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How do we choose the appropriate printing ink

2023-08-28

Any color is represented by three characteristics: hue, brightness, and saturation, so these three factors must be considered in the color matching process. Although theoretically black is the complete absorption of light, black ink still has a luster. Ink is made by grinding pigments (pigments) and resin binders. The particles of the pigment are wrapped in an almost transparent layer of resin oil, which has the ability to refract and reflect light. Therefore, we can feel that black ink printing still has a certain luster on the substrate. In the process of ink color matching, the ink used should be determined based on the actual printing process, ink layer thickness, printing substrate, and other conditions. When choosing ink, it is important to consider the gloss, hue, coloring power, and covering power of the ink itself. 1. Gloss can be measured by instruments or judged by the naked eye, usually only observed by the naked eye during the color matching process. Gloss actually refers to the degree to which ink printing samples have the ability to reflect light in the same direction after being exposed to light. It directly affects the appearance of printed materials and is a very important indicator. Meanwhile, when selecting ink, it is important to distinguish whether the ink itself is a glossy, semi glossy, or matte ink to avoid mixing errors. 2. Hue is the fundamental characteristic of color, used for qualitative differentiation. When color matching, the first thing to consider is whether the color is consistent. The detection method is usually to scrape the color with sample paper or simulate printing, and observe and compare the standard sample and the sample with human eyes. 3. Covering power is the degree to which ink covers its base color. The better the covering power, the worse the transparency. The level of transparency affects the efficiency of ink color matching and the degree to which it is affected by the printing substrate. 4. Coloring power is a method of indicating the concentration of ink. Its determination is a method of diluting and mixing a certain amount of ink with a certain amount of standard white ink, and then comparing it with the standard sample. The strength of color difference reflects the degree of color mixing of the ink and affects the thickness of the printing ink film. By conducting a color identification and scraping test on colored paper, the differences in gloss, hue, and covering power between the ink sample and the standard sample can be compared. Specific method: Place standard ink in the upper left corner of the identification paper and color matching ink in the upper right corner, with a distance of about one centimeter between the two. Use a scraper to flatten the thin application part with force at an angle almost perpendicular to the color paper, and quickly unfold the thick application part with light force at an inclined angle. After the surface of the ink dries, the ink color can be observed on the thin application part, the ink coverage and transparency can be evaluated on the black belt part, and the difference in gloss between the two can be judged on the thick application part, and the entire color appearance can be observed. Usually, black and colored ink use white scratch paper, while white ink uses black scratch paper.

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Analysis of the Development Trends of Future Ink Market

2023-08-28

Inkjet printing ink is a type of "liquid ink" that uses the electric field force between the nozzle of an inkjet printer and the substrate to spray a predetermined area on the surface of the substrate to form an imprint representing graphic and textual information. The future inkjet ink industry will present the following development trends.   1. High end professional inkjet inks will use more pigments as colorants Due to the large scale of pigment particle structure, whether it is the photodegradation caused by indoor light irradiation on the molecular structure of pigments, or the degree of oxidation and decomposition caused by outdoor sunlight and ozone in the air, pigments have advantages over dyes in terms of light resistance, gas resistance, water resistance, and image halo under high humidity. These characteristics also determine that pigment inks are more suitable for high-end professional users.      To achieve a wider color gamut, more ink colors have been developed, and HI-FI technology has been more fully utilized In theory, it is possible to mix various colors using the initial four colors "C, M, Y, K". However, the existing colorants have not yet reached the ideal level, resulting in slight differences between the actual color mix and the expected color. The best and simplest way to solve this problem is to increase the types of "color" ink. In addition, due to the fact that ink color matching is a subtractive color matching method, the more ink the inkjet printer sprays on the medium, the darker the color performance will be. Therefore, increasing ink color and using a single color to represent the previous stacked colors is the best coloring method.

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What are the commonly used ink additives

2023-08-28

Ink additives are auxiliary materials used to adjust ink to adapt to different printing conditions. There are many types of ink additives, and commonly used ones include adhesive remover, diluent, desiccant, slow drying agent, diluent, friction resistant agent, gloss oil, anti scratch agent, ink blending oil, etc. The following is a brief introduction to the functions and usage methods of common ink additives. 1. Spreading adhesive The adhesive remover has a small viscosity and is generally used for flat printing and relief printing ink to reduce its stickiness. In offset printing, due to changes in paper performance and printing conditions, such as high oil absorption, poor surface strength, and peeling of front and back coatings, excessive desiccant or low room temperature in the printing workshop can cause problems such as paper fuzzing, printing stacking, and pasting, affecting the quality of the printed product. Therefore, when the above phenomena occur, an appropriate amount of adhesive remover can be added to weaken and eliminate the above faults. 2. Withdrawal agent Diluting agent, also known as diluent, is a widely used additive in offset printing. There are two common diluents: one is transparent oil, used for glossy inks; One type is resin based fading agent, used for resin ink. If it is found that the ink color is too dark to restore the original during printing, an appropriate amount of diluent can be added to achieve the desired effect. 3. Desiccant Desiccants are one of the most important printing ink additives. The amount, type, and usage of desiccants vary depending on the printing conditions and paper used. There are two commonly used desiccants: red drying oil and white drying oil. The drying of red drying oil is from the outside to the inside, while the drying of white bath oil is done simultaneously with the outside. When printing, I choose the type of drying oil based on the drying requirements of the print and the ink color. The usual amount of drying oil is 2% -3%, and excessive use can actually cause a reversal of the base, leading to a decrease in drying speed. 4. Slow drying agent Anti drying agent, also known as antioxidant, is an ink additive that is opposite to drying agent. During the printing process, various reasons often cause downtime. When the downtime is long, the ink on it will dry and peel. To solve such problems, it is often necessary to add an appropriate amount of anti drying agent to the ink on the machine and run the machine a few times to prevent it from drying too quickly. 5. Diluent In printing, due to excessive ink viscosity or poor paper quality, problems such as paper fuzzing and plate dropping often occur, affecting the normal progress of printing. At this time, in addition to adding an appropriate amount of adhesive remover to reduce ink viscosity, a small amount of diluent can also be added to reduce ink viscosity, ensuring smooth printing. There are many types of diluents, usually low viscosity sixth grade inking oil. 6. Friction resistant agent Friction resistant agents, also known as smoothing agents, are mostly composed of waxes. When printing ink particles are coarse, such as white ink, gold and silver ink, an appropriate amount of friction resistant agents can be added to increase the friction resistance and smoothness of the printed material. 7. Masking oil High end prints such as trademarks and brochures often require surface gloss treatment to achieve a high gloss effect. When using gloss oil, the base can be mixed with ink before printing, or a layer of gloss oil can be added after printing. However, printed products that have undergone masking treatment will turn yellow after prolonged exposure, resulting in poor light resistance. Therefore, many new gloss oils that replace masking oils have been applied.

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