Ink Types

The term ink rather than dye has perhaps been retained within ink jet printing on textiles, as the properties and quantities appropriate for ink jets are more like ink than the glutinous pastes customarily used in textile printing. For the ink to pass through the tiny jet nozzles, some of the ingredients from the textile print paste have instead been incorporated into preprint treatments applied to the cloth prior to printing, as discussed in Chapter 5 of this book. Colorants in textile printing are more commonly referred to as dyes or dyestuffs, and this plural term indicates that there are many different types 

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Ink Types. There are 10 gravure ink types categorized by the binders or solvents used A, aUphatic hydrocarbon B, aromatic hydrocarbon C, nitrocellulose D, polyamide resins E, SS nitrocellulose M, polystyrene T, chlorinated mbber V, vinyls W, water-based and X, miscellaneous. 

Ketones and esters are required for C-type inks. Types of esters are ethyl acetate, isopropyl acetate, normal propyl acetate, and butyl acetate. From the ketone class, acetone or methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) can be used. The usual solvent for D-type inks are mixtures of an alcohol, such as ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol, with either aUphatic or aromatic hydrocarbons. Commonly used mixtures are 50/50 blends by volume of alcohol and aUphatic hydrocarbon. 

Gojkovic SL, Vidakovic TR. 2001. Methanol oxidation on an ink type electrode using Pt supported on high area carbons. Electrochim Acta 47 633-642. 

There are currently four main types of inkjet inks phase-change, solvent-based, water-based, and UV curable. Other types exist, but are less prevalent, such as oil-based and hquid toner (for electrostatic inkjet technology). Hybrid versions of the four main types also exist (e.g., water-based inks containing some amount of solvent). The various inkjet ink types will be discussed briefly in this chapter, and will be followed by detailed description in separate chapters (solvent-based, water-based, and UV cmable inks). 

Casson, N. 1959. A flow equation for pigment-oil suspensions of the printing ink type, in Rheology of Disperse Systems, ed. C. C. Mill, pp. 82-104, Pergamon Press, New York. 

Figure 12. Approximate volume resistivities of different ink types.

This is relevant to various stages of the handling of decorative or printed surfaces, i.e. on the production line, during transit (vibration), during stacking and handling, at the point of sale, or ultimately during use by the consumer. Many factors may contribute to rub, e.g. ink thickness, ink type, state of dryness . Tests for rub resistance in the UK (dry or wet rub) are covered by BS 3110. 

More recently, DPN techniques have been extended and developed to pattern a variety of ink-substrate combinations. DPN has been shown to be compatible with a wide array of ink types including small organic molecules, organic and biological polymers, colloidal particles, metal... 

The projected final use for the printed fabric influences the careful selection of ink type, pretreatment, and fiber type to give the most satisfactory results. 

For ink jet printing, appropriate pretreatments, matched to fiber and ink types, will also assist the uptake and retention of the ink, ftetreatments are discussed in Chapter 5 of this book. 

Platen pla-t n [ME plateine, fr. plate] (1541) n. (1) A flat plate in a printing press, which presses the paper against the inked type, thus securing an impression. (2) A plate of metal, especially one that exerts or receives pressure, as in a press used for gluing plywood. (3) Either of the sturdy mounting plates of a press, usually a pair, to which the entire mold assembly is bolted. Syn caul. 

To eliminate such problems, it has been proposed to use a protective-layer transfer sheet. Also, ink types with film forming properties have been suggested to protect the images. 

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