2023 The Complete Guide To the efficacy of water-based ink additivest
A wide range of water-based ink additives, according to the purpose of use can be divided into three categories: manufacturing process with additives, storage process with additives and printing process with additives. Commonly used additives and efficacy is described below.
A, pH stabilizer.
Water-based ink in the production process requires thickeners and dispersants, these two additives need to be effective under alkaline conditions, and most water-based ink in the production and use of its pH value is less than 7. pH value of water-based ink on the application of ink performance is also greater, the pH value is too low, the ink viscosity is too high and easy to cause ink clumping; pH value is too high, the ink color depth is reduced. Therefore, it is very important to control the stability of pH value during the production and use of water-based ink.
Generally in the printing process should be detected in the ink pH changes, when the pH value is lower than 8 should add the appropriate amount of pH stabilizer, so that the ink to maintain a good printing state. Ink pH is required to be precisely controlled. The pH value of European countries ink is neutral as the standard, pH adjustment at 8.5, its fluidity, gloss to reach * good state, when the pH value is higher than 9.5, alkaline is too strong, the ink viscosity will be reduced, drying speed becomes slower, water resistance performance becomes worse; when the pH value is lower than 8, alkaline is too weak, the ink viscosity increases, drying speed accelerates, will cause dirty plate, paste board, blistering and other defects.
pH stabilizer is a volatile substance, otherwise it is left in the ink film to affect the physical properties of the ink film such as water resistance and friction resistance. Its main role is to balance the pH value of water-based ink in the printing process, so that the pH value of the ink system to maintain between 8.2-9.5, it can also be used as a diluent, the use of its method is every 30-50min to add 1%-2% effect is better.
Commonly used pH stabilizers are ammonia, alkylamine, dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE), AMP95, GS-AC95 and so on. Among them, ammonia is * commonly used because of its cheap price, but its strong odor and high volatility will cause pH instability.
Second, diluent.
The main role of thinner is to reduce the viscosity of water-based ink, do not overdose, the amount of thinner added generally does not exceed 3%-4%. Otherwise, the ink concentration will be reduced, the color becomes lighter and the pH of the ink changes, water-based ink diluent can be water, ethanol and isopropyl alcohol or other mixtures. Adding more thinner or using hard tap water dilution will lead to bubbles, you can add defoamer at the same time to defoam. Diluent should be added slowly while stirring to prevent the viscosity from being too low.
Third, thickeners.
Thickener is a rheological additives, in the ink has three roles.
① thickening effect, so that the viscosity of the ink increases, to improve the chemical stability of the ink logistics.
(ii) the rheological properties of the ink can be controlled during printing.
③ due to the increase in viscosity of the ink, the pigment and filler in the ink is not easy to precipitate, increasing the storage stability of the ink. The amount of thickening agent is generally 0.5%-1%
Fourth, anti-scratch agent.
Anti-scrubbing agent is also called slip agent, can improve the abrasion resistance and smoothness of the print, but also has a waterproof, lightening, anti-adhesive role; dosage is generally 2%-3%, can not add too much. This type of additives are mainly waxes, especially low molecular weight polyethylene wax. Can be added in the ink preparation process, but also in the printing transfer. Applicable anti-scratch agents are mainly silicone and wax two categories, there are a variety of wax emulsions can be used for water-based ink, such as polyethylene wax emulsion, Brazil carnauba wax emulsion, polyamide wax emulsion, etc..
Fifth, anti-scratch agent.
Anti-scratch agent is also a water-based ink additives, applied to water-based ink can play a role in improving the scratch resistance of the coating film, surface hydrophobic properties and anti-viscosity anti-fouling properties, so that the coating film is more smooth.
Sixth, slow drying agent.
Water-based inks dry too quickly will be poorly transferred, resulting in ink around the network, the phenomenon of blocking the plate, the edge of the print up jagged, ink dry knot to the surface of the printing plate. Slow-drying agent with strong wetting properties; can effectively reduce the drying speed of the product, can effectively improve the performance of the ink wash board. Its appearance is a transparent liquid, can be used for water and alcohol dissolution, play a moisturizing effect, prevent the ink from drying on the printing plate or anilox rollers, reduce the occurrence of printing faults such as blocking and paste plate. The use ratio is 1%-2%. Add slow-drying agent after the ink will thicken, the pH value will be reduced, so add slow-drying agent at the same time to add water to control the ink viscosity and pH value.
Seven, ultraviolet absorber.
Water-based system with ultraviolet absorbers used in water ink, can effectively stop the shading ink layer aging yellowing, stop or delay the color ink color loss, loss of light and other aging phenomena.
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