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Can you use water-based ink on paper?

Date: Sep 10 2024  From: Star Color   

1. Drying speed problem
   • Problem description : The viscosity of water-based ink, the water absorption of paper, and the ambient temperature and humidity can all lead to slow or uneven drying.
   • Solution :
     • Adjust the ink viscosity and use thinner to reduce viscosity to speed up drying.
     • Choose paper with better water absorption, or pre-treat the paper before printing to increase its water absorption.
     • Improve the ventilation conditions in the printing workshop, increase the temperature and reduce the humidity to promote the drying of ink.
2. Foam and Bubble Problems
   • Problem description : Water-based ink may produce foam or bubbles during the stirring, circulation or printing process, affecting the surface quality of the printed product.
   • Cause analysis : Emulsifiers in the ink system, uneven stirring, insufficient circulation or air entering the reflux pipe may all lead to foam.
   • Solution :
     • Add an appropriate amount of defoamer, and pay attention to controlling the amount added to avoid affecting the performance of the ink.
     • Strengthen the stirring and circulation of ink to ensure that the ink is uniform and stable.
     • Check the return pipe and adjust it in time to prevent air from entering.

1. Printing quality issues
   • Problem description : The paper's absorbency, smoothness, thickness and other properties may affect the ink transfer and printing effect, resulting in uneven ink color, blurring and other problems.
   • Solution :
     • When choosing paper suitable for water-based ink printing, consider the paper's characteristics such as water absorption, smoothness and thickness.
     • Adjust printing pressure and speed to meet the printing needs of different papers.
     • Check the wear of the printing plate and anilox roller regularly and replace them in time to ensure printing quality.

1. Blockage and blocking issues
   • Problem description : During the printing process, the ink may clog or jam the plate due to reasons such as fast drying, poor fluidity, or mixing of paper powder.
   • Solution :
     • Add an appropriate amount of slow-drying agent to the ink to delay the drying time of the ink.
     • Choose ink with good fluidity, or adjust the air pressure of the ink supply pump to speed up the fluidity of the ink.
     • Check and clean the printing plate and ink roller regularly to prevent ink clogging.
2. Color overlay problem
   • Problem description : In overlay printing, the interaction between the base color and the surface color may lead to poor overlay, such as the base color showing through and the surface color becoming blurred.
   • Solution :
     • Adjust the ink viscosity of the base color and the top color to ensure that they match each other.
     • Control printing pressure and speed to avoid mutual influence between base color and top color.
     • Use cardboard with good permeability to improve ink permeability and color stacking effect.

• Temperature and humidity control : The temperature and humidity of the printing workshop have an important impact on the drying speed of water-based ink and the printing effect. Too low temperature or too high humidity will cause the ink to dry more slowly, and even cause the printed matter to stick or deform.
  • Solution : According to the characteristics of water-based ink and printing requirements, the temperature and humidity of the printing workshop should be reasonably controlled. Normally, the temperature should be maintained between 20-25℃ and the humidity should be controlled between 50%-70%.

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