UV Printer History and Future Part 4 of 5
So far, I have summarized the information related to UV Printers below. If you click on the article, you will be taken to the link for related information.
24 articles on ink supply issues,
9 articles on head basics,
12 articles on actual head issues and their solutions,
10 actual mechanical Machine Problems and Solutions.
12 Problems and Solutions of Electronic Boards and SW Actually Issued
11 Problems and Solutions: Sai Rip Installation and Basic Settings, Spot Color Creation, and More
We’ve compiled a list of products that can be made with a UV printer.
I. Fourth time_UV Printer History and Future Part 4 of 5
To be able to predict the future, we need to know how things have flowed in the past, from 2005 to 2020.
- Part 1: Changes in UV Printer Product Line “Conveyor Belt Type => Flatbed Only => Roll Only => Mercury to LED Conversion”.
- Part 2: The emergence and disappearance of major players in the UV Printer field “we looked at the past and present of UV printer manufacturers excluding China.
- In Part 3, we looked at “China’s Process of Entering Overseas Markets”, which produces 80% of UV Printers.
Chinese manufacturers are now the main players in UV printers.
- Currently, more than 80% of UV printers worldwide are manufactured in China.
- By examining the current situation and strategies of these major Chinese manufacturers,
- we can predict the future direction of the UV printer market.
Today, I will discuss “The Current Situation of Chinese Manufacturers” from “The Current Situation of Chinese Manufacturers and Their Strategies.”
II. Why there are so many printer manufacturers in China _UV Printer History and Future Part 4 of 5
1. Electronic Board Software Provider _UV Printer History and Future Part 4 of 5
For a Korean UV printer development manufacturer to develop an electronic board compatible with a new print head,
- it requires an investment of at least 80 million to 100 million won, with development taking at least six months and verification taking a year.
- For example, Ink Tech’s research lab staff for the JETRIX UV Printer included:
- 2-3 electronic board engineers, 3-4 software engineers.
- When a new head is released, it takes a year to build the board, and then another year to develop and debug the software. The time and labor costs are significant.
- And when a new model is released two years later, the head will be outdated, making UV printer sales uncertain.
However, China has specialized companies that provide boards and software.
- You might think, “There are only 10 to 20 engineers,” but there are at least 40, and sometimes as many as 100.
- When a new head is released in Japan, the first companies to hand over technical data are board software developers in the UK and China.
- With the data received from the head company, numerous engineers quickly complete the board and software.
- These boards and software are then supplied to Chinese printer manufacturers,
- and all manufacturers can manufacture their own branded printers at low cost and in a short period of time.
For your information, there are many Chinese companies that provide boards and software like this.
- Those familiar with Inkjet have likely heard of BYHX.
- It’s the largest company in China that provides Inkjet electronic boards and software.
- This business was initially started by an American citizen named Jim Chang, and several of the people who worked there later left to found BYHX in 2006.
- I visited BYHX in 2019. While chatting, I learned that several engineers who had worked at BYHX had left and founded a similar company.
- I also heard that there’s a company called Royal in China that provides boards and software, and that there are quite a few other companies in China that are doing similar things.
2. Printer Body & parts Provider _UV Printer History and Future Part 4 of 5
When I was working at InkTec, the JETRIX UV Printer production team leader visited a Chinese manufacturer and printer parts company to outsource. And the story he told me was,
3. Inkjet printer manufacturers starting small _UV Printer History and Future Part 4 of 5
HandTop, briefly mentioned in Part 3, was founded by former Flora employees.
Then, another former Flora engineer left and founded another company (probably called Frommock).
I recently heard that several people from HandTop left and founded a new company.
Starting with around 10 people, it grew into a mid-sized company with 200-300 employees.
- Dissatisfied with profit sharing, R&D personnel and key salespeople founded separate companies, creating many UV manufacturers.
- With the availability of electronic boards, software, printer bodies, and parts, and the ability to assemble them easily and secure investors, inkjet printer manufacturing became a common practice in China in a short period of time.
III. Improved print quality and product completion _UV Printer History and Future Part 4 of 5
1. Intensifying competition and rising consumer expectations in China _UV Printer History and Future Part 4 of 5
There was a time when the American Vutek UV Printer maintained high sales in China despite its exorbitant price.
High quality and fast delivery allowed end-users to receive higher prices, so large-scale printing houses purchased Vutek UV Printers despite their high prices.
Similarly, the OCE UV Printer, which boasted the highest print quality at the time, was also supplied to many printing houses.
Because large-scale printing houses used high-quality foreign equipment, they were perceived as Chinese, but print quality had to match the standards of the US and Europe.
- UV printer manufacturers that launched UV printers overseas and then withdrew had no choice but to focus on the Chinese domestic market.
- Because they had to meet the high standards of Chinese end-users for print quality,
- many Chinese printer manufacturers began to match the print quality of American (Vutek) and European (OEC) equipment.
- Manufacturers that achieved European-level print quality in China thus survived,
- and these surviving companies began to expand into the US overseas market.
2. Technology sharing and effort _UV Printer History and Future Part 4 of 5
The G-mask (feathering mask) technology, which I saw at the 2013 Guangzhou exhibition, became widely used by all Chinese manufacturers two years later.
In China, boards and software are readily available, and engineer turnover is easy, leading to rapid technology sharing.
Investment in technological advancement is also active.
While talking to a Chinese friend, I learned that his company had used SwissQ equipment.
He said his company invested 500 million won to study the equipment.
IV. Current state of the Chinese market _UV Printer History and Future Part 4 of 5
1. UV Printer Sales in China _UV Printer History and Future Part 4 of 5
This is the data I received when meeting with a Chinese business partner in 2018.
From 2012 to 2016, only 2,000 flatbed UV printers were sold annually.
In 2017, an unusually high 10,000 units were sold (Inktech also imports flatbeds from China, and a Chinese representative confirmed that the total flatbed sales for 2017 were approximately 10,000 units).
It is estimated that a total of 20,000 to 30,000 flatbed UV printers have been installed to date.
Since this data is from 2017, prices may differ from current figures.
2. UV Printer Marketability _UV Printer History and Future Part 4 of 5
According to a Chinese dealer at the time of our meeting,
“Most Chinese UV printer manufacturers have no margins on their UV printer equipment, and they’re only selling it because of their ink business.”
In 2017, when Dropwatcher was exhibiting at the KPCA, a Korean PCB exhibition, Docan (a Chinese UV printer manufacturer), a company I’d only seen at Chinese sign exhibitions, was showcasing PCB marking equipment.
Chinese marking equipment at a Korean PCB exhibition… it was truly surprising. A Docan salesperson said,
“The price competition in the sign market is fierce, so we’re pursuing PCB marking as a new business unit.”
Now, the widespread belief is that the UV printer market in China is dead, and companies are starting to consider different directions.
Next time, I’ll talk about the direction Chinese manufacturers are heading.
V. This is how ARTJET supports our customers.
One thing I feel while selling and maintaining ARTJET UV Printers for 5 years is that the next most important thing after product stability is Troubleshooting DATA.
All products have problems, whether they are actual equipment problems or consumer errors, and product stability is how easily and quickly you solve those problems.
We are organizing all the troubleshooting DATA as follows.
You can see the product print quality by clicking here.
1. Additional information on printhead problems
Please refer to the information summarized above, and the additional information summarized below is as follows.
Addition
“After connecting the DATA Cable, one channel is not fired”
2. Additional information on ink supply issues
Please refer to the information summarized above, and the additional information summarized below is as follows.
Addition
“no clogged nozzles, but banding in the red ARTJET 2025”
“When I print it, the whole thing has a yellow tint to it”
3. Additional problems due to equipment problems or management negligence
Please refer to the information summarized above, and the additional information summarized below is as follows.
“I see a white line after 600mm on the Y-axis.”
4. Additional information on Electron board and Software issues
Please refer to the information summarized above, and there is no additional information summarized yet.
5. Additional information on Sai Flexi Rip software
Please refer to the information summarized above, and there is no additional information summarized yet.
6. Problems and solutions from actual consumer sites
1. Paper that absorbs ink
2. A line-like thing appears at the end of the white print surface
3.Can varnish banding be reduced?
4. Are there many problems with China’s UV Printer?
7. UV Printer Application
Please refer to the information summarized above, and there is no additional information summarized yet.
8. Bonus
1. UV Printer Old Model Refurbished _updated
2. UV Printer Laser Cutter Bonding Machine Which equipment should I buy first? _updated
3. Considerations when choosing a UV printer _updated
4. DTF Printer Price and Specification Survey_updated
5. Acrylic Bonding Equipment Don’t Put It Off Anymore
6. China inkjet level now_updated
7. Thoughts on KOSIGN 2024_updated
8. ARTJET Delivery Preparation
9. ARTJET Setting Sequence
10. UV Printer History and Future Prediction 1_updated
11. UV Printer History and Future Prediction 2_updated
12. UV Printer History and Future Prediction 3_updated
13. UV Printer History and Future Prediction 4
14. UV Printer History and Future Prediction 5
15. Are there many problems with China’s UV Printer?
16. UV Printer Small Text Meaning
17. Is the XP600 head okay
18. Roland UV Printer Summary
19. Mimaki UV Printer Summary
20. UV Printer Alibaba Direct Purchase Considerations
21. Things to consider when buying a used UV Printer
22. Bi Uni Print Quality Differences
23. RDworks download install and laser head position by SW
That’s it for today.