Are there many problems with China’s UV Printer? ARTJET 2026

• I visited a company for an after-sales service call. When the temperature changed — either warming up or suddenly dropping — the ink jetting conditions would sometimes go wrong. Black ink would spray inconsistently, then correct itself.
• The printer had a heater on the head mount, and the issue was resolved by adjusting the temperature. (This was a printer using the Xaar1201 head.)
• While working on the service call, I noticed the Japanese UV printer still in production. After printing on acrylic, the sheets were not being stacked freely — ink-side against ink-side, non-ink-side against non-ink-side. When I touched the white-printed surface, it was very sticky. They said the sheets had to be stacked that way to prevent ink transfer.
• My thought at the time: if a Chinese product had required the same handling, it would have been treated as an ink defect and generated a flood of complaints.

• Product stability matters, but the Japanese printer at that company only ran single-pass at around 500–600mm/second head carriage speed.
• The price was roughly twice that of Chinese products, yet the production speed was nearly the same. (Based on an Xaar1201 head printer.)
• Stability is important — but considering the price-to-productivity ratio, Japanese products are significantly expensive.
• Their ink was sold in 200ml bottles at approximately 100,000–130,000 KRW. Converted to 1,000ml, that’s roughly 500,000–650,000 KRW — at least three times more expensive than competing products.

• Chinese UV ink is generally available in two types: Rigid and Universal. Rigid ink has no stickiness issues and strong scratch resistance. Universal ink is also not overly sticky like the Japanese product above — no special stacking is required.
• Because many functions are openly accessible (unidirectional, bidirectional, G mask level, various DPI settings), the potential for user error is higher than with Japanese products.
• However, when used within a defined operating range — as Japanese products typically are — Chinese products are highly stable.
• ARTJET UV Printer has been tested across all modes — unidirectional, bidirectional, G mask level, and various DPI settings — and we recommend a specific mode based on the complexity of the image to maximize stability.

• The Roll-to-Roll UV printer in the photo below is sold by Fujifilm Dimatix in Japan — but it is a Chinese product sold under a different name. The Chinese manufacturer is JHF.
• US-based EFI also sources its flatbed and small UV printers as OEM models through Flora in China.
• Several Korean manufacturers also use Chinese boards and software. (British boards are expensive and are only used for industrial inkjet applications.)

Why some Korean manufacturers use Chinese boards:

• There are very few engineers in Korea capable of designing inkjet boards.
• Developing a new board sample for a new head costs approximately 120 million KRW and takes 6 months.
• Including software development, the total timeline is about one year — by which point China has already completed board and software development for yet another new head.

• Some Japanese products seen at showrooms have a distinctly Chinese feel — most of these are Chinese OEM models sold under Japanese branding.
• In conclusion, with the exception of a few companies or models, most UV printers use Chinese engines or are manufactured as Chinese OEMs.

• Some people use Chinese UV printers without any issues. Others struggle because equipment problems make the machine difficult to sell or throw away.
• Some purchased directly from China; others bought through Korean dealers. Most equipment can be repaired if spare parts and capable engineers are available.
• But many purchased with the confidence of “how hard can it be?” — only to find the after-sales support from the selling company was insufficient.
• Even when trusting a Korean dealer, some dealers simply don’t understand the equipment when you call about a problem.
• After going through that experience once, the impression of “Chinese products have too many problems” becomes deeply embedded.

• People who had a difficult experience often say “never buy Chinese products” out of frustration or concern for others. But there are a few questions worth asking:
• When did that experience happen?
• Which Korean dealer did you buy from? Did they specialize in UV printers? What was the engineer’s skill level?
• Did you buy a large 4×8 UV printer or a small 0.6×0.9 UV printer?

• 4×8 large UV printers reached a stable level around 2015–2017. Those who purchased before that period faced real difficulties regardless of the dealer’s effort. Buyers after that point generally experienced fewer problems than expected.
• 0.6×0.9 small UV printers began entering the Korean market around 2017. As expected with any new product, there were various issues and ink instability at first. From 2019 onward, word of mouth spread and sales began to grow steadily.

• There are far more UV printer manufacturers in China than in Korea. Some develop their own boards and software; some use specialized component suppliers; some are simply trading companies reselling under their own brand.
• Choosing the last type — a trading company model — purely for price often results in a problematic experience, because after-sales support is minimal.

• Some Chinese manufacturers specialize in large 4×8 UV printers or Roll-to-Roll printers 3.2 meters and wider. Others specialize in small 0.6×0.9 UV printers.
• Buying a small UV printer from a company that specializes in large equipment means their accumulated technology is in large-format — time and resources invested in small models will inevitably be less, and product stability will be lower as a result.

• Many people in the Seoul metropolitan area say Mimaki’s after-sales service is not very responsive. Japanese equipment has problems too — what matters is how fast those problems get resolved.
• If the dealer’s engineer level is low, problems reported go unsolved; even when resolved, delays turn small issues into big ones.
• The engineer level of the dealer selling the equipment is critical.
• Also worth asking: does the dealer specialize in UV printers? Has the model been available in Korea for a long time, or is it a new product? With new products, the first buyers inevitably become beta testers.

• I am not saying all Chinese products are good. Among the many Chinese manufacturers, some are excellent, some are adequate, and some are not.
• Rather than “is it Chinese or not,” the more important question is: does the sales company have genuine confidence in the product they’re selling? And what is the skill level of the engineer assigned to support it?
• For reference, ARTJET’s UV printer supplier develops their own board and software, has been manufacturing small UV printers and DTF equipment for over 5 years (in addition to large UV printers), and now also manufactures industrial textile equipment.
• I first met Nicky, the company’s Vice President, in 2012, and we have stayed in close contact ever since.
• I made a short video after visiting the company a few months ago — please take a look.