Characteristics of gravure water-based ink

Date: Nov 01 2024 From: Star Color

In the printing industry, water-based gravure inks are gradually replacing traditional solvent-based inks as the new choice for printing enterprises. The market prospect of water-based gravure inks shows a trend of continuous growth. On the one hand, due to their environmental protection, safety, and non-toxic properties, water-based gravure inks have been widely used in packaging printing, especially in the packaging of high-end and exquisite goods such as food, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, and alcohol, where market demand continues to increase. On the other hand, with the global enhancement of environmental awareness and stricter environmental policies implemented by governments, water-based gravure inks, as eco-friendly printing materials, have a broader application prospect.

Many people still lack sufficient understanding of water-based gravure inks. Below, we will introduce their advantages and disadvantages in detail to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of water-based gravure inks.

Advantages of Water-Based Gravure Inks

Excellent Environmental Performance: The most notable advantage of water-based gravure inks is their environmental friendliness. They do not contain organic solvents, so they do not release harmful gases during the printing process, minimizing their impact on the environment and worker health. This makes them have wide application prospects in packaging fields such as food and pharmaceuticals, where there are extremely high requirements for product safety and environmental protection.

Good Printing Adaptability: Water-based gravure inks have moderate viscosity and good fluidity, allowing them to adhere evenly to the substrate during printing, resulting in good printing effects. Additionally, they have excellent adhesion and abrasion resistance, ensuring the durability and stability of printed products.

Energy-saving and Efficient: Due to the relatively fast drying speed of water-based inks and the lack of need for additional heating equipment, they can save energy to a certain extent. Their printing efficiency is also high, meeting the needs of large-scale production.

Easy to Mix and Store: Water-based gravure inks are relatively easy to mix and can be flexibly adjusted according to different printing needs. Furthermore, they have good storage stability and are not prone to deterioration or stratification.

Characteristics of gravure water-based ink

Disadvantages of Water-Based Gravure Inks

Limited Drying Performance: Although the drying speed of water-based inks is relatively fast, in certain conditions, such as high humidity or low temperatures, their drying speed may be affected. This can lead to issues such as printed products sticking together or not drying completely.

Room for Improvement in Gloss and Transparency: Compared to solvent-based inks, water-based inks may have slightly inferior gloss and transparency. This is mainly because the resin particles in water-based inks are larger, making it difficult to form a completely transparent ink film. Therefore, in some printed products requiring high gloss and transparency, water-based inks may not be the best choice.

Certain Limitations in Printing Adaptability: Due to differences in physical properties such as viscosity, fluidity, and surface tension between water-based and solvent-based inks, more attention needs to be paid to the adjustment of printing machines and printing parameters when using them. Otherwise, issues such as unclear printing and incomplete dots may occur.

High Requirements for Substrates: Water-based gravure inks have certain requirements for the ink absorption and surface tension of substrates. If the ink absorption of the substrate is poor or the surface tension is too high, it may affect the adhesion of the ink and the printing effect.

Relatively High Cost: Although water-based inks have advantages in environmental protection and energy saving, their production costs are relatively high. This is mainly because the raw materials and preparation processes of water-based inks are relatively complex, and more additives are needed to improve their performance. Therefore, in some price-sensitive markets, water-based inks may face certain competitive pressures.

The above is an explanation of the advantages and disadvantages of water-based gravure inks. I believe everyone now has a clear understanding. Currently, more and more gravure printing is adopting water-based inks, and there is no need to worry about printing effects. The water-based gravure inks produced by our Zhongzhixing Color have color and gloss that are very close to oil-based inks, and the printing speed can easily reach over 150 meters per minute. Welcome to inquire.