Unlike UV printing, heatset ink uses a technique called evaporative drying. The color pigments are absorbed in a water solvent. Hot air is used to dry up all the ink's excess moisture.
The World Association of Newspapers reports in a 2005 article that heatset ink is the undisputed industry standard for commercial printing. Although heatset dryers are quite large, heatset ink is ideal for consistently printing in large volumes.
In UV ink printing, ultraviolet light waves impact photo initiators in a cross-linking process. This chemical reaction turns liquid pigments into a solid film without any evaporation.
Ultraviolet Ink, or UV Ink is still a relatively new advance in printing. UV printers are much smaller than conventional heatset printers and are widely considered to be an eco-friendly printing choice. However, since the technology is relatively new, UV ink production costs are still too high to compete with heatset ink presses.