Many print shops, especially small to midsize setups, don’t explore adding a UV flatbed printer because of common misconceptions like:
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“It’s too expensive.”
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“It’s too manual and slow.”
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“It’s only for massive shops and huge production runs.”
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“UV printers take up too much space.”
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“They’re too hard to learn.”
However, these “myths” couldn’t be further from the reality of today’s flatbed technology, since new machines are more compact, user-friendly, and designed for faster, scalable production.
The biggest misconception we’d like to dispel is that UV flatbeds are inaccessible or unprofitable for smaller operations.
The reality? Models like Arcus Printers’ Monarch FB2436 Vision are designed to deliver commercial-grade output in a compact footprint and standard power requirements. Flatbed printing also lets you expand your product offerings, as a single machine can print on a variety of new substrates and products.
We’re ready to bust eight myths about UV flatbed printing and show how small to mid-size shops like yours can confidently scale using current-generation technology.
Myth 1: UV Printing Is Harmful to the Environment
The Misconception: UV printers use toxic inks and harmful curing methods that release dangerous fumes into your shop.
The Reality: Today’s UV flatbed systems are among the cleanest, most energy-efficient options available for direct-to-object printing.
Most UV inks are manufactured without volatile organic compounds (VOCs), meaning they don’t release harmful fumes like solvent-based inks do. Your shop doesn’t need special ventilation systems to run a UV flatbed, a big plus in smaller or enclosed workspaces.
Flatbed UV printing is often more sustainable than screen printing, as it generates less excess chemical waste and wash water. Because the ink cures on contact, there’s minimal overspray, drying waste, or ruined prints.
LED curing is a low-energy and long-lasting process, as UV/LED lamps cure inks instantly without requiring high heat or excessive power draw. Compared to traditional curing methods, these lamps reduce energy use and lower the load on your HVAC system.
Even better, UV-cured prints are stable and don’t “bleed” chemicals, making them a safe choice for items like drinkware, packaging, and consumer goods.
Your Takeaway: If your shop is trying to run cleaner, leaner, and more sustainably, UV printing supports that mission, not takes away from it.
Myth 2: UV Printing Is Limited to Certain Materials
The Misconception: UV flatbed printing only works on rigid, flat materials, like signs or basic packaging.
The Reality: Today’s UV flatbed printers, such as Arcus Printers’ Monarch FB2436 Vision, offer true versatility, allowing you to print directly onto a wide range of materials, from smooth acrylic to curved or irregular surfaces.
Now, UV flatbeds accommodate a wide range of rigid materials, including glass, metal, wood, acrylic, ceramic tiles, aluminum, and PVC. UV ink adheres to non-porous surfaces like acrylic, glass, and aluminum, due to instant curing and improved adhesives. You can also print on flexible substrates, such as foam boards, canvas, leather, wallpapers, reflective films, and even carpets.
Some UV flatbeds allow you to image transfers to surfaces that are curved or hard to mount directly. The Vision’s registration technology automatically scans object placement, eliminating the need for custom jigs. This allows you to print on irregular or misaligned items without the time-consuming setup required for traditional methods.
The Vision also has a print height of 5.9” and a 35.5” x 23.5” bed so that printers can handle small promo items to oversized signs. This lets you take on jobs for 3D objects or mixed-material items. This flatbed’s UV layering also supports gloss, matte, doming, and haptic textures for high-end packaging, branded goods, and elevated promotional products.
Your Takeaway: UV printing has evolved far beyond flat signs. With the right machine, such as the FB2436 Vision, decorators can print on almost anything that fits on the bed, without requiring setup or special jigs.
Myth 3: UV Printing Results in Inferior Image Quality
The Misconception: UV inks are dull and flat, and your print quality can’t compare to traditional methods like screen printing or large-format inkjet printing.
The Reality: UV flatbed printers, such as the Monarch FB2436 Vision, are specifically designed to produce ultra-precise, high-resolution prints with exceptional color accuracy, with no washout or blurring effects.
UV flatbed small droplet technology enables photographic-level detail, making it ideal for text-heavy or detailed artwork, logos, and gradients. The Vision’s three Epson I3200U1 heads deliver up to 720 x 1800 dpi resolution using precise three picoliter drop sizes.
Since UV ink sits on the surface of the object you’re printing and cures in place, there’s no ink absorption into the material, unlike solvent or water-based systems. Instead, you’ll get more saturated color, a better tonal range, and a closer replication of the original artwork file.
In addition, because UV inks cure instantly under powerful UV lamps, the ink gets locked in place before it can spread, bleed, or get absorbed into the substrate. That’s another reason you’ll get perfect registration for fine-line graphics or small text.
Finally, as we’ve already mentioned, UV layering prints in white and color simultaneously, and then adds varnish or texture layers for a visual and tactile effect. You can also produce haptic textures and matte/gloss contrast effects that you can’t get with screen printing.
Your Takeaway: UV printing often exceeds the image quality you’d achieve with traditional methods. The Monarch FB2436 Vision lets you turn out gallery-level detail, commercial-grade color, and unique texture effects in a single pass.
Myth 4: UV Printing Is Slow
The Misconception: The UV flatbeds of yesterday were saddled with a reputation for being slow, mainly due to long cure times, manual alignment, and low throughput.
The Reality: But today’s UV systems are built for speed and precision. Arcus Printers’ Monarch FB2436 Vision prints up to 108 square feet per hour in a four-pass mode, which rivals or exceeds the output of many solvent printers.
There are several factors why UV printers are faster:
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UV curing occurs instantly, enabling a seamless transition from printing to packaging.
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Vision-based systems reduce setup time, so you’re printing faster with fewer alignment delays… and you don’t need jigs or manual registration for irregularly placed objects.
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A three-head configuration with six-color output (CMYK + white + varnish) means fewer passes, better coverage, and less downtime.
Your Takeaway: The speed gap has been eliminated, thanks to modern UV systems like the Monarch FB2436 Vision, which enable you to produce high-quality flatbed prints quickly and efficiently.
Myth 5: UV Printing Is Expensive
The Misconception: Older UV flatbeds were large, industrial machines made for factories that cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, which still impacts printers’ perceptions today.
The Reality: Today, compact and affordable UV flatbed models are available for smaller and mid-sized businesses.
Newer flatbeds, such as the Monarch FB2436 Vision, are more efficient and space-saving. While the upfront investment cost may be higher, it pays off with every job you bring in-house. Many printers find that the lower cost per print, faster job turnarounds, and fewer outsourced expenses quickly offset the machine cost.
The printing process also lends itself to being more cost-effective in the long run:
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No extra finishing steps: UV prints come out cured and ready to go, so there’s no need for laminating, varnishing, or post-print drying setups. The process also eliminates steps like screen burning, cleanup, or long press runs, saving labor and consumables.
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Reduces waste and overruns: You only print what you need, when you need it, great for custom and small-batch runs. Plus, precise dot placement and instant curing mean fewer messed-up prints.
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Versatility adds revenue streams: With one machine, you can print on a variety of materials, including wood, acrylic, glass, metal, leather, and PVC, as well as offer 3D textures, domed finishes, and even UV-DTF transfers. That means you’re opening the door to higher-margin products and expanding what you can say “yes” to.
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Built for efficiency: The Monarch’s vacuum platform, high-speed output (108 square feet per hour), and automatic height sensing are all designed to minimize operator time and keep production moving.
Your Takeaway: UV flatbed printing is a strategic upgrade. With compact models at more affordable price points, your shop can expand to include a wider range of product types with just one machine.
Myth 6: You Still Need Jigs to Print Accurately
The Misconception: Historically, decorators relied on jigs to hold and position awkward or irregular items (especially for hard goods) to ensure precise alignment during printing. Many printers still assume they need to use traditional jigs to lock down exact placement, but even these setups can’t adapt to varied object shapes or sizes.
The Reality: The Arcus Monarch FB2436 Vision’s integrated camera vision system replaces manual jigs by auto-detecting object edges and adjusting artwork on the fly. That means you don’t need custom jigs or manual repositioning for every new product shape.
The Vision’s system uses CCD technology to:
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Scan object placement and shape directly on the bed.
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Detect the offset between the object and the artwork layout.
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Dynamically adjust alignment in real time.
You can:
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Enjoy more efficient high-volume production, since this setup reduces operator error and maintains consistency across jobs.
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Work across different shapes and substrates, including flat, irregular, cylindrical, and pre-printed surfaces.
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Achieve higher throughput and greater flexibility, printing one-off or gang-run custom items without complex preparation.
Myth 7: UV Prints Aren’t Good for Outdoor Applications
The Misconception: UV prints aren’t durable enough for outdoor use, so they’ll fade in the sun, peel in the rain, or crack in extreme temperatures. Many people still assume UV printing is only suited for indoor applications.
The Reality: Modern UV flatbed inks are specifically designed to be weather-resistant, offering excellent UV stability and adhesion on a range of rigid surfaces, including metal, plastic, acrylic, and wood.
Unlike solvent inks, which can fade or peel, UV inks cure instantly with light and hold up against sunlight, moisture, and temperature swings, often without requiring additional lamination. That makes them a solid choice for signage, outdoor displays, and promotional products intended for outside use.
UV inks also now include flexible and stretch formulations ideal for curved vehicle panels or wrapped edges without cracking or peeling. Printers use flatbed UV technology for fleet graphics, outdoor signage, and ADA-compliant displays featuring tactile print effects that withstand weather and wear. UV-printed items for outdoor use are ready to use right out of the box and have a lifespan of two to three years, matching that of similar items.
Your Takeaway: Unless you’re wrapping racecars with deep channels, UV printing is more than tough enough for everyday outdoor graphics, letting you produce them faster and more profitably.
Myth 8: UV Printer RIP Software Is Costly and Hard to Use
The Misconception: Those clunky, command-line RIP tools that took hours to learn? They’ve mostly gone the way of the dinosaurs. Today’s RIPs come with visual interfaces, drag-and-drop nesting, real-time previews, and simplified color management.
The Reality: Many RIPs (including Arcus’ bundled Cadlink Digital Factory V11) offer drag-and-drop user interfaces, pre-loaded profiles, and remote monitoring, so your learning curve is short. With the Vision, the RIP software optimizes UV workflows and supports multi-layer printing, variable data, and multi-queue jobs out of the box.
Today’s RIP software is way more intuitive than it used to be. Built-in tools, such as nesting, tiling, and multi-layer management, help even new users achieve professional-quality output quickly.
Even better, you don’t need to buy RIP software separately. With Arcus UV flatbeds, you get Cadlink V11 RIP and ArcusLink control software pre-installed on a production-ready PC. That means no extra investment or installation hassle, and you’re up and running on Day 1.
ArcusLink offers real-time printer monitoring, troubleshooting tools, and machine control, building in remote diagnostics and job management. That way, technicians can log in if something goes wrong, helping minimize downtime and avoid unnecessary service calls.
Your Takeaway: Today’s RIPs are powerful, streamlined, and integrated with your machine, allowing you to focus on production, not software headaches. Arcus also provides hands-on RIP and workflow training with every install, plus phone and tech support.
Don’t Let Old Myths Block Your Shop’s New Revenue Streams
As you’ve learned, UV flatbed printing has evolved into a faster, more innovative, easier, and more versatile process than many printers realize. From environmental impact to image quality, today’s UV flatbeds deliver. They cure instantly, print on nearly anything (including curved and irregular surfaces), and produce stunning, durable results, even for outdoor use or textured effects.
The Arcus Printers Monarch FB2436 Vision proves that the game has changed. We’ve designed this UV flatbed printer for efficiency and precision, removing old roadblocks like alignment issues, software confusion, or limited media options — and including everything you need to hit the ground printing.
Here’s the bottom line: UV flatbed isn’t just for the “big guys” or the “massive jobs” anymore. If you’re already running DTF or UV-DTF, adding flatbed UV opens new revenue channels, without adding complexity or bloated overhead.
Ready to scale smart? Learn more about the Monarch FB2436 Vision UV Flatbed Printer at Arcusprinters.com.
