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Flexographic printing inks& control

Flexographic printing inks
The nature and demands of the printing process and the application of the printed product determine the fundamental properties required of flexographic inks. Measuring the physical properties of inks and understanding how these are affected by the choice of ingredients is a large part of ink technology. Formulation of inks requires a detailed knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of the raw materials composing the inks, and how these ingredients affect or react with each other as well as with the environment. Flexographic printing inks are primarily formulated to remain compatible with the wide variety of substrates used in the process. Each formulation component individually fulfills a special function and the proportion and composition will vary according to the substrate.

There are five types of inks that can be used in flexography: Solvent-based Inks, Water-based Inks, EB (Electron Beam) curing inks, UV(ultraviolet) Curing Inks and two part chemically curing inks (usually based on polyurethane isocyanate reactions), although these are uncommon at the moment.[6] Water based flexo inks with particle sizes below 5 μm may cause problems when deinking recycled paper.

Flexographic Ink control
The ink is controlled in the flexographic printing process by the inking unit. The inking unit can be either of Fountain Roll system or Doctor Blade System. The Fountain roll system is a simple old system yet if there is too much or too little ink this system would likely not control in a good way. The doctor blade inside the Anilox roller uses cell geometry and distribution. These blades insure that the cells are filled with enough ink.[2]