if apex safe is the same as sybr safe you may get better results with a blue light illuminator than a uv illuminator. Check the filter settings on your transilluminator to make sure that you are not filtering out the emission signal,All intercalating dyes will slow down the movement of dna in gels by about 10% but if your plasmid is all looking uncut then it is probably that it really has not cut and the quality of the dna prep and enzyme should be checked, I attach tech spec of sybr safe in the hope that it may be informative

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your response. I actually ran several restriction digests on the same plasmid, and split the products over two gels, one with GelRed and one with Apex stain (used at the manufacturers guidelines), and used a DNA plasmid I know cuts well/is of good quality. It was pretty astonishing to me the difference. While DNA was evidently and cleanly cut on the GelRed gel, bands did not migrate correctly with Apex stain. I reached out to the manufacturers who simply said 'use less', after I have tried several weeks trouble shooting already! Safe to say, sometimes it's best to stick with what you know - I have more GelRed on the way! 

you might be interested in this address

https://biotium.com/technology/gelred-gelgreen-nucleic-acid-gel-stains/

which compares some dna dyes and red does rather well( a commercial site but most of these companies have really good scientists working for them). I like etbr and do not believe that it is dangerous ( it is still used to treat worm infestations in veterinary usage in cattle but then I am also a bit old fashioned but it does have the advantage that it is dirt cheap.

all the best

Paul