The seven major components of digital printing ink

The development of digital printing is also a blessing of various products.

Digital printing ink is a very important component. Inferior ink will have a great impact on the product, and now the environmental protection is strict, poor ink can not have a green effect.

Do you know the components of ink?

Regardless of the type of ink, the basic composition is a coloring agent, a dispersion medium (water, an organic solvent), an antibacterial agent, a pH adjuster, a humectant, etc., and a pigment type ink also has a dispersant, a binder, and the like. .

1. Colorant

Colorants for textile printing can be classified into dyes and pigments, as well as inks using dyes and pigments mixed with colorants. It should be noted that not all conventional printing dyes can be used as colorants for inkjet printing inks. Currently, inkjet printing dyes are mainly reactive dyes, acid dyes and disperse dyes.

2. Antibacterial agent

The antibacterial agent prevents mildew of the ink during storage and prevents the ink path in the ink jet printer from being clogged by the ink mold.

3. PH regulator

The PH regulator is on the one hand to prevent dye hydrolysis and to ensure dye stability, and on the other hand to make the ink nearly neutral, to prevent corrosion of the inkjet printer nozzle and ink path system. Therefore, it is generally necessary to add a suitable pH adjusting agent to control the pH to about 8.

4. Surfactant

There are two kinds of surfactants: one is to control the surface tension of the ink to adapt to the requirements of the digital inkjet printer; the other is to help the dye to improve the stability of the dye solution. Surfactants are generally selected from the group consisting of glycols or naphthalenesulfonic acids.

5. moisturizer

On the one hand, the humectant is added to prevent the ink from drying out at the nozzle mouth, causing clogging, causing inkjet obstacles, and on the other hand, regulating the diffusion and penetration of ink on the fabric.

6. Dispersant 

Dispersants are especially used in pigmentary inkjet printing inks for the dispersion of pigments. Commonly used dispersants are polystyrene-maleic anhydride, polyacrylic acid (ester) and the like.

7. Resin

For pigment type inkjet printing inks, since the pigment has no affinity for the textile fiber, the textile must be colored by the action of the resin binder. Commonly used resin adhesives are polyacrylic acid hydrazine, waterborne polyurethane, UV curing adhesive, and the like.