How Much Profit Can You Make Printing Phone Cases — Making Products with a UV Printer (Part 24) ARTJET 2026

1. Thoughts Before Purchasing a UV Printer

• Before purchasing equipment, the first concern is usually, “Will this be profitable?” and the next thought is often, “How long will it take to recover the equipment investment cost?”
• Because of this, people become curious about material costs, printing costs, and the selling price of the products they plan to produce.
• “Even if I produce only this amount per month, I could still cover office rent, operating expenses, and living costs.”
• Once a main product item is decided, people naturally begin researching other products that can also be produced with a UV printer.

2. Products That Can Be Produced with a UV Printer

• People start wondering, “Can this product really be made using only a UV printer?” Then they begin researching UV DTF and various custom goods products while also thinking, “Do I need to buy a laser cutter too?”
• However, because of the burden of initial investment costs, many decide:
  “Let’s start with products that can be made using only a UV printer, and outsource any additional processing.”
  That is why they begin researching products that can be produced using only a UV printer.

2_1. Products That Can Be Produced Using Only Color Ink

• If the substrate being printed is white, products like the examples below can be produced using only color ink.
• Main materials include white foam board, white PVC foam board, canvas, golf balls, white signboards, memo pads, and pens.

• 

2_2. Products Requiring Color + White Ink

• If the substrate is transparent or contains colors other than white, White ink becomes necessary.
• Examples include glass, transparent plastic, transparent acrylic, transparent PC, and other colored materials.

• 

2_3. Color + White + Varnish

• In addition to White ink, Varnish can be used to create special effects.

• 

3. Recommendations for UV Printer Color Options

• We have sold UV printers for over 20 years.
• From personal experience, Color + White should always be considered the basic configuration.
• Adding Varnish is not always necessary, but it allows occasional production of highly differentiated specialty products.

3_1. CMYK + Lc + Lm 6-color configuration produces better colors than standard CMYK 4-color setups.

• The effect of Lc and Lm is especially noticeable when reproducing soft skin tones.
• Without Lc and Lm, more black dots become mixed into light skin tones, resulting in rougher image quality.

3_2. White Ink Must Have Strong Density for Proper Results

• Because of this, White ink should be printed at least 200% compared to Color ink, and more is generally better.
• The purpose of White ink is to block the background color when printing Color onto black, red, or other colored materials.
• If the substrate background is black, White ink may need to be printed at 400% or even 600% density to completely block the black background.
• When White is printed at twice the amount of Color, White layers often need to be printed two or three times, increasing overall printing time.
• The same applies to transparent materials. If the Color layer is very dark, the White layer may not fully block the Color when viewed from the back side.

3_3. Now That UV Printers Have Become Commonplace

• Including Varnish is highly recommended for developing differentiated products.
• For example, Varnish can create textured surface effects like the examples below.

• 

• Transparent braille printing can generate very high profits.

• 

1. Production Cost for Printing One Phone Case

• Ink consumption varies depending on the image being printed, so ink costs also vary depending on the design.
• The data below calculates production cost based on the printing time required for one phone case. When printing multiple cases simultaneously, production time is reduced significantly.
• Production cost calculations include labor cost, ink cost, and phone case cost.
• We also asked an actual phone case seller about their retail selling price and calculated total profit after subtracting production costs.
• First, let’s calculate the production cost of one phone case.

• 

1_1. Labor Cost

• Labor cost was calculated based on a wage of 10,000 KRW per hour.
• Printing one phone case requires approximately 158 seconds.
• At 10,000 KRW hourly wage, labor cost becomes approximately 439 KRW.

• 

1_2. Ink Cost

• If you enter ink pricing into RIP software, the software automatically calculates ink consumption and ink cost for the image currently being printed.
• In this example, the image consumed approximately 0.03ml of ink.
• Based on purchased ink pricing, total ink cost becomes approximately 2.89 KRW.
• For more detailed explanations regarding ink cost calculations, please refer to the link below.
• How to Calculate Ink Consumption for the Image Currently Being Printed

• 

Phone Case UV Printing Profit

1_3. Phone Case Cost

• We know someone who has been selling UV-printed phone cases for over five years.
• According to them, when purchasing approximately 500 cases in bulk, the purchase price per phone case is around 500 KRW.

1_4. Total Production Cost

• 941.89 KRW = Labor Cost (439 KRW) + Ink Cost (2.89 KRW) + Case Cost (500 KRW)
  
• Labor cost above is based on printing one image at a time. However, when printing multiple phone cases simultaneously on the UV printer flatbed, labor cost per case can decrease by more than 70%.

2. Profit Remaining After Producing Phone Cases

• When selling directly to end customers, the selling price per phone case is approximately 9,000 KRW, leaving around 8,000 KRW profit after subtracting production cost.
• When supplying 20 cases at once to retailers instead of end customers, sellers can reportedly receive around 3,500 KRW per case.
• Selling 20 cases at 3,500 KRW each generates 70,000 KRW revenue, while production cost is approximately 20,000 KRW (1,000 KRW × 20), leaving roughly 50,000 KRW profit.
• In reality, when producing 20 cases simultaneously, production time per phone case decreases significantly, and labor cost can decrease by more than 70%.

• 

3. Additional Notes

• First, although this example uses phone cases, production costs for other products can be calculated using the same method.
• Second, recently released smartphones are difficult to UV print because of raised camera heights. This makes phone cases a risky main product category, and if you must print phone cases, you should choose a UV printer capable of printing at high stand-off heights.
• Third, ink consumed during cleaning and maintenance must also be included in total ink cost calculations.
• Fourth, if jelly cases are printed using rigid UV ink and then bent, cracks may occur on the printed surface. Flexible UV ink should be used for jelly cases, while rigid UV ink should be used for hard cases because of better scratch resistance.However, purchasing both a flexible UV ink printer and a rigid UV ink printer is not always realistic. In some cases, switching only the White UV ink between flexible and rigid types depending on the case material can also be a practical solution.