OFS Inks & Substrates

Transcript

1. 4/27/2018 1 A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE PIGMENTED & SPECIALTY INKJET FLUIDS INKJET PRINTING SYSTEMS GRAVURE PRINTING WHEELS & FLUIDS GEM GRAVURE COMPANY, INC. CIJ Background
2. 4/27/2018 2 PIGMENTED & SPECIALTY INK JET FLUIDS | INK JET PRINTING SYSTEMS | GRAVURE PRINTING WHEELS & FLUIDS CIJ Fluid Basics • We use a makeup fluid • The inks are conductive • Majority are solvent based • Dry time is an issue for most customers • UV Oligomers/monomers can’t be made conductive • MEK (methyl ethyl ketone or 2‐butanone) majority of market • Ethanol is not suitable for most cable inks • Some specialized acetone inks exist PIGMENTED & SPECIALTY INK JET FLUIDS | INK JET PRINTING SYSTEMS | GRAVURE PRINTING WHEELS & FLUIDS Ink Background WTG1660 • White pigmented • General Purpose Cable Ink YLG1874 • Yellow Colorant • Similar to WTG1860 BKG1661 • Pigmented Black • Does not transfer on plasticized PVC
3. 4/27/2018 3 PIGMENTED & SPECIALTY INK JET FLUIDS | INK JET PRINTING SYSTEMS | GRAVURE PRINTING WHEELS & FLUIDS Surfaces We Are Printing On • PVC • Nylon • Polyolefins • Fluoropolymers • Metal • Glass PIGMENTED & SPECIALTY INK JET FLUIDS | INK JET PRINTING SYSTEMS | GRAVURE PRINTING WHEELS & FLUIDS Dealing with Polyolefins • HDPE, PE, and MDPE lack polar groups (-OH) on the surface of the plastics. • They also have a low surface energy. • In general, GEM inks are close to the surface energy of the polyolefins and they can wet them out. However, the adhesion is still not good. • Flame and Blown-Plasma can add polar groups to the surface and raise surface tension. This change also makes it easier for ink to stick to the surface. • Applying heat after printing can help with adhesion. • In general, we have seen that UV-Cure inks have the best rub resistance, assuming that the surface is treated appropriately. • The holy grail is to have ink that would adhere to polyolefins without treatment. However, it requires solvents that are not usable in CIJ systems.
4. 4/27/2018 4 PIGMENTED & SPECIALTY INK JET FLUIDS | INK JET PRINTING SYSTEMS | GRAVURE PRINTING WHEELS & FLUIDS Testing Printed Codes • Visual • Tape • Scratch • Rub • Taber PIGMENTED & SPECIALTY INK JET FLUIDS | INK JET PRINTING SYSTEMS | GRAVURE PRINTING WHEELS & FLUIDS You can have any color as long as it is black • Usually, each different surface requires a different formulation strategy, and we had to go beyond what was available in the industry at the time, which were simple dye based black inks. • In addition, we had to develop our own opaque inks and become experienced with pigments that settle because a large number of our customers print on black surfaces. • We have a few UV cure formulations because it was the only way to get the solvent and abrasion resistance that was necessary • We have milled a number of different pigments, which include varying densities. • We also have some experience with invisible security products.
5. 4/27/2018 5 PIGMENTED & SPECIALTY INK JET FLUIDS | INK JET PRINTING SYSTEMS | GRAVURE PRINTING WHEELS & FLUIDS Speeds • 70 m EVO/INTO 245 meters/minute • 55 m EVO/INTO 400 meters/minute • 50 m TEMPO 487 meters/minute • 42 m PICO 400 meters/minute These speeds are for an PM_15 print mode with a 7 drop message and a 2.5mm character width. All of the printers can go faster than the stated speed, but this is the easiest way to compare the printers with the same setting. PIGMENTED & SPECIALTY INK JET FLUIDS | INK JET PRINTING SYSTEMS | GRAVURE PRINTING WHEELS & FLUIDS Piezo Frequencies • 70 m 67,000 • 55 m 96,000 • 50 m 125,000 • 42 m 145,000 *Fang, Mei (2010 April 12) How Inkjet Printing Is Done Retrieved from http://www.science20.com/mei/how_inkjet_printing_done
6. 4/27/2018 6 PIGMENTED & SPECIALTY INK JET FLUIDS | INK JET PRINTING SYSTEMS | GRAVURE PRINTING WHEELS & FLUIDS Why isn’t everything done with a smaller nozzle? • Speed and drop size have an inverse relationship for the most part, although it doesn’t quite hold for the 42 Micron drop size. • Aside from speed, going from the 70 micron to the 55 micron size cuts the amount of material in the drop ~50%. • The diameter of the drop is roughly 1.9 times the diameter of the nozzle. • A 70 micron drop has a volume of 1231 pL, and 55 micron has a volume of 597 pL. • Some formulations are also acoustically unstable at higher piezo rates, and image performance can suffer. PIGMENTED & SPECIALTY INK JET FLUIDS | INK JET PRINTING SYSTEMS | GRAVURE PRINTING WHEELS & FLUIDS Book Recommendation Inkjet Technology and Product Development Strategies -Stephen F. Pond
7. 4/27/2018 7 Questions? THANK YOU ‐Adam Paiz