In the fields of personalized manufacturing and industrial decoration, printing technology has long surpassed the limitations of flat surfaces and is now advancing towards three-dimensional, uneven surfaces. 

High-gap UV printing technology, as the core technology enabling this breakthrough, is widely used in areas such as bottles, toys, gifts, electronic decoration, personalized packaging, and building materials. 

For manufacturers and technicians who are already involved in or plan to enter this field, a deep understanding of the systemic factors affecting print quality and stability is crucial. 

Today, the Novix team will provide a comprehensive guide from the perspectives of technical principles, core component comparison, and system integration, and discuss how high-speed industrial equipment like UV Single Pass inkjet printers integrate advanced technologies to meet the challenges of high-gap printing. 

1、Core Analysis of High-Gap UV Printing Technology

High-gap printing, or high-standoff printing, refers to the ability of the printhead to accurately eject ink and achieve droplet formation, clear adhesion, and instantaneous curing even at distances of 5mm to 15mm or more from the substrate. 

Its application scenarios include: 

High-speed printing on irregular surfaces (such as corrugated cardboard, natural wood, embossed leather, stone, bottles, plastic cups, curved materials, etc.). 

The technical pillars for achieving high-gap stability are a collaborative system, mainly including:

– The physical structure and driving performance of the printhead itself 

– Precise electronic waveform control 

– Ink viscosity and rheological characteristics

– High-energy and fast-response UV curing system

– High-precision environmental control system (temperature control, negative pressure, filtration)

2、In-depth Comparison of Mainstream Industrial Printheads in High-Gap Applications

In the field of industrial-grade high-gap UV printing, Ricoh G6/G5i, Toshiba CF6, and Seiko 1536 are four core printheads that have attracted much attention.

– Ricoh G6: A benchmark for high precision and high stability

Thanks to its piezoelectric film and high-energy drive design, the G6 has a fast ejection speed and strong ability to overcome air resistance, with a nominal print distance of 5-15mm.

Its multi-level grayscale (such as 7pl/14pl/21pl) provides flexibility. The advantages lie in concentrated ink droplet placement and strong resistance to ink misting, making it the preferred choice for industrial-grade printing needs.

– Ricoh G5i: A durable and cost-effective choice

As a classic model, the G5i has a robust structure and performs reliably within a 4-10mm print distance, making it a mainstay for many UV flatbed and roll-to-roll printing equipment.

– Toshiba CF6: A high-volume, heavy-duty performer

The CF6 boasts a wide ink volume adjustment range from 6pl to 80pl, with a large nozzle diameter and strong jetting force. It is particularly suitable for high-viscosity inks and uneven materials requiring thick ink layers, with a stable print distance of 8-15mm. Its drawback is relatively lower image detail and the need for a more powerful UV curing system.

– Seiko 1536: Representing ultimate durability and high print distance

Using an industrial-grade metal nozzle panel, its stability and durability are outstanding, with a print distance capability of up to 10-20mm, making it ideal for high-speed production line coding and large-format industrial printing. However, its performance in color detail and line sharpness is generally not as good as the Ricoh series.

3、Key System Technologies for Achieving Excellent High-Gap Printing

The success of high-gap printing depends not only on the printhead, but also on system matching.

– Waveform Design: The “brain” that determines jetting quality

A dedicated high-gap waveform needs to achieve: increased initial jetting speed (usually >7m/s), increased ink volume without stringing, ensuring rapid contraction of the ink droplet tail to avoid satellite droplets, and maintaining a spherical shape after long-distance flight. An excellent waveform requires a strong forward pulse, a stable short maintenance segment, and a rapid retraction segment.

– Ink Formulation: The foundation of stability

UV ink specifically designed for high-gap printing must possess excellent rheological properties within a specific viscosity and surface tension range.

Inferior ink will lead to ink misting, stringing, nozzle clogging, and significantly shorten the printhead lifespan. – UV Curing System: Guarantee of Instantaneous Formation

High-drop printing requires high-energy, high-frequency pulsed UV LED lamps (typically 6-10 W/cm²), with precise control of the irradiation timing.

Insufficient energy can lead to partial curing of the ink in the air, increasing resistance and causing droplet placement deviations, or resulting in incomplete curing on the substrate surface and stringing.

– Environmental Control System: Precise “Logistical” Support

This requires negative pressure control accuracy of ±0.05 kPa, ink path temperature fluctuation control within ±0.3°C, and stable damping components such as filter elements to ensure smooth and uniform ink supply.

4、UV Single Pass Inkjet Printer: A High-Speed Production Platform Integrating High-Drop Technology

Facing the complex system requirements of high-drop printing, industrial-grade UV Single Pass printers provide a highly integrated solution. Taking our UV Single Pass inkjet printer machine as an example, it is designed for high-speed, long-term industrial production.

– High Speed and High Precision: Single Pass technology completes printing in a single scan in the direction of media travel, achieving extremely high production efficiency.

This is crucial for online packaging coding and large-format decorative material production. Our system integrates high-performance printheads such as the Ricoh G6, and has undergone deep waveform optimization to ensure that even at high speeds and with a certain drop distance, printing accuracy is maintained.

– Powerful Curing and Coordinated Control: The equipment is equipped with a high-energy UV LED curing system, with stable energy output that can be precisely matched to the line speed, ensuring that ink droplets sprayed from a high drop distance are fully cured the moment they hit the substrate surface, avoiding smudging or deformation.

At the same time, it integrates a high-precision negative pressure and temperature control system, providing a continuously stable working environment for the printhead, maximizing printhead life and printing consistency.

– Adapting to Complex Substrates and Future Trends: As market demand for textured effects and printing on special materials increases, our UV Single Pass printer machine platform can adapt to various configurations, including large-volume ink printhead systems, to meet the challenges of printing with higher drop distances and higher solid content inks, aligning with the overall industry trend towards higher print distances and more intelligent waveform adaptive control.

The development of high-drop UV printing technology is continuously expanding the boundaries of digital manufacturing, bringing personalization and decorative capabilities to a wider three-dimensional world.

From the precise driving of printheads and accurate waveform tuning to the scientific formulation of inks and instantaneous energy curing, every technological breakthrough makes it possible to achieve more stable, efficient, and creative production.

For companies seeking large-scale, industrialized applications, the value of technology ultimately needs to be embodied in a reliable, efficient, and easy-to-control production platform.

The UV Single Pass digital inkjet printer is designed for this purpose. It is not simply a combination of printhead, waveform, and curing technologies, but rather a deeply integrated and collaboratively optimized high-speed production system, designed to transform complex high-drop printing challenges into simple, continuous, and high-quality output.

If you would like to learn more about how high-speed UV Single Pass printing technology can transform your production line, or to obtain expert solution recommendations for specific materials and application scenarios, our engineering team is ready to assist you.

Welcome to contact the Novix team and begin your new chapter of efficient printing.