UV water-based ink: The perfect combination of environmental protection and performance
Date: Nov 02 2023 From: Star Color
In today's printing market, environmental protection and sustainability have become increasingly important themes.UV water-based ink, as a new type of environmental protection ink, its unique performance and a wide range of applications are increasingly concerned by the industry.This paper will introduce the composition, characteristics and application of UV water-based ink in detail.
The main components of UV water-based ink
UV water-based ink is mainly composed of prepolymers (water-based photocurable resins), photoinitiators, pigments, amines, water, co-solvents and other additives.Among them, the prepolymer is one of the core components of UV water-based ink, which is a mixture of a variety of monomers and polymers.These prepolymers have good photosensitivity and water solubility, which can ensure that the ink has good rheology and stability during the printing process.
Photoinitiator is one of the key components of UV water-based ink, which can be decomposed into free radicals or ions under ultraviolet light, triggering polymerization of prepolymers and light-sensitive monomers and polymers.Different types of photoinitiators can affect the curing speed and curing degree of UV water-based ink.
Pigment is the component that determines the color of UV water-based ink, which can be inorganic pigment or organic pigment.Different kinds of pigments have different color performance and hiding power, and can be selected according to actual needs.
Amines are alkaline substances of UV water-based ink, which mainly play the role of adjusting the pH value of ink.They can promote the stability of the ink, and improve the photosensitivity and curing properties of the ink.
Water is the solvent of UV water-based ink, which can make the ink have good rheology and stability.In addition, the addition of water can also reduce the emission of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and improve the environmental protection of the ink.
Co-solvent and other additives can play a role in adjusting ink viscosity, improving printability and improving ink film properties.
Characteristics of UV water-based ink
1.Environmental protection property：UV water-based ink does not contain volatile organic solvents, small pollution, does not harm human health.The solid content reaches 100%, and there is no inconsistency in the thickness of the printing ink film caused by solvent volatilization.
2.Printability:UV water-based ink has good printability, which is conducive to the printing of fine products, will not block the mesh, and improve the printing efficiency.
3.Curing drying rate：UV inks have the characteristics of selective absorption of UV light.Under the irradiation of UV light, UV ink photopolymerization initiator absorbs photons of a certain wavelength and excites to an excited state to form free radicals or ions.Then, through intermolecular energy transfer, the polymerized prepolymers and light-sensitive monomers and polymers become excited states, resulting in charge transfer complexes.This process enables UV water-based ink to have a suitable curing and drying rate.
4.Ink film characteristic：The ink film formed by UV water-based ink after drying has good gloss, wear resistance, water resistance, oil resistance and solvent resistance.
Application of UV water-based ink
UV water-based ink is mainly used in food, medicine, beverages, tobacco and alcohol and daily necessities in contact with the human body packaging and printing.These application areas have put forward higher requirements for the environmental protection, safety and printing quality of ink, and UV water-based ink precisely meets these needs.
With the popularization of environmental awareness and the continuous development of technology, the market demand for UV water-based ink will continue to grow.In the next few years, the market size of UV water-based ink will continue to expand, especially in the field of packaging and printing applications will be more extensive.At the same time, with the continuous emergence of new technologies and the strengthening of environmental protection policies, the production cost of UV water-based ink will be reduced, and the price will be more affordable, which will further promote its application in the printing industry.
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