UV inks and varnishes for labels and packaging

Screen printing does not print the entire label. On a modern label line, it operates alongside flexography, offset or digital, where other processes reach their limit: deposit thickness.

That thickness makes the difference. It provides the opacity of a white background on a transparent substrate, the depth of a solid colour, the tactile grain of a relief varnish, and the dot height required for Braille. Where flexo deposits a few microns, screen printing builds a layer of material that the eye and the finger can perceive.

Two ink series cover standard decoration: UVILABEL V2, a UV non-CMR ink with a glossy finish on non-absorbent substrates, and LABELMAT V2, a non-CMR UV ink with a matt finish. Both are printed on reel-to-reel flatbed screen printing machines, for continuous label production, on paper, board, treated polypropylene and polyethylene.

On modern lines, screen printing operates primarily in the embellishment station, where other processes cannot reach the deposit thickness required. The UVREL range brings together non-CMR UV varnishes designed for distinct applications.

UVRELEX V2 is a high-viscosity non-CMR UV varnish for high, glossy transparent raised effects on premium labels and packaging, designed for flatbed screen printing.

UVREL DIGIT is formulated for overprinting digital prints, a requirement that has become standard since digital printing took over short-run premium labels and cartonboard. It adds raised texture to designs printed by inkjet or toner without reprinting the background.

UVRELCOL V2 is a high-viscosity varnish for tinted raised effects: it brings both texture and colour in a single pass. Found on wine and spirits labels, cosmetic packaging, and anti-counterfeiting applications where a difficult-to-reproduce effect provides security.

UVRELR V3 covers glossy transparent raised effects on premium labels and packaging, in both rotary and flatbed screen printing.

UVTHF V2 is a non-CMR UV varnish for foiling: the final appearance depends on the foil used, allowing metallic finishes, mirror effects and transfer colours to be produced from a single base.

European regulations on medicinal products for human use require the medicine name to appear in Braille on the outer packaging. Screen-printed varnish is one of the techniques used to achieve this, because it deposits in a single pass the dot height required by touch, without distorting the board.

Two VFP products are formulated for this application. UVRELEX V2, a high-viscosity non-CMR UV varnish for raised printing and Braille. UVREL BRC, the same purpose, in a bio-based formulation: an alternative for plants reducing fossil material content in their consumables, without process or equipment changes.

Compliance is always assessed on the finished packaging: dot height and diameter, spacing, and resistance after folding and transit are measured on the box, not on the varnish alone. Our teams support press setup, in line with the laboratory's specifications.

VFP's label and packaging ranges are qualified on paper and board, as well as treated polypropylene and polyethylene. On plastic films, surface tension governs adhesion: a recent and regular corona treatment remains the condition for stable adhesion.

All cited products are non-CMR, meaning not classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic. UVREL BRC adds a bio-based formulation to this requirement.