Lessons that came out of the wash bin
Much of what we know about UV-curable ink was learnt by cleaning up after it went wrong.
Adhesion on acrylic
One of our first customers printed a full run of acrylic signs that scratched off with a fingernail the next morning. The fix was a primer and a lamp setting change, and it became the adhesion test we now offer before any new substrate.
White ink settling
White ink left unstirred over a long weekend blocked a set of heads at a Montague Gardens print shop. We began labelling every white bottle with agitation instructions and calling customers after holidays.
Cure on dark vinyl
A Bellville wrap shop found that dark media absorbed more lamp energy and warped. Lower lamp power with a slower pass solved it, and the notes from that job still sit in our curing guide.
The shelf in Epping today
The stockroom now holds inks for flatbed, roll-to-roll and hybrid printers, along with flush, primers and maintenance fluids. Each product has been run on a real machine before it goes on our list. Orders leave by courier to printers across South Africa, and the wash bin is a lot cleaner than it used to be.