How to Choose High-Quality Printing Ink?

Posted on 04-22-2024 by

Any color is represented by three characteristics: hue, lightness, and saturation. Therefore, these three factors must be considered in the color matching process. Although theoretically black absorbs light, black ink still has gloss.

Ink is made by grinding pigments (colorants) with resin binders. The particles of the pigment are surrounded by a nearly transparent resin oil layer, which refracts and reflects light. Therefore, we can feel that black ink still has a certain gloss when printed on the substrate. During the ink color matching process, the ink used should be determined based on actual printing processes, ink layer thickness, printing substrates, and other conditions. When choosing ink, factors such as gloss, hue, tinting strength, and coverage should be considered.

1.Hue is the basic characteristic of color used for qualitative differentiation. When matching colors, the consistency of hue should be considered first. The detection method usually involves scraping the ink onto sample paper or conducting simulated printing, and then observing and comparing the standard sample with the trial sample with the naked eye.

2.Gloss can be measured by instruments or judged by the naked eye, usually observed visually during the color matching process. Gloss refers to the ability of printed ink samples to reflect light in the same direction after being illuminated by light. It directly affects the appearance of printed matter and is a very important indicator. At the same time, when choosing ink, it is important to distinguish whether the ink itself is glossy, semi-gloss, or matte, to avoid mixing errors.

3.Tinting strength is a method of indicating the concentration of ink. It is determined by diluting a certain amount of ink with a certain quantity of standard white ink and then comparing it with a standard sample. The strength of the difference in color reflects the degree of ink blending and affects the thickness of the printing ink film.

4.Coverage is the degree to which ink covers its base color. The better the coverage, the poorer the transparency, and the level of transparency affects the efficiency of ink overlay and the degree to which it is affected by the printing substrate. By using color identification scraping paper for scraping experiments, the differences between the ink sample and the standard sample in terms of gloss, hue, and coverage can be compared. Specific method: Place the standard ink in the upper left corner of the identification paper, and the color-matched ink in the upper right corner, with a distance of about one centimeter between them. Use a scraper to apply force to spread the thin layer part nearly perpendicular to the scraping paper and to spread the thick layer part quickly and lightly at an inclined angle. After the ink surface is dry, observe the hue of the ink on the thin layer part, identify the ink coverage and transparency on the black strip part, judge the difference in gloss between the two, and observe the overall color appearance. Typically, black and colored inks use white scraping paper, while white ink uses black scraping paper.