Influence of Ink Thixotropy on Printing

       In the production process practice, we found that the general ink has a certain thixotropy, which is mainly manifested in that the ink becomes thin after stirring and friction, so as to increase the fluidity, and after it is left for a period of time, the ink will return to the original thicker state. Influence of Ink Thixotropy on Printing 

       For example, the ink with high viscosity will have a certain fluidity when its solidification state is damaged under the stirring of external force. In the static state, the solidification state increases gradually with the increase of time. Influence of Ink Thixotropy on Printing

       When it is restarted, it will affect the normal flow of ink in the ink bucket, and even fail to transfer. On the other hand, the temperature of the ink on the ink bucket and cot of the printing machine increases after rotating friction, so the fluidity and ductility also increase. Influence of Ink Thixotropy on Printing

      Until it is transferred to the printing sheet, due to the disappearance of external force, its fluidity and ductility decrease, and then change from thin to thick, so as to ensure the clarity of printing ink. In addition, when the temperature is low, the ink appears thick; Influence of Ink Thixotropy on Printing

     On the contrary, the ink becomes thinner and the fluidity increases. When the machine is shut down for a long time, the ink in the ink bucket will gradually return to its original state from thin to thick. These are normal phenomena of ink thixotropy.Influence of Ink Thixotropy on Printing

       Generally, in the printing process, the vast majority of ink will become thin from thick, which is caused by temperature changes, such as machine temperature rise, ink roller temperature rise, printing plate temperature rise, etc. When the ink has certain thixotropy, it is conducive to the smooth and uniform transmission and printing of the ink.Influence of Ink Thixotropy on Printing

      In addition to the above factors, the thixotropy of ink is mainly determined by the composition characteristics of ink. For example, the thixotropy of ink made of pigment with strong surface adsorption is large; The pigment in the ink is needle and plate-shaped, and the thixotropy of particles is greater than that of spherical particles; Influence of Ink Thixotropy on Printing

      If the amount of pigment is large, its thixotropy is also large, which is due to the flocculation caused by the attraction of pigment molecules to each other; If the wettability of pigment and binder is poor, the thixotropy of ink is large; The resin molecule ratio is large, and the thixotropy of ink is also large. Influence of Ink Thixotropy on Printing

     In addition, the thixotropy of pigment ink is relatively large because of too much pigment content and poor pigment quality, such as poor wettability and low relative density. This problem also occurs when there is too little binder in the ink and the viscosity is too small.Influence of Ink Thixotropy on Printing

Influence of ink thixotropy on printing quality

        It can be said that the thixotropy of ink has a great impact on the printing quality. In production practice, we found that during the printing process, especially when the temperature is low and the machine speed is slow, the ink in the ink bucket often has the phenomena of unsmooth transportation and abnormal ink supply, resulting in the increasingly light ink color of the printed products.

      Affecting the stability of the printing ink color, which is the main manifestation of the poor thixotropy of the oil and ink. In this regard, we should pay attention to often stirring the ink in the ink bucket to maintain continuous and uniform fluidity and ensure the ink quality of the product.Influence of Ink Thixotropy on Printing

         Some inks have high viscosity before thixotropy due to excessive thixotropy during transmission, which is easy to cause ink blocking and plate pasting during printing. Therefore, some printing machines are equipped with agitators in the ink bucket to stir the ink to make it “thixotropic” to improve the flow condition of the ink and reduce the viscosity of the ink, so as to prevent the phenomenon of ink blocking and pasting. 

       If the thixotropy of the ink is too large, the ink in the printing process becomes thinner and thinner, and the ink color of the printed matter becomes lighter and lighter, which can hardly be adjusted, this ink is not suitable for printing full-size printed matter on the spot. Attention should be paid to this problem during printing.Influence of Ink Thixotropy on Printing