DANGERS of UV Printing

[GAC05]

What exactly is the issue with UV exposure again?

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

What exactly is the issue with UV exposure again?

View attachment 139806

That's nuthin, you should see my grandparents

 

[GAC05]

That's nuthin, you should see my grandparents

 

[Gino]

I thought they were little sperms, at first.

 

[RickGS]

Hello Everyone,
Had a chance to work at a large Signage Firm out of town for a day as they needed an extra pair of hands. I was just set up out the back with a load of vinyl application work which was situated approx 10 metres away on a workbench facing their large flatbed UV Printer that was in a glass office type area so the printer could be easily seen when printing. I was working away and looked up I could see the entire UV light bulb moving left to right while printing...wow that's bright, I thought and turned to ask another worker that was behind me..."Should I be seeing that UV light and should it be behind a shield so it can not be seen?"....no-one was around to ask....a large firm with 20 or so workers in the workshop and 'No one to be seen', that's odd I thought.
Anyway, I carried on with what I was doing, then the UV Printer operator came in as the printer had stopped printing. he asked me over to look at the media that was printed on and asked me way do you think the print image quality looks like this....I looked at it and it looked as if the ink had blistered but I said I was not sure as I do not know or have operated a UV Printer before.
About 4 hours later I could feel my face burning and said to the Foremen I have to leave as something has come up...got back home, looked in the mirror and my face has got a sunburn type feel and look to it.
Did some research and you can indeed get some UV Radiation burns from a UV Printer if the operator has the back shield off and the curing UV set very high....Negligent or not!!

 

[RickGS]

Hello Everyone,
Had a chance to work at a large Signage Firm out of town for a day as they needed an extra pair of hands. I was just set up out the back with a load of vinyl application work which was situated approx 10 metres away on a workbench facing their large flatbed UV Printer that was in a glass office type area so the printer could be easily seen when printing. I was working away and looked up I could see the entire UV light bulb moving left to right while printing...wow that's bright, I thought and turned to ask another worker that was behind me..."Should I be seeing that UV light and should it be behind a shield so it can not be seen?"....no-one was around to ask....a large firm with 20 or so workers in the workshop and 'No one to be seen', that's odd I thought.
Anyway, I carried on with what I was doing, then the UV Printer operator came in as the printer had stopped printing. he asked me over to look at the media that was printed on and asked me way do you think the print image quality looks like this....I looked at it and it looked as if the ink had blistered but I said I was not sure as I do not know or have operated a UV Printer before.
About 4 hours later I could feel my face burning and said to the Foremen I have to leave as something has come up...got back home, looked in the mirror and my face has got a sunburn type feel and look to it.
Did some research and you can indeed get some UV Radiation burns from a UV Printer if the operator has the back shield off and the curing UV set very high....Negligent or not!!

IT's not the light. It's the ink.
Even the fumes are reactionary.
Need to handle carefully

 

[M D Gourley]

One must realise that UV Exposure is 'Cumulative' as over exposure for years / decades could end in disaster...I had an elderly neighbor who was a keen gardner, his vegetable patch was a thing of beauty...he developed Melanoma on the top of his ear of all places, it soon spread to the rest of his head and face...before he past on he said..."Son, always wear a hat when you go outside".
UV radiation / exposure from any source over a long period could be a slow death until you know you have it, ignorance is not bliss....Health and Safety is crucial in today's world.