Oce 257 white ink curing

[D3D]

Can you expect white ink to cure to the same hardness as the rest of the color inkset? I am using OEM 257 inks for all colors currently except for white where I am using a 3rd party ink but I am finding that it remains soft while everything else seems to cure just fine. Wondering if that is just the nature of white or if switching the white to OEM will give me a harder finish. I am printing on PETG which seems to provide great adhesion for the color inks. New lamps and clean glass too.

 

[AlsEU]

Is it the same after 24 hours after printing? UV inks needs sometimes some time after the curing to get the full resistance (due to the secondary polymerisation). If you use white ink, which is not original, it may not be precisely fitted to the machine you use. Definitely original white ink should work better.
Is it only the softness of the white ink layer or also the adhesion issue?

 

[netsol]

i would EXPECT the inks to cure at the same rate, IF they were all from the same manufacturer.
this would be part of the process of developing the ink set.
it is just "luck of the draw" that they don't cure at the same rate,
does your rip allow you to adjust power to the uv lamp, in advanced setting? (power level or duty cycle?)
if i encountered this, i would download the 7 day trial of flexi 21, it allows the development of "custom ink sets"

IF your printer, ink & substate are all supported in flexi 21, you can attempt to vary curing time, (or level?)
perhaps add an extra "no ink laid down" curing pass, when laying down white?

 

[D3D]

Thanks for the replies. It is both an adhesion issue and softness. To be fair I made this observation right after printing and jumped on the forum as I was having the problem yesterday, I will be back in the shop today (24 hours later) to report if there is a difference. I have increased the power setting on the lamps, and it does help, but I don't want to go too high since I have seen some signs that high lamp settings can make the PETG plastic we are printing on brittle.

 

[netsol]

long term, you may be better off using ALL 3rd party ink, if the 3rd party white is needed
it could be expected that the other inks will harden at the same rate as the white.

 

[D3D]

24 hours seemed to have offered some improvement in adhesion and hardness but it is still softer than the colors. Its a multi-layer flood white, perhaps that is an unfair comparison with a single layer color image. A 1:1 test is probably the next logical step.

 

[Pauly]

i would EXPECT the inks to cure at the same rate, IF they were all from the same manufacturer.
this would be part of the process of developing the ink set.
it is just "luck of the draw" that they don't cure at the same rate,
does your rip allow you to adjust power to the uv lamp, in advanced setting? (power level or duty cycle?)
if i encountered this, i would download the 7 day trial of flexi 21, it allows the development of "custom ink sets"

IF your printer, ink & substate are all supported in flexi 21, you can attempt to vary curing time, (or level?)
perhaps add an extra "no ink laid down" curing pass, when laying down white?

Ink curing is all done on the printer.

Oce UV inks cure about 90% off the printer then 10% in 24h.
Can't speak for aftermarket inks.