In the vast field of printing and packaging, ink undoubtedly plays a crucial role and is one of the core materials in the printing industry. It is made from a careful blend of binders, pigments (including pigments, dyes, etc.), fillers, additives and other substances.

There are many different types of ink, which can be subdivided according to the printing method into offset (lithographic) inks, gravure inks, letterpress inks, flexographic inks, screen printing inks, pad printing inks and inkjet inks. From the perspective of the substrate, they can be divided into paper inks, plastic inks, metal inks, glass inks, ceramic inks and textile printing inks. In terms of drying methods, there are volatile drying inks, osmotic drying inks, oxidative drying inks, heat-curing inks, light-curing inks and electron-beam curing inks. In addition, there are inks for anti-counterfeiting and special purposes, such as photosensitive inks, thermal inks, pressure-sensitive inks, foaming inks, scented inks, conductive inks, magnetic inks, liquid crystal inks, inkjet inks and microcapsule inks, each with their own advantages.

The representative ink drying methods used in the printing process vary depending on the type of printing and mainly include evaporation drying, osmosis drying, oxidative polymerization drying, heat curing, and UV/EB curing.

Evaporation drying, for example, works by heating to evaporate the solvent or moisture in the ink to achieve drying. Solvent-based inks contain VOCs and have a negative impact on the environment. For example, water-based solvents or high boiling point solvent inks often require large ovens to dry, which inevitably consumes a lot of energy. After drying, the ink film is simply the solid ingredients in the ink attached to the substrate, and its strength depends largely on the strength of the connected material itself. Looking back in history, in the early days of the printing industry, before environmental awareness had awakened, solvent-based inks were widely used due to their advantages such as fast drying speed. However, with the increasing environmental protection requirements, their disadvantages have gradually become more prominent.

Osmotic drying involves the solvent and water in the ink permeating into the substrate material, while the solid components such as resin and pigment adhere to the surface of the substrate to complete the drying process. This type of ink is widely used in printing on porous absorbent materials such as paper, for example newspaper printing, and has the advantages of short drying times and no need for special drying equipment. However, it is useless for non-permeable materials such as plastics. In the practical case of color newspaper printing, it is necessary to ensure that the ink dries quickly and the color is not distorted after printing on the paper, which places high demands on the penetrating drying properties of the ink.

Oxidative polymerization drying inks use linseed oil, soybean oil and other oils containing double bonds as binders, and rely on the oxidative polymerization reaction of oxygen in the air to achieve drying. Similar to osmotic drying, although it does not require special drying equipment and does not consume energy, the drying process takes a certain amount of time and cannot immediately proceed to the next process. In traditional book printing, this type of ink was once used in large quantities, but the powder spraying operation carried out to prevent dirt from adhering to the back may cause environmental problems, which has prompted the industry to seek more environmentally friendly alternatives.

Thermosetting inks use thermosetting cross-linking resins such as epoxy resins, polyurethane resins and amino resins as binders, and are combined with a heat curing agent to form a two-component system. They are mixed in a specific ratio and stirred before being heated in an infrared drying tunnel or with hot air to thermally cross-link and cure the film. Although these inks have excellent properties, their high energy consumption, solvent evaporation and environmental unfriendliness have led to their gradual replacement by energy-saving and environmentally-friendly UV inks. Like some large printing houses, in the pursuit of efficient production and environmental protection, they have phased out their thermal curing ink production lines and switched to UV inks.

UV/EB curing inks contain reactive substances that are cured by ultraviolet light or electron beam irradiation. UV/EB inks have a minimal environmental impact as they contain no solvents or other VOCs and can be used on non-absorbent substrates such as plastic. UV/EB inks can be cured instantly, so that the next process step can begin immediately after printing. They also do not cure without exposure to ultraviolet (UV) or electron beam (EB) light and therefore do not adhere to the printing machine. In the field of food packaging printing, for example, the rapid curing properties of UV inks can effectively prevent ink from contaminating food, ensuring food safety.

UV inks offer many advantages: firstly, they do not emit solvents, which is environmentally friendly and safe; secondly, they are highly productive, with printing speeds of 100–400m/min, and even 1500–3000m/min for fiber optic inks, playing an important role in modern high-speed printing production lines; thirdly, they cure quickly, allowing printed materials to dry quickly and be stacked without contaminating each other due to the ink not drying , eliminating the need for dusting and keeping the printing press and workshop environment clean and free of dust pollution. Fourth, the ink cures immediately after printing, so the dots do not expand and the ink does not penetrate the paper, ensuring outstanding print quality. The color saturation, color intensity and clarity of the printed matter are significantly better than those of ordinary inks. Fifth, it can be processed online, perfectly adapting to the assembly line production model. Sixth, it is suitable for printing on heat-sensitive substrates, broadening the range of printing materials.

However, UV inks are not perfect. Their relatively high price limits their scope of application to a certain extent. In small printing companies where cost control is strictly enforced, the price factor often deters them from using UV inks. Some raw materials (reactive diluents, photoinitiators) have an odor, are toxic or skin irritants, which has a negative impact on the application of packaging printing for food, medicine and children’s products. In the printing of medicine packaging, if the safety of the ink raw materials cannot be guaranteed, it may pose a potential threat to the quality of the medicine. In addition, the instantaneous curing characteristics of UV inks can cause volume shrinkage, which increases internal stress in the ink layer and reduces adhesion to the substrate. This is more obvious in printing applications for products such as metal, and may affect the durability of the printed matter. Furthermore, it needs to be stored away from light and at low temperatures (<30°C) during transportation and storage, which imposes relatively harsh requirements on storage conditions.

The binding material for UV inks is oligomers, mainly acrylic resins with light-curing properties. Instead of solvents or oils, reactive diluents are used, mainly acrylic polyesters with light-curing properties. The catalyst is a photoinitiator, which can undergo a photochemical reaction under ultraviolet light to produce free radicals or cations, which in turn initiate the polymerization and cross-linking of the acrylic oligomers and acrylic polyesters, and ultimately dry the ink.
If a new type of UV ink material can be developed in the future that retains its advantages of fast curing and being environmentally friendly, while also solving problems such as high price and irritating raw materials, then the printing industry is sure to usher in a new revolution. This type of ink may be able to be widely used in more fields, further promoting the development of printing technology towards being more efficient, environmentally friendly and high-quality.

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