What is EB ink?
Date: Aug 22 2024 From: Star Color
EB ink, also known as accelerated high-energy electron beam ink, is a printing ink based on specific energy curing technology. The uniqueness of this ink lies in its curing process relying on high-energy electron beams rather than ultraviolet (UV) light. Compared with
UV ink, EB ink has significant advantages such as fast drying speed, low pollution level, and in recent years, with the advancement of technology, its usage cost has gradually decreased, making it increasingly popular in the printing industry.
The basic principle of EB inkThe working principle of EB ink is to activate chemical reactions in the ink through high-energy electron beams, causing the ink layer to instantly solidify and form a strong image or text. The advantage of this technology lies in the strong penetration power of the electron beam, which can penetrate deep into the ink, making printed materials more durable and anti-counterfeiting. At the same time, due to the lack of additional ultraviolet light sources, EB ink can also achieve curing in areas that are difficult to reach ultraviolet radiation, expanding its application range.
The energy range required for EB curing is 150-300 keV, with an energy velocity close to the speed of light, and is not limited by coating color. Even in the adhesive layer of coatings and opaque substrates such as aluminum foil inside the paper, curing can be achieved, with extremely high flexibility.
EB curing technology is particularly suitable for fields that require 100% curing, such as food packaging, as it can ensure complete curing of inks and adhesives, ensuring product quality and safety.
The formula of EB inkThe composition of EB ink is similar to conventional ink, mainly composed of elements such as pigments, binders, and additives.
As a key component of ink, the quality of pigments directly affects the color quality of ink. Due to the fact that EB ink is mainly used for food packaging, the primary consideration when choosing pigments is non toxicity. The pigment must maintain color stability and not change color under the irradiation of an electron beam. The pigment requires high concentration, bright colors, good dispersibility, and high coloring power. Meanwhile, the ink mixed with pigments should not undergo gelation during the storage period, and the amount of each pigment added should be precisely controlled.
EB ink has special requirements for the selection of connecting materials, mainly composed of acrylic resin and active monomers. Prepolymer, which is a low molecular weight polymer containing unsaturated functional groups, plays a crucial role in the physical properties of cured ink, such as wear resistance, adhesion, elasticity, hardness, etc. Common prepolymers include epoxy acrylic resin, polyester acrylic resin, acrylic polyurethane, and chlorinated polyester acrylic resin, and their combinations can result in different physical properties.
Active diluent monomers are regulators in EB ink, used to reduce the viscosity of high viscosity prepolymers, adjust ink viscosity, enhance ink film strength, and accelerate the curing process. In actual production, by combining multiple monomers, ideal curing speed, viscosity, adhesion, and mechanical properties can be achieved
Advantages and characteristics of EB inkFirstly, the fast curing speed is a major highlight of EB ink. Compared with traditional ink, the curing time of EB ink is extremely short, usually only 1/10 second.
Secondly, the curing degree of EB ink can almost reach 100%. This characteristic enables EB ink to be widely used in demanding fields such as food packaging.
In addition, the environmental friendliness of EB ink is also a major feature. It does not contain harmful VOC components and will not pollute the environment, making it an ideal choice for green printing. Compared with UV ink, EB ink does not require photoinitiators, has no odor, does not release ozone, and is more in line with modern environmental protection concepts.
In terms of stable performance, EB ink also performs well. The cured ink has excellent mechanical and physicochemical properties, such as resistance, adhesion, hardness, etc. This makes the application effect of EB ink excellent on different substrates.
Application areas of EB inkEB ink is particularly suitable for use in food packaging printing. EB ink has become the preferred choice in the food packaging industry due to its thorough curing and no migration characteristics.
EB ink has shown good application effects in the fields of rotary offset printing and flexographic printing. It can significantly improve the quality and production efficiency of printed materials.
EB ink also has broad application prospects in fields such as electronic tags and anti-counterfeiting printing. With the continuous advancement of technology and the expansion of the market, the application fields of EB ink will become more extensive.
Challenges and Solutions Faced by EB InkAlthough EB ink has many advantages, it still faces some challenges in specific printing applications. Among them, the high cost of curing equipment is a major bottleneck that restricts the widespread application of EB ink.
Meanwhile, the recycling and degradation of waste ink is also a major challenge faced by EB ink. To solve this problem, developing environmentally friendly degradation technologies has become an urgent task.
And technological barriers are also an important factor restricting the development of EB ink. At present, core technologies are mainly in the hands of a few developed countries. To promote technological innovation and industrial upgrading of EB ink. Continuous progress is still needed in industries such as materials, electronics, and chemistry.
Conclusion and ProspectIn summary, EB ink has demonstrated tremendous potential and value in the printing industry due to its unique advantages and characteristics. It not only improves the quality and production efficiency of printed materials, but also promotes the development process of green printing. Looking ahead to the future, with the continuous advancement of technology and the expansion of the market, EB ink is expected to occupy a more important position in the printing industry.
To promote the widespread application and development of EB ink, it is necessary to increase research and development efforts, reduce equipment costs, and improve equipment efficiency; At the same time, it is also necessary to pay attention to the degradation of waste ink and develop environmentally friendly degradation technologies.
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