Arcoflex UV Narrow-Web Label Inks
Arcoflex UV is a free-radical UV-curable flexo ink range for narrow-web self-adhesive label printing on paper and filmic stock. It contains no solvent and no water and cures under mercury-arc or UV-LED lamps, allowing inline converting immediately after printing.
Grade Arcoflex UV | Range Printing Inks for Flexible Packaging | Technology UV-curable free-radical acrylate, 100 per cent solids
Technical Data Sheet
Arcoflex UV
Issue 2026.09
1. Product description
Arcoflex UV is a free-radical UV-curable flexo ink range for narrow-web self-adhesive label printing on paper and filmic stock. It contains no solvent and no water and cures under mercury-arc or UV-LED lamps, allowing inline converting immediately after printing.
2. Features
- Cures on passing the lamp, allowing inline die-cutting, laminating and rewinding
- 100 per cent solids: no solvent or water to evaporate on press
- Pigment strength and sharp dot reproduction at fine narrow-web anilox volumes
- Cure response matched to mercury-arc and UV-LED lamp systems
- Stable on press through long runs and frequent stops
3. Recommended uses
Self-adhesive labels for food and beverage, personal care, household chemical and logistics applications on paper and filmic stock, including inline lamination and cold-foil work. Not intended for direct food contact, for any use where full cure cannot be verified, or for sensitive food packaging without a low-migration assessment of the finished pack.
4. Typical properties
| Property | Typical value | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | UV-curable free-radical acrylate, 100 per cent solids | Formulation |
| Physical form | 100 per cent solids liquid; no solvent, no water | Formulation data |
| Print adhesion | To be confirmed on each facestock, together with cure, before commercial printing | ASTM F2252 tape test |
| Colour range | Heavy-metal-free organic and inorganic colours, opaque whites and a reducing medium; special shades matched to a supplied reference sample | Against the approved reference sample; customer or supplier protocol |
| Supply viscosity | Supplied at press viscosity; not reduced with solvent or water | Customer or supplier protocol |
| Cure | Mercury-arc or UV-LED; lamp output verified with a radiometer matched to the lamp spectrum and logged | Radiometer; customer or supplier protocol |
| Degree of cure | Full cure to be confirmed for the lamp type, web speed and ink film weight before production | ASTM D5402 solvent rub, or customer or supplier protocol |
| Gloss | High gloss on filmic stock; shade and substrate dependent | ISO 2813 at 60° geometry where a measured value is required; customer or supplier protocol |
| Scuff and chemical resistance | Developed on full cure; to be confirmed on the finished label | ASTM D5264 (scuff); customer or supplier protocol (chemical) |
| Substrate wetting tension (PP and PE film) | 38 dynes/cm or above at printing | ISO 8296 or ASTM D2578 test inks |
Typical values, not a specification. Values for each batch are given on its Certificate of Analysis.
5. Application
| Parameter | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Printing method | Narrow-web flexography, including inline lamination and cold-foil work |
| Surface preparation | Self-adhesive paper stock as supplied; PP and PE filmic stock corona treated to 38 dynes/cm or above, confirmed at printing; PET stock treated or topcoated, with adhesion and cure validated on the facestock |
| Reduction | None for viscosity: supplied at press viscosity and not reduced with solvent or water. Adjust colour strength only with the range's reducing medium, and do not return used ink to the original container |
| Anilox and film weight | Fine ceramic anilox, volume selected per station and confirmed with the Arctic laboratory; anilox cell volume controls film weight and colour strength, with a kiss impression |
| Cure | UV polymerisation under mercury-arc or UV-LED lamps. Measure and log lamp output at each station with a radiometer whose spectral response matches the lamp type, since a mercury-band radiometer does not read UV-LED output correctly. Confirm the LED peak wavelength with the Arctic laboratory, and confirm the cure window for lamp type, web speed and film weight before production |
| Next step | Inline die-cutting, laminating and rewinding once full cure is confirmed |
6. Storage and handling
Store in tightly sealed, non-transparent original containers between 10 and 25 °C, in the dark and away from UV light, daylight and heat, which start premature polymerisation. Shelf life is stated on the label and Certificate of Analysis. Handle and use the product in line with its Safety Data Sheet.
7. Safety and regulatory information
Read the Safety Data Sheet before use. Safety Data Sheets and regulatory declarations are issued by our technical centre against the product and batch supplied, so they are sent on request rather than published. Request a Safety Data Sheet or declaration.
This Technical Data Sheet is published for on-screen reference. The information is given in good faith from laboratory and application experience and describes typical values; it is not a specification and does not replace a trial on your own substrate and line. Arctic Materials may revise this sheet without notice. Issue 2026.09.
Technical Data Sheets on this site are for on-screen viewing. For a controlled copy, write to tech@arcticmaterials.com.
Other ink ranges
Need a Safety Data Sheet, a regulatory declaration or a grade specified to your line? Contact our technical centre.