First, the classification of inkjet ink
1, according to the solvent to
Can be divided into water-based and non-water-based inks. Water-based inks can be divided into pigment type, dye type, and sublimation ink according to color material classification. Non-water-based inks can be classified into oil pigment inks and solvent-based pigment inks. From a chemical point of view, oil is also one of the solvents. We refer to them collectively as non-water based inks. In addition, there is a UV-curable ink that is rarely mentioned in the country. Inkjet ink can be roughly divided into these six categories.
Advantages and disadvantages of various inkjet inks:
(1) Water-based dye ink: The advantage lies in the bright color, because it is made of water, it evaporates water, and it has no harm to the environment. It is more environmentally friendly; the disadvantage is that it is easily faded, and it is generally used only indoors.
(2) Pigment ink: The advantage is good light resistance; the disadvantage is that the color is darker.
(3) Water-based sublimation ink: The advantage is that it can be transferred to different media, not just paper. Such as ceramics, glass. Many different media can be transferred in the past; the disadvantage is that operating procedures are cumbersome and expensive.
(4) Oil-soluble inks: Since oil-soluble inks are made of pigments, the advantages are odorless and good lightfastness; the disadvantages are expensive and must be printed on coated media.
(5) Solvent-based inks: Because they are pigments, the advantages are lightfastness, good water resistance, and they can be printed on any media. The disadvantage is that the oil base used in the ink itself is flammable, it is a dangerous product, and it has a strong taste, causing some harm to the human body.
(6) UV curable ink: The advantage is that the ink itself does not contain volatile solvents, and after curing, the light resistance and water resistance are very good, so it is suitable for the printing industry; the disadvantage is that before curing, it's Some monomers can easily cause allergic reactions in some people.
Future trend forecast:
The proportion of water-based pigment inks used indoors will increase because some new applications, such as digital printing, photo printing, and prepress printing, require the use of some inks that do not fade, have good lightfastness, and can be preserved, so water-based Pigment ink is expected to be a trend in the future.
Solvent pigment inks need to be further standardized, specialized, and environmentally friendly.
Some product specifications and safety indicators should be formulated. Solvent-based inks are currently working towards these aspects. Some highly corrosive, strong solvent inks will slowly be replaced in the future.
Oil-based pigmented inks are limited to certain specific industrial applications - such as the oil industry.
Sublimation inks and UV-curable inks are currently used relatively little in China, but they have their own unique advantages and characteristics. Both of these technologies are increasing abroad.
Eco-friendly ink is the direction of future efforts.
2, according to the applicable equipment to
Can be divided into indoor photo ink and big jet ink. Indoor photo inks are used for thermal bubbler nozzles or Epson high quality nozzles. Most of them are waterbase dye/pigment inks. The printing effect is good and the particles are fine; the outdoor ink is solvent-based (Solvent -base) Most pigment inks. Waterproof and sunscreen, general quality, coarse grain. ECO Ink is actually an eco-friendly, lightweight version of solvent inks. It is mainly used in Epson's high quality print heads. In addition, Dye Sublimation inks can be used to transfer inkjet images to products of different materials, such as fabrics, ceramics, and glass.
3, according to the type of raw materials
One is a dye, the other is a pigment.
(1) Characteristics of dye inks
Dyes are characterized by being transparent, which changes the color of the transmitted light by selectively absorbing certain spectral components of the incident light.
Dye-based ink (Dye-based Ink) is completely molecularly dissolved, the ink is a complete complex solution, easy to absorb the material after printing, colorful; but not waterproof, and because the dye molecules quickly decompose under ultraviolet irradiation, outdoor use of a There was a clear fade in the month.
(2) Characteristics of pigment ink
Pigment Ink, which grinds solid pigment into small particles and dissolves in a special aqueous solvent, is a colloid-like suspension solution or semi-solution. Because the color of the display is solid particles, the first is the pigment itself is waterproof, as long as the material is also waterproof to solve the problem of waterproof, so it involves the problem of ink absorption of the photographic paper coating, and the ink droplets under the ultraviolet irradiation, than the dye molecules It is not easy to decompose, even if the outer layer of the molecule breaks down, the inner layer will remain the same color, so its main feature is more durable, the more coarse the more durable, under normal circumstances will remain in the outdoors for more than a year without significant leg color . But it is opaque, so it can not be used to print transparent film, and its composite color: red, green and blue saturation is relatively low, so the color performance is not as bright as the dye ink.
In reality, the choice of ink is determined by the characteristics of the nozzle and the needs of the customer. In general, the ink of the printer is water-based dyes or pigments. The particles of the water-based dye ink are relatively fine, the quality is easy to control, and the chance of plugging the head is not too great. Large and pigmented ink particles are relatively large. If there is a problem in the production process and quality control, there is a large chance of plugging the head, the printer will be unstable, and the quality and color of the sprayed image will not be as good as that of the dye ink. Therefore, the number of customers who buy is relatively small.