Auxiliaries for gravure ink
Date: Oct 06 2024 From: Star Color
The additive of
gravure ink, also known as additive, is an auxiliary component of ink used to adjust the printing suitability of the ink. Here are some common gravure ink additives and their functions:
Plasticizer: A high boiling point, low volatility solvent or low melting point solid used to increase the plasticity of polymer substances. Adding plasticizers can make the previously brittle ink layer have better toughness and provide better adhesion between the ink layer and the substrate.
Desiccant: For dry oils, the presence of a small amount of metal salts can greatly accelerate their oxidation reaction. Commonly used metal salts include cobalt, manganese, and lead salts. Desiccant can accelerate the drying process of ink without any changes to itself. Common desiccants include red drying oil and white drying oil. The former achieves external to internal drying, while the latter achieves synchronous drying of the surface and interior.
Filler: A white solid material that can be uniformly and well dispersed in connecting materials. Commonly used fillers include chemical components such as aluminum hydroxide, magnesium carbonate, and calcium carbonate. In ink, ink properties such as viscosity, viscosity, flowability, and yield value can be adjusted, while ink concentration can also be adjusted.
Diluent: Its main function is to reduce the viscosity of ink and prevent the formation of film like substances. On the premise of ensuring that the pH value of the ink is not affected, for thick water-based ink, its viscosity can be reduced by dilution. There are many types of diluents, usually using low viscosity sixth grade ink. Low molecular weight linseed oil diluent has good mixing properties with ink and a mild effect; Mineral oil diluents have a significant dilution effect, but attention should be paid to the dosage when using them, as excessive use may lead to poor printing results.
Anti scaling agent: It is an auxiliary agent to prevent the formation of gel film due to the oxidation and polymerization of the surface layer of coatings during storage. The mechanism of action is that free radicals will be generated during the film forming process of the paint. The anti skinning agent can capture these free radicals and interrupt the oxidation polymerization of the paint film, so that the organic substances in the paint are not easy to gather on the surface of the paint film, thus preventing the formation of its gel film.
Dilution agent: also known as a dilution agent, its main function is to reduce the color concentration of ink. There are two common types of fading agents on the market: transparent oil and resin based fading agents. The former is suitable for glossy inks, while the latter is suitable for resin inks.
Anti reverse printing agent: prevents the printing ink layer from reversing to the back of the paper to ensure printing quality. The most commonly used anti reverse printing agent is corn starch, which has good adhesion, fluidity, and stability, and can effectively reduce the phenomenon of ink layer reverse printing.
Release agent: It has very low viscosity and is generally used for flat and relief printing inks to reduce their stickiness. In offset printing, changes in paper properties and printing conditions, such as high oil absorption, poor surface strength, peeling of front and back coatings, or excessive use of desiccants or low room temperature in the printing workshop, can cause faults such as paper fuzz, printing stacking, and pasting, affecting the quality of printed products. Therefore, when the above phenomenon occurs, an appropriate amount of debonding agent can be added.
Slow drying agent: also known as antioxidant, is an ink auxiliary agent corresponding to desiccant. During the printing process, various factors may cause downtime. If the downtime is too long, the ink is prone to drying and forming a skin layer. To ensure printing quality, a moderate amount of slow drying agent should be added to the ink on the machine, and the machine should be operated appropriately to slow down the ink drying speed.
Friction resistant agent: also known as smoothing agent, its main component is wax like substance. In the case of printing ink particles that are coarse, such as white ink, gold silver ink, etc., adding an appropriate amount of friction resistant agent can improve the friction resistance and smoothness of the printed product.
Dispersant agent: a new type of interface material that can be coupled and bonded with ink and filler surfaces in ink, and crosslinked with polymer matrix to combine two substances with different properties. Dispersants (anti settling agents) can effectively change the interface state between inorganic and organic substances, and are particularly effective in improving the dispersibility and anti settling properties of inks and fillers in organic systems. Not only can it shorten the grinding time and improve the dispersion efficiency of pigments and fillers, but it can also reduce the amount of solvent used, significantly reduce the viscosity of the system, increase fluidity, improve the wettability of the substrate, enhance the mechanical and chemical properties, color, and adhesion of the paint film to various substrates.
The above are the additives that gravure ink may use during printing, hoping to be helpful to you.
Huizhou Zhongzhixing Color is a major manufacturer of water-based inks. We provide high-quality flexographic and gravure water-based inks with good adhesion, bright colors, and high glossiness. We welcome your consultation.
RU
EN
CN
