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. . .. . .SAKATASAKATA
INXINX
Visual Communication Technology
LEARNING & SHARING Sept.’ 2014
Topic:
Types of Gravure Inks, its properties &
Application
Presenter : Harshad Patel

INXINX
PRINTING INKS
Printing Inks are Colored Liquids or Paste are formulated to
transfer and reproduce an image from a
Printing Surface to substrate
They are mainly used to give decorative
effect to the substrate.
Inks are formulated by using different
ingredients like Pigments , Resin ,
Solvents & additive to meet the requirement
of various substrate, machine, & end Application.

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TYPES OF PRINTING INKS
Printing Inks can be classified into following categories
depending upon the Printing process.
 Lithographic and Letterpress Inks.
 Gravure and Flexo Inks.
 Screen Inks.

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BASIC INGREDIENTS OF GRAVURE INKS
Gravure ink consist of Four basic Ingredients :
Colorants / Pigments / Dyes – To provide
colour to ink.
Varnish / Resin - To disperse the pigment and
provide the adhesion to substrate.
Solvents -- To be used for thinning purpose &
to control the viscosity of ink.
Additives -- Used for special properties.

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COLORANTS
Colorants in Printing inks include pigments and dyes. Pigments
are colour particles which are not dissolve in the vehicle &
solvents, while Dyes are dissolve in the vehicle & solvents.
Pigments are mechanically dispersed in a vehicle to provide
colour strength.
Various properties like Light fastness , Alkali & soap resistance,
Opacity , Transparency depends upon the Pigments.

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COLORANTS
The physical and chemical nature of a pigment, the size and
even the shape of its particle affect the appearance of colour.
The amount of pigment and the type
of vehicle used can affect hue.
The choice of pigment and the degree to which they are
dispersed through the vehicle are the most important factors in
determining the transparency or opacity of a printing ink.

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VEHICLE / VARNISH
Varnish or Binder is a prepared by dissolving resin in the
solvent. The binder is a “ Glue “ that holds the ink on the
substrate.
Binder can be single resin or a complex
combination of resin , Plasticizers,
Solvent, and Additives.
Varnishes are used for Pigment dispersion , Adhesion on the
substrate & for getting the end use properties.

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SOLVENTS
Solvents are liquids capable of dissolving another substance
without undergoing a change in chemical state or physical
properties.
Solvents are used for
controlling the viscosity
and drying rate od liquid ink.
Solvents serves a dual function : It dissolve the resin, and it
evaporates from the printed surface leaving a continuous dry ink
film.

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ADDITIVES
Additives are used in a small quantity ( 0.2 to 3 % ) to achieve a
special properties.
Typical Additives are :
•Slip Additive
•Wetting / Dispersing Agents
•Optical Brightener
•Anti-foaming Agent
•Anti-blocking Agent, Anti-static Agent
•Hardner

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TYPES OF GRAVURE INKS
There are four types of Gravure Printing Inks
Reverse Printing Inks
Surface Printing Inks
Common ink for both
Surface & Reverse Printing.
Printing Inks for special Application

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REVERSE PRINTING INKS
 Reverse printing ink are applied on flexible transparent
substrate like Polyester , BOPP , Nylon , PVC , PVDC coated
film etc....
 In Reverse printing, Ink is
sandwiched between
Printing & Laminating film.
 Reverse printing inks are used in
Food packaging such as Biscuits,Snacks,Butter,Wheat flour
Pan Masala, Mouth freshener
Detergent Powder,Soap,Shampoo
Coffee & Tea Pouch

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REVERSE PRINTING INKS
Gravure Reverse Printing inks are formulated mainly in following
system.
NC-Acrylic
based inks
Vinyl based
inks
Polyurethane
based inks

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POLYURETHANE BASED INKS
 PU based inks are applicable on Polyester , BOPP , Nylon ,
Cellophane & PVDC coated films.
 PU based inks are suitable for solvent base / solvent less / PP
extrusion Lamination.
 PU based inks can be further classified in to three categories
depending upon the solvent system used.
Toluene & MEK
Based inks
Toluene Free
Inks
Toluene & MEK Free
Inks

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PROPERTIES POLYURETHANE BASED INKS
 PU Inks has Excellent Printability and Resolubility.
 PU Inks has very good Adhesion on most of the substrate.
 They are High speed Printing Inks.
 PU Inks has very good Lamination Bond strength and extremely
low Solvent Retention.
 Suitable for Boil and Retort Application.

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VINYL BASED INKS
 Vinyl based Inks are used on Polyester film only, but it can also
be used on BOPP substrate after adding BOPP additive.
 Vinyl Inks have very good Printability and Resolubility.
 Vinyl Inks have very low Solvent Retention.
 Vinyl Inks have lower Bond Strength compare to the PU Inks.

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NC-ACRYLIC BASED INKS
 These Inks are specially used for the printing of Shrinkable
PVC and Shrinkable PET.
 These Inks are used for printing
of Labels for beer , Fruit juices,
Mineral water , Detergents
& Shampoos etc…
 These Inks have excellent
Shrinkable Properties.
 These are Non – Laminating inks

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INKS FOR PP EXTRUSION
 These Inks are used for the Printing on BOPP followed by PP
Extrusion with PP Woven Fabric.
 These Inks are used for printing
of Rice , Wheat and pats food
bags where higher strength is
required in the laminate structure.
 These Inks normally used with
white backing to have good bond strength.
But now inks are also available which can give good bong
strength even without white backing.

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SURFACE PRINTING INK
 Surface printing inks are applied on Natural poly ,White poly,
Pearlised BOPP , Met Polyester , Met BOPP , Foils , Paper
and Boards etc...
 Surface printing inks are applied on top surface , so inks should
have good Gloss , Rub & Scratch Resistance properties.
 Surface printing inks are used in packaging of Milk , Butter ,
Oil , Ghee , Cold drinks & Detergent powder etc...

INXINX
SURFACE PRINTING INK
Most commonly used Surface printing inks are
General purpose surface ink
Heat Resistance surface ink
Deep freeze surface ink
Oil & Fat Resistance ink
Two pack inks
Heat Resistance Foil & paper inks

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GENERAL PURPOSE SURFACE INK
 These are Polyamide based ink and used for the printing of
treated PE, CPP, and BOPP or Met Polyester where Heat
Resistance is not required.
 These inks are mainly used for the printing of Carry Bags,
Toffee and Gift wrappers. It has very good Gloss and adhesion
to most of the treated films.

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HEAT RESISTANCE / DEEPFREEZE INK
 These are NC - Polyamide based ink having good Heat
resistance properties.
 These inks are mainly used for the printing of treated PP,
BOPP, CPP, LDPE & Heat sealable BOPP etc...
 These inks are used for Water, Milk packaging and cold drink
bottle wrapper .It has a very good deepfreeze resistance.

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OIL AND FAT RESISTANCE INK
 These ink are used for Oil packaging. Normally a two pack
OPV is required where higher oil & fat resistance is needed.
 These inks are used for the printing of treated natural and
opaque PE.
 There are also common inks available for both water/milk and
oil / fat packaging.

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TWO PACK INK
 Two pack inks are used for packaging of detergent and animal
fat where higher chemical resistance is required.
 In two pack inks hardner is added at the time of printing.
Normally shelf life of two pack ink is 8 – 12 hrs after adding
hardner.
HR INKS FOR FOIL AND PAPER PRINTING
 These inks are NC based inks
and used for the printing of
Pharma foil and paper where
higher Heat resistance and
minimum solvent retention
is desired.

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COMMON INKS FOR BOTH SURFACE & REVERSE
PRINTING
There are also common inks available which can be used for
both reverse and surface printing.
These inks are Toluene and MEK free.
These are NC-PU based and for reverse printing. It is used
directly for surface printing with addition with slip additive.
These ink can be used for the printing of corona treated pet
& BOPP
It has very good Bond strength when used in Lamination
and has very good Heat , Scuff and Crinkle resistance when
used for Surface printing.

INXINX
PRINTING INKS FOR SPECIAL APPLICATION
Tattoo Inks :
For making Tattoo a release lacquer is applied on untreated
BOPP followed by Vinyl or NC based Inks.
It is further laminated with release paper by applying water
based or pressure sensitive adhesive.
Heat Transfer Inks :
These inks are printed on Pet and then transferred on the Cable
or PVC Pipes by applying Heat and Pressure.

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