Definition
A printing ink is a suspension of an organic or inorganic pigment in a liquid, aqueous, or nonaqueous, with particle size in the nano range. The printing ink suspension is prepared by dispersing the powder agglomerates (with size range 0.8–1 μm) into the liquid by addition of a wetting/dispersing agent (Surfactants/Polymeric Surfactant) and application of high energy using ball or bead mills. In many cases, resins are used for steric stabilization of the particles against aggregation. The final printing ink suspension must have good rheological properties, and this required addition of rheology modifiers (thickeners of high molecular weight polymer). It is necessary to maintain the physical stability of the printing ink during storage and also on application. One must ensure absence of flocculation, crystal growth (Ostwald Ripening), and sedimentation.
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© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Tadros, T. (2013). Printing Ink. In: Tadros, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Colloid and Interface Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20665-8_136
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20665-8_136
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-20664-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-20665-8
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