Buying guide
UV, solvent or eco-solvent — which fits your work
The three ink families are not competing versions of one thing — they do different jobs. Pick the family from the product you sell, then the machine from the width and volume you run.
The three families
What each one is for
UV — prints on things, not just media
UV ink is cured hard by LED lamps the moment it lands, so it sits on surfaces ink cannot normally hold: glass, acrylic, wood, metal, tile, phone cases. It can build white under colour on dark material and stack layers into embossed relief. On a flatbed it prints rigid sheets; on a roll-to-roll it prints wallpaper and soft film; a hybrid does both from one frame. If your product is an object or a board, you are in UV territory.
Solvent — outdoor flex, at volume
Solvent ink bites into vinyl and flex banner and shrugs off sun and rain, which is why hoardings run on it. The solvent machines here are wide — 3.2 m to 5.3 m — and built around output per shift: multiple industrial heads, heavy media handling, banner after banner. If your business is outdoor advertising by the square metre, this is the family that earns.
Eco-solvent — indoor work, finer detail
Eco-solvent is the milder branch of the same family: lower odour, finer droplets, made for work people see up close — shop branding, vehicle wraps, canvas, wallpaper, one-way vision film. An eco-solvent machine fits in a normal shop and runs on a normal supply, which is why so many first machines are one.
Side by side
The three families compared
| UV | Solvent | Eco-solvent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How the ink dries | Cured hard by UV LED as it lands | Solvent evaporates, ink bites into the media | Milder solvent, same principle |
| What it prints on | Rigid and roll — glass, acrylic, wood, metal, tile, cases, film | Flex banner, vinyl, hoarding media | Vinyl, film, canvas, wallpaper |
| Prints on rigid material | Yes, direct | No | No |
| White and varnish | Available — prints on clear and dark material | Not typical | On some machines |
| Dry at the end of the pass | Yes, stackable straight off the bed | Needs outgassing time | Needs drying time |
| Odour in the shop | Low | Strong — needs ventilation | Milder than solvent |
| Typical work | Signage boards, décor panels, gifting, industrial marking | Outdoor hoardings at volume | Indoor branding, wraps, close-viewed work |
Family-level differences. Speed, resolution and ink for a specific machine are on that machine’s page.
Deciding
Three questions settle it
- Is the product rigid or on a roll? Boards, glass, objects — UV flatbed. Roll media only — the other two families, or UV roll-to-roll for wallpaper and film.
- Does it live outdoors? Hoardings and banners in the sun — solvent. Indoor branding and close-viewing work — eco-solvent.
- How many square metres a day? Volume decides the width and the head count, and with them the price — the price guide explains how. The compare page puts any two machines side by side.
Next step
Tell us the product
Say what you sell and roughly how much of it. We will name the family, the machine, and what to check at a demo.
Machines are sold in configurations, so the specification decides the price. Tell us the material and the volume and we will quote the exact build.