Services — UV Printing
Full color, cured onto the part itself.
Photo-quality printing directly onto metal, acrylic, wood, and leather. Most local shops stop at engraving — one color, no photos. Our flatbed UV printer puts your exact logo colors and full-resolution images straight onto the part, cured and durable.
- ✓ $95/hr studio time — $150 project minimum
- ✓ Typical jobs land $150–$350 all-in
- ✓ Full color, white ink, fine detail — quantity 1 is fine
- ✓ Human quote reply within 1 business day
Pricing
Simple math. No surprises.
You get a fixed written quote before anything prints — the hourly rate is just how we build it.
$95/hr
Studio time
Flatbed UV print time, including white-ink layers, setup, and adhesion testing on your material.
$150
Project minimum
Covers proofing, fixturing, and color setup. No minimum quantity — one piece or one hundred.
$150–$350
Typical job, all-in
Where most UV projects land. Price breaks start at 10 units; rush turnaround available at +50%.
Every project starts with a free quote and digital proof — one revision included. See full pricing →
Color
Any color. Photo-grade.
Thirty standing colors and full CMYK plus white beyond them — so your logo hits its exact brand color and a photograph reproduces at print quality, on materials inkjet and screen printing can’t touch. The white-ink underbase is the trick: it keeps artwork bright on black acrylic, dark wood, and raw metal.
- ✓ Full CMYK + true white ink
- ✓ 300 DPI photographic detail and crisp fine text
- ✓ Instantly UV-cured — scratch-resistant, waterproof
The process
What is UV printing?
UV printing jets ink onto a flat object, then cures it instantly with ultraviolet light. The ink bonds to the surface instead of soaking in, which means full-color photographic detail, true white ink, and crisp fine text on materials inkjet and screen printing can’t touch — raw aluminum, stainless steel, acrylic, hardwood, leather. No coating, no transfer paper, no screens to burn. Set the part on the flatbed, print, done.
Materials
Substrates we UV print on
If your material isn’t listed, ask — flat and rigid is usually printable, and we adhesion-test before the full run.
| Substrate | Print notes | Common uses |
|---|---|---|
| Aluminum (raw, anodized, brushed) | White-ink underbase for vivid color on dark or metallic finishes | Award plates, industrial labels, panel faces |
| Stainless steel | Direct print, durable cured finish | Equipment tags, nameplates, control panels |
| Coated metals (powder-coated, painted) | Excellent adhesion on most coatings | Branded hardware, signage blanks |
| Acrylic (clear, colored, frosted) | Second-surface printing behind clear acrylic for a glass-like look | Logo signs, displays, photo panels |
| Wood & plywood | Grain shows through or solid white base — your call | Signs, gifts, retail displays |
| Leather | Fine-detail full color without heat distortion | Patches, tags, personalized goods |
| Rigid plastics (ABS, PETG, PC) | Adhesion-tested per material before the full run | Enclosure faces, product housings |
Compared
UV printing vs the alternatives
vs laser engraving
Engraving is one tone — the color of burned or marked material. UV printing is full CMYK plus white, so brand logos hit their exact Pantone-style colors and photographs reproduce at print quality. Need both? We engrave and print on the same piece: a laser-marked serial number next to a full-color logo on one aluminum plate.
vs sublimation & screen printing
Sublimation only works on polyester-coated blanks, and screen printing needs a burned screen per color — fine at 500 units, painful at 1. UV printing needs no coating and no setup screens, so one-offs are economical and hard substrates like raw metal, acrylic, and wood are fair game. $95/hr, $150 project minimum, no minimum quantity.
Applications
What people UV print with us
Branded merch & corporate gifts
Full-color logos on metal, wood, and leather gifts — exact brand colors, quantity 1 to short runs.
Full-color award plates
Photo-quality plates and plaques that engraving alone can’t produce. Pair with laser-cut backers.
Industrial labels & control panels
Durable, chemical-resistant legends, scales, and warning labels printed straight onto panel faces.
Signage faces
Printed acrylic and aluminum sign faces — second-surface on clear acrylic for a glass-like finish.
Product personalization
Names, photos, and one-off designs on customer products. No minimum quantity means every unit can be unique.
Coasters, plates & desk pieces
Photo-grade coaster sets, license-plate signs, and desk hardware — the same flatbed that runs our shop products runs yours.
From the shop
See it on a finished piece.
The same flatbed that runs your project runs our made-to-order products — proof of what the print quality looks like in hand.
Under one roof
Cut and print in one shop
The UV printer shares a floor with our laser cutters and CNC router. That means a sign face gets cut to shape and printed in full color without a second vendor, a hand-off, or a week of extra shipping. One file, one quote, one shop — laser-cut acrylic with a printed second surface, CNC-routed panels with printed legends, engraved metal tags with full-color logos. Pickup in Raleigh or tracked shipping nationwide.
UV printing FAQs
How much does UV printing cost?
Studio time is $95/hr with a $150 project minimum, and most jobs land between $150 and $350 all-in. There’s no minimum quantity — a single piece is fine — and price breaks start at 10 units. Send your artwork and we’ll return a fixed written quote within one business day.
What’s the difference between UV printing and sublimation?
Sublimation dyes a polyester coating, so it only works on specially coated blanks and washes out on dark surfaces. UV printing cures ink directly onto the object itself — raw aluminum, stainless, acrylic, wood, leather — with a white-ink underbase for bright color on any background. No coating, no blank catalog, quantity 1 is economical.
How durable is UV printing? Will it scratch or fade?
UV-cured ink bonds to the surface and is scratch-resistant, waterproof, and chemical-resistant — well suited to industrial labels and control panels. For outdoor signage or high-abrasion parts we add a clear coat or print second-surface behind clear acrylic so the ink is fully protected.
Can you UV print on metal?
Yes — aluminum, stainless, and coated metals are our most common substrates. A white-ink underbase keeps logos and photos vivid on dark anodized or brushed finishes. We can also laser-cut or engrave the same metal piece in-house, so you get cut, mark, and full-color print from one shop.
What artwork files do you need for UV printing?
Vector files (PDF, AI, SVG) print sharpest for logos and text. For photos, send a PNG or TIFF at 300 DPI at final print size. Don’t have print-ready art? We’ll clean up or rebuild it for you and send a proof before anything prints.
Can you print white ink, or print on dark and clear materials?
Yes. Our flatbed prints white ink as a standalone color or as an underbase layer, which is how full-color artwork stays bright on black acrylic, dark wood, and metal. On clear acrylic we can print white behind the color for a backlit-ready, glass-like finish.
Get your UV printing quote today
Send a vector file or 300 DPI artwork — or just describe the piece. A fixed quote and a digital proof from a real person within one business day.