕Approving a job by eye only. Looks say nothing about grip.
• ✕Testing bottle A and producing on bottle B.

Flatness and height first

The bed is flat, but the material is not always. Check for warp, tape down lifted corners the right way, and set the print height to the highest point of the material. Most head strikes come from a corner nobody checked.

Use jigs and templates

Printing 50 pens, coasters or phone cases? A simple jig holds every piece in the exact same position, so one layout file prints the whole batch perfectly. Jigs turn slow one-by-one work into real production. We can help you design them.

Raised effects cost time and ink

Raised varnish and Braille are printed in many layers, and every layer takes a pass. Plan the time, and put the height where it matters: the logo, the pattern, the dots. Not the whole surface.

Reverse print on clear materials

On acrylic and glass, print the artwork mirrored, then white behind it, and flip the sheet. The print sits protected behind the material with a deep, glossy look. A flatbed favorite for signage and displays.

The coating decides the job

Most bottles arrive coated: cold-end coating on plain glass, color coatings on perfume bottles. The coating, not the glass, is what the ink grips. Clean, pretreat with Pyrosil on the Modico, prime with the matched primer, and test every new bottle batch. The full recipe is in Pretreatment & Surfaces.

Design for the full 360

Spiral printing gives you the whole surface, so artwork can wrap without a visible join. Still check registration and the start and end of the artwork on the first piece of every run, and pay extra attention on conical and tapered shapes where the diameter changes as the head travels.

White underbase on colored glass

Amber, black and colored bottles swallow color. A white layer under the artwork keeps it bright and correct. On clear bottles, white also creates frosted and blocking effects.

Judge speed honestly

Advertised speed and real production speed are two different numbers. Loading, unloading, pretreatment and quality checks all take time. When planning production or ROI, use the realistic net output measured on your actual product, not the brochure maximum. We measure this with you at Sun Studio.

The wall recipe

1. The wall must be clean, dry and sound. Fill cracks and holes, and let the filler dry fully.
2. Matte emulsion paint is the friendliest surface. Fresh paint should cure per the paint maker's guidance before printing.
3. Glossy paint, tiles, metal and prepared glass can be printed, with the right cleaning and, where needed, a primer.
4. On unusual paints or surfaces, print a small hidden test patch first, let it cure, then tape test it before the full artwork.

On site, the day of printing

1. Setup takes roughly 30 minutes.
2. Protect the floor and mask the edges.
3. Keep people out of the work zone while printing.
4. Damp walls are the main enemy. Moisture behind the paint will lift any print eventually, so solve the damp before the art.

Hygiene like a kitchen, because it is one

Treat the printing area as a food area. Clean hands, gloves, clean surfaces, and only food-approved cleaning practice around the machine. The print is part of the food.

Use only approved edible consumables

Only the edible inks and consumables approved for the machine. Check dates, store inks sealed as the label says, and never top up with anything that is not certified food-grade.

The surface still matters

Smooth, even surfaces like chocolate tablets and macaron shells give the sharpest results. Porous or uneven surfaces soften the detail. Test the design on the actual product before promising the client.

Colors and the food underneath

Just like in UV printing, the background changes the result. Artwork shows brightest on light surfaces like white chocolate and light icing. On dark chocolate, expect a softer result, and test first.

1. This is adhesion, so the answer lives in steps 1 to 4 of the workflow. Was the surface really clean? Gloves on? Fresh cloth?
2. Was pretreatment or primer needed and skipped? Coated bottles fail without Pyrosil almost every time.
3. Was the primer thin, dry and inside its working window?
4. Check the cure too. Under-cured ink feels fine and fails the tape test. Slow down, clean the lamp, check lamp age.
5. Fix one variable, print one sample, tape test. Repeat until pass, then write down the winning recipe.

1. The ink is under-cured. Stop stacking or packing anything.
2. Clean the UV lamp glass. Ink mist on the glass blocks a surprising amount of light.
3. Check lamp hours against the service life in the manual. Old lamps glow but do not cure.
4. Thick layers, heavy white and raised varnish need more light: slow the pass or raise lamp power.
5. Very cold rooms slow curing chemistry. Bring the room to normal temperature.

1. Run a nozzle check. Missing nozzles are the usual cause.
2. Run the head clean cycle, check again. Repeat once. Do not run ten cleans in a row, you will waste ink and flood the station.
3. Add a colour bar, or check bar, outside the design area. It keeps every nozzle firing during the job and shows you immediately which channel dropped out.
4. Check the print height. Too high makes fuzzy, banded print.
5. Check for static on plastics pulling the ink dots. Use anti-static measures.
6. If a nozzle stays dead after proper cleaning, contact support. Do not scrub heads by hand.

1. Stop the job. Inspect the head area gently, following the manual.
2. Find the cause before printing again: warped material, a lifted corner, tape edges, wrong height setting, or something left on the bed.
3. Always measure material at its highest point, not its edge.
4. Run a nozzle check after any strike. If quality dropped, contact support. Head strikes are the most expensive habit in UV printing.

1. White pigment settles. Shake cartridges or run the circulation routine before white-heavy jobs.
2. One pass of white is often not enough on dark or clear surfaces. Print two white layers, or use the high-density white mode.
3. Run a nozzle check on the white channel specifically.
4. If white keeps fading over days of storage, ask us about ink rotation and storage practice.

1. Screens show light, printers lay ink. They never match perfectly. Judge color from a printed sample, not a monitor.
2. Check the RIP settings: same profile, same mode, same white underbase as the approved run.
3. On clear or dark material, missing white underbase makes everything look dull and dark.
4. The material itself shifts color. Wood, kraft, tinted glass all move the result. Approve per material.
5. Keep the golden sample next to the machine and compare under the same light.

1. This is contamination, almost always silicone or oil. The ink literally runs away from the dirty spot.
2. Find the source: household cleaning sprays, hand creams, mold release on plastics, a contaminated cloth.
3. Re-clean with fresh IPA and a fresh cloth. Ban silicone sprays from the print room completely.
4. Stubborn parts may need a stronger degrease or a flame pass. Test after.

1. Static is pulling dust onto the surface faster than you can wipe it.
2. Keep protective film on until the last moment. Use an anti-static cloth or ionizer just before printing.
3. Clean the room, not just the part. Dust in the air lands on wet ink.
4. For premium displays, inspect under strong angled light before curing the varnish layer.