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Date: Nov 04 2024 From: Star Color
In the field of gravure printing, the choice of ink has a significant impact on printing cost, efficiency, and quality. The author combines his more than 10 years of experience in the industry to briefly compare the costs of water-based ink and oil-based ink in gravure printing
Firstly, in terms of raw material and additive costs, there are notable differences between water-based ink and oil-based ink. The primary components of water-based ink are water and pigments. As water serves as the main solvent, its cost is relatively low. Furthermore, water-based ink does not require additional solvents during use, only requiring water to be added based on concentration changes, which further reduces its usage cost. In contrast, oil-based ink requires organic solvents for dilution, which are relatively costly. Additionally, the evaporation of solvents can alter the viscosity of oil-based ink, necessitating frequent solvent additions during the printing process, thereby increasing costs.
Secondly, in terms of printing efficiency and waste rates, water-based ink demonstrates clear advantages. The viscosity of water-based ink remains stable, minimizing color changes due to solvent additions, and thus reducing waste rates. Furthermore, water-based ink typically uses shallow plate printing, which enhances printing speed and increases the printing area, thereby improving production efficiency. In comparison, oil-based ink may require frequent viscosity adjustments during the printing process, leading to increased waste rates. Additionally, due to the use of deep plate printing, the printing speed of oil-based ink is relatively slow, and the printing area is smaller.
Furthermore, from the perspective of environmental protection and disposal costs, water-based ink exhibits significant advantages. Water-based ink is non-polluting, with relatively low wastewater treatment costs and no harm to the environment. This aligns with the current global environmental protection trend and helps businesses establish a green image. In contrast, oil-based ink contains organic solvents, which may produce hazardous waste after use, requiring additional environmental disposal costs. This not only increases the operating costs of businesses but may also cause environmental pollution.
Lastly, other cost factors such as hardware requirements and inventory management must be considered. The use of water-based ink requires good drying equipment and shallow plates, which may involve significant initial investments in hardware. However, in the long run, due to the improved printing efficiency and quality of water-based ink, these costs may be offset. Additionally, the sales method of water-based ink is relatively flexible, allowing printing businesses to purchase color pastes from water-based ink manufacturers and adjust the type of printing ink based on printing orders, reducing inventory and capital occupation. In contrast, oil-based ink is typically sold as finished ink, with lower flexibility.
Although water-based ink may require initial investments in hardware, considering its low raw material costs, high printing efficiency, low waste rates, low environmental disposal costs, and flexible inventory management, its overall usage cost may be lower than oil-based ink. Of course, specific costs vary based on factors such as the actual situation of the printing business, printing volume, ink prices, and equipment investments.
Huizhou ZhongZhiXing Color Technology Co., Ltd. is a food grade water-based ink manufacturer specializing in the production of environmentally friendly inks such as flexographic printing ink, uv flexo ink,gravure printing ink, water-based varnish, etc
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