Selasa, 16 Juli 2013

The Ingredients That Are Found In Ink

By Keren Kipfer


We all use ink and many of us use it every day, but we rarely stop and think about the ingredients in our ink. There are actually several different kinds of inks, from those used for standard printing to inks used for fabric dyes and inks created to print on unusual surfaces such as glass or foil. Here are a few facts about ink that you probably did not know.

Even when you use the same type of ink, every brand is just a little bit different from another one. However, you typically will find that there are three components found in the majority of all inks, one of which is the colorant. This comes from one of two sources, either a pigment or a dye. The advantages of dyes include the immense range of vivid colors and the cost, which is typically quite a bit lower. On the flip side, dye inks do tend to bleed and run and take longer to dry. They also fade more quickly than pigment-based colorants.

Pigments, on the other hand, are more expensive and have a lower color range. So why would anyone want pigment inks? These pigment inks are more water resistant and also last longer. Pigment inks also dry very quickly, which gives them another advantage. However, improvements in dye ink have made bleeding and fading much less of a problem. Typically, pigment inks are used on slicker surfaces while dyes are used when you want to showcase really vibrant colors.

The binder or vehicle is the second component of ink, and it servers several different functions. The binder provides viscosity which helps the ink flow onto the substrate, which is the object on which the ink is placed. This could be paper, fabric, plastic or some other surface. The binder, typically made from different kinds of resin, also helps get the ink to adhere to whatever you are printing on.

Another component of ink is additives, and these have many functions. Each manufacturer has its own formula of additives. These are used to improve drying times, to help ink flow, to improve lubrication and to make an ink more mar resistant. The additives include substances such as oils, including flax seed oil, linseed oil and china wood oil. Petroleum-based oils also are sometimes used, as well as dry or wet waxes. Cobalt and manganese often are used to improve oxidation or drying time.

Ink comes in several different forms, including liquid form, dry or as a paste. Make-up fluids are then added before the inks are used in a printer. If you own an industrial coder, such as a Domino coder, Altima coder or perhaps a VideoJet id printer, you can purchase low-cost, high-quality inks from a product id company that specializes in selling inks, parts and services for those businesses that use id coders.




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