From Etsy stores to sign shops, and from sporting goods manufacturers to medical technology, there’s a HUGE boom going on in UV printing.

从电商网店到标识商店，从体育用品制造商到医疗技术，UV打印正在各个领域内蓬勃发展。

Small format UV printer sales are up over 36% so far this year! Yes, even this year, and here are some of the reasons why:

· New lower pricing

· More awareness of the technology

· Lower costs of production

· Seasonal needs

· Situational needs

· New creative applications

The lust for personalization, for customization, and for getting custom products created quickly and precisely is what’s driving those sales.

2020年截至到目前为止，小尺寸UV打印机的销售量增长超过36%！是的，即使在疫情期间，也能看出UV打印发展的潜力，以下是促成现状的主要原因

· 相对当前市场，更低的价格

· 人们对技术发展迭代的意识

· 为使用者降低生产成本

· 当季需求

· 情境需求

· 新的创意应用

对于个性化、定制化的需求以及快速并准确地创建相应产品的须要是推动UV打印机销量的主要动力。

UV Printer Pricing and the Democratization of Personalization

UV打印机定价趋向大众化

Just a few years ago, even the least capable small format UV printers would have cost upwards of $50,000. While that amount seems like a steal to those of you that understand the market and the capabilities of UV printing, it’s very intimidating for someone just getting started.And if you wanted something beyond entry-level, that price would have gone up very quickly.

就在几年前，即使是功能极少的低配小型UV打印机，价格也要超过50000美元，对于了解市场与UV打印机价值的业内人士，可能并不会觉得昂贵，但是因为兴趣爱好才刚刚开始使用该产品的人来说，这样的定价令人望而生畏。而且如果想要的是入门级以上的产品，那么价格又会上涨不少。

While a 13” X 19” bed size might not be right for every application, the lower price has more people investigating UV printing. The result is greater adoption of the product.

目前尺寸最小的入门级UV打印机为33*48厘米，这样的设备并不能满足广泛的应用，但亲民的价格却能吸引更多人研究UV打印，结果是这款产品被更多人选择。

That level of interest is very similar to what happened with direct-to-garment printing ten years ago. The improvement of the equipment and the lower cost has made DTG a staple now for the apparel decorating industry.

这种因兴趣爱好而产生的购买力，与十年前流行的服装直印非常相似，设备的改进和较低的成本已使DTG（服装直印系统）成为现在服装装饰行业的必备品。

People are Asking if You UV

UV促进新型业务

Awareness of what UV is and does is growing. Because of trade shows and popular industry magazines , more and more decorators are learning about UV printing. Awareness is both cause and effect. The more people are interested, the more dealers and manufacturers want to show it. The more the printers get shown, the more awareness.

人们对UV打印的技术、用途的理解意识正在增强；加上各种商业展览和流行业内杂志的宣传与普及，越来越多的印刷与标识从业者正在学习有关UV打印的知识。两者互为因果关系，感兴趣的人越多，展示UV打印机的经销商和制造商就会越多，而这样的展示也催生着UV打印机的知名度变高。

But the real indicator of a tipping point is that customized product retail goods buyers are starting to ask for it. This is a striking parallel to DTG printing.

但是，真正将其转变为刚需的转折点，是需要定制商品的终端购买者开始要求的——这与DTG的发展极为相似。

When DTG first came out, the public had no idea what it was. Even larger wholesale apparel buyers didn’t realize what DTG would mean for the market. That’s not true anymore—customers are regularly requesting direct-to-garment printing, and that’s starting to happen in UV printing right now.

DTG刚问世时，公众压根不了解它是什么，甚至一些专业的大型服装批发商也没有意识到DTG究竟会对市场产生什么影响，直到客户开始经常要求服装直印时，情况才发生变化。而现在UV打印已经逐渐呈现出这样势头。

4 Hot Markets in UV Printing

UV打印的4个热门市场

We looked at customers that have recently adopted UV printing as part of their business over the past six months. We found that the majority fell into four general categories or niches.So, if you are already in one of these areas with your business, you’re in a particularly good spot to look at UV adoption.

如果留心过去六个月中刚刚将UV打印加入基础业务的一部分人群，就会发现他们隐隐分为4个类别，也许它们将成为UV打印今后的利基市场。因此，如果您的业务领域正是其中之一，不妨仔细阅读下面的内容。

1. Etsy stores are UV printing EVERYTHING

1.电商网店正在使用UV打印

During Episode 129 of the Custom Apparel Startups Podcast, we interviewed Don Copeland, digital product manager for ColDesi, about what’s happening in UV printing. The first and most prolific example he gave was Etsy stores.

【ColDesi】是一家著名的设计公司，该公司的数码产品经理唐·科普兰对于UV打印非常熟悉，他举的第一个例子也是最多的例子，就是电商网店的UV应用。

That story also provides a great example of the ROI of moving from a manual or less automated process to UV. The company in question was hand-making wooden signs. Assembling slats of wood, stenciling, and then hand-painting them and then building a frame around the outside. Their team was able to produce up to six signs per hour this way.The motivation for a quick adoption of a UV printer (the Compress iUV1200s to be specific) came when a new seller relationship inspired 1,600 wooden sign orders over a holiday weekend. After switching the production of their custom rustic signs to UV, they went from being able to produce six pieces per hour to 60 in the same time frame.

科普兰表示，传统的手工或自动化程度较低的制作团队，在转换为UV打印工艺后，其ROI（投资回报率）会得到提高。

一间标识网店之前一直坚持手工制作木牌，组装木板条并进行装饰，然后手工上漆，最后之作边框···这样的生产工艺与制作流程，一小时内最多只能制作6块标识。在接受一个经销商的推荐后，他们购买了快速的UV打印机（Compress iUV1200s），并将生产定制乡村标识的任务交给这台机器，结果每小时6件的生产力瞬间变为每小时60件，一个周末产出1600件木制标识！

Gross profit was $30,000, as reported by that customer. It made a massive dent in recouping their investment in the iUV1200s with just the first order.

这间标识网店在这笔订单上赚取了30000美元的毛利润，仅这一笔订单就完全收回投入在UV打印机上的投资，并饶有富余。

Of course, this is an extreme example, but people on Etsy are adding UV printers to their businesses every month. Producing and selling everything from rustic signs to Christmas ornaments, Etsy sellers are leading the charge in UV printing adoption.

当然，客观的说这个例子的确不能被所有商家复制，但电商网店的经营者的确每个月都会有不少通过UV打印机承接的业务，这一点却是不能忽视的。电商平台上有很多卖家都在生产和销售从乡村标识到圣诞节装饰品的众多产品，他们引领着UV打印的应用。

2. Big brand customization

2.大牌产品定制

Big, medium and boutique brands are all trying to do two things:

1. Reduce premanufactured inventory

2. Improve margins

Since you can use personalization and customization to achieve both of those ends, UV printing has found a prime place.

当下的大、中型品牌，以及高端精品品牌都在尝试推进两项经营举措：

1. 减少预置库存

2. 提高利润

这两个目标都可以依靠个性化和定制化服务来实现，而UV打印可以帮助商家在定制领域立于不败之地。

While companies like Vera Bradley and some home linen brands have been offering monogramming for a few years, the biggest names in fashion and consumer products are just starting to realize the benefits of customization.

虽然像【维拉·布兰德利】这样的公司和一些家用纺织品牌已经提供字母组合的定制已有几年的时间，但时尚和消费品领域的知名企业才才刚刚开始意识到定制能够带来优势。

The advances in online configurator software that allows a brand to offer the ability to choose from many options and “assemble” their personalized product online have accelerated this process.For example, custom travel mugs are incredibly popular, and it’s an excellent application for the right UV printer.

在线配置器软件的发展，使得一个品牌可以从众多选项中进行选择并在线“组装”出个性化产品，从而加速UV打印在该市场里的发展过程。例如时下定制旅行杯非常受欢迎，如果拥有合适的UV打印机，不妨可以投入相似的应用。

What’s happening now is that brands are starting to do this themselves to grab the extra revenue and better their own customer experience, all following the big apparel brands like Nike, Vera Brandley, etc. in the customization and personalization business, but with hard goods instead.

现在的情况是，品牌开始主动追求定制和个性化业务，这样不仅能增加额外的收入，还可以加强与忠实用户的连接，在这方面【耐克】和【维拉·布兰德利】等大型服装品牌作为行业标杆，所选用的都是耐用品进行制作。

Setting aside the personalization of products, manufacturers are also using UV printing to reduce pre-produced inventory to significant effect. That’s the method of bringing in blank products and adding images to them, rather than preprinted.

除了产品的个性化设置外，制造商还使用UV打印来减少预置库存，以达到显著效果，具体的方法是，按需在半成品上进行UV打印定制图像，而不是整批同时制作。

3. Apparel decoration businesses

3.服装装饰企业

It’s not what you think. We’re not talking about UV printing onto apparel items. DTG printers and other methods are much more efficient and faster on T-shirts.

注意，这里讨论的并不是直接在服装上进行UV打印，DTG打印机和其他方法在T恤上的工作效率更高，速度也更快。

Apparel decorating—custom T-shirt businesses really—are adding UV printing as a cross-market. Many of our customers grow over time by adding new technology and all the products that they can produce with it. So, an embroidery shop or custom T-shirt printer that already offers customization of apparel is now offering UV printing to fill their customer’s needs.

随着时间的推移，很多企业都通过添加新技术以及该技术生产的所有产品来成长，因此服装装饰企业正在增加UV打印为交叉市场做出准备，已经提供服装定制服务的刺绣或定制T恤的店铺现在可以将UV打印机给客户提供单独的项目制作，满足客户的需求。

One reason that expansion has included UV for those shops is versatility. That’s because the same business that comes in to purchase 48 logoed polos, or printed T-shirts probably also want:

· Custom yard signs

· Employee badges

· Recognition awards

· Promo products for leave-behinds

服装装饰企业想扩展UV打印的原因之一是其多功能性，因为可想而知，需要购买几十套、几百套Polo衫或印花T恤的企业，大概率也会需要：

· 定制的墙院招牌

· 员工徽章

· 奖牌、奖状

· 慈善宣传制品

All of which can be printed very quickly on a UV printer. For example, one T-shirt shop that focuses on local schools recently experienced a considerable drop in apparel sales. The schools they service were closed before graduation. Much of that cyclical business was lost, but with a UV printer, they were able to produce graduation yard signs for those same schools and student-customers. That pivot saved their business!

上述所有产品都可以在UV打印机上快速生产，例如最近一家专门为当地学校供货的T恤商店销售额大幅下降，因为所服务的客户都因疫情关闭，毕业典礼上的服装需求，这一周期性的业务也丢失了，但是因为拥有一台UV打印机，该商店就能为那些关门的学校和在家的学生们制作毕业码，这一个关键的优势挽救了生意。

Much of the significant increase in small format UV printer adoption can be attributed to this group of apparel entrepreneurs.

这一类服装企业家也带动了小型UV打印机采用率的显著增长。

4. Manufacturing and pad printing alternative

4.替代制造和移印

UV printing is replacing traditional manufacturing and product marking methods like pad printing in manufacturing. Not in every circumstance, of course, but the idea that manufacturers can personalize or customize products in short runs without the setup involved in older technology is catching hold.

UV打印正在取代传统的制造业中在产品表面印花的方法，例如移印技术，虽然UV打印暂时还不是广泛适用于每一种情况，但是可以在短期内定制个性化产品，而无需费尽心思折腾旧技术设备的诱惑对制造商来说非常具有吸引力。

A large sporting goods manufacturer had us testing basketballs and volleyballs, for example. Another will offer custom golf balls with tournament logos, while high-end bicycle manufacturers are putting logos and names on frames, and a custom motorcycle maker applies full-color graphics to cowls and covers. The opportunities are practically endless.

现在很多大型体育用品制造商都开始测试在篮球和排球上进行UV打印；有一家高尔夫球厂商已经能对外出售带有锦标赛徽标的高尔夫球；高端自行车制造商会将徽标和名称打印在车架上；而专业从事摩托车定制的工作室则将彩色图形应用于前围和外罩···UV打印在这些领域内的机会具有近乎无限的延展性。

Some are also using them for variable data, including applications like printing UPCs directly onto products or adding serial numbers. All of this spares the company from pre-producing large quantities of parts marked in a particular way. Inventory management is easier when you can serialize, apply logos and graphics or trademarking to a part on an as-needed basis after the fact.

UV打印有时还会被用于印刷可变数据，比如在产品上直接打印条形码或是序列号，这样可以免于生产用于标记可变数据的零件。而且在将这项技术并入生产线后，如果需要在生产结束之后对产品进行序列化，或者在上面印上徽标、图形或商标时，库存管理会变得更加容易。

Opportunity or Seasonal Niches

新的机会与季节性市场

Social distancing signage is a booming business. With regulations being added and changing regularly, retail stores and other companies need tons of signage:

· “We’re Open”

· “Curbside Pickup”

· “New Hours”

· “New Delivery Services”

由于疫情的原因，提示保持社交距离的标牌成为了一个蓬勃发展的行业，随着各种相关法规的添加与更改，传统的零售商店和一些人流密集的公司都需要大量的相关标牌：

· “我们开放”

· “店外取货”

· “新开放时间”

· “新交付服务”

And inside they need:

· 6′ separation floor signs

· Employee safety reminders

而在店铺或公司的内部，需要的是：

· 两米安全线地板贴图

· 员工安全提醒

The CDC is even providing documents businesses can use for signage for a variety of situations. All of those can be turned into a UV printed sign onto corrugated plastic or even metal for parking lot signs.

疾控中心与企业会用到的关于疫情防控的标识标牌，几乎都可以由UV打印制作，然后粘贴在瓦楞纸、塑料甚至是停车场标牌的金属上。

If you haven’t been inspired to investigate UV printing for your business yet, check it out for yourself.If you already have a customer base in almost any other customization niche, UV printing could help you grow your business more than you might think.

所以，如果您暂时还没有发现自己的企业可以用到UV打印的地方，那么不妨根据以上的观点再好好想想；如果您已经在几乎所有的定制与个性化服务中占得先机并拥有客户群，那么UV打印也能超乎想象地帮助您继续拓展业务。