Plastic products are decorated and coated with UV curable inks and coatings to improve both their appearance and performance. Typically plastic parts are pretreated to improve adhesion of the UV ink or coating. UV decorating inks are typically screen, inkjet, pad or offset printed and then UV cured.
Most UV curable coatings, typically clear coatings that provide chemical and scratch resistance, lubricity, soft-touch feel or other properties, are sprayed and then UV cured. The UV curing equipment is built into or retrofitted into automated coating and decorating machinery and is usually one step in a high throughput production line.