Ink

Printing inks include three basic components: couplers, carriers (binder) and additives.
* The coupler is a pigment of fine solid particles. The pigment has transparency, opacity, light tightness and chemical resistance characteristics.

* The binder is also a polishing agent, which consists of resin, solvent and oil and is a liquid material. Its role is to carry pigment particles during the printing process, and after transfer to the paper or carrier material, play a role in the connection between the carrier material and the pigment particles. In addition, the binder provides the abrasion resistance and reflection characteristics for the dried ink.

* Additives include diluting agents, desiccants, plastic materials, lubricants, and some special chemicals that act to adapt the ink to specific press operations or to achieve the desired print quality characteristics during the printing process. In addition, the additives help to ignore the requirements of the specification characteristics of the wear resistance of the object.

* Original ink

(Figure ink)
The primary color inks used in the color reproduction process are cyan, magenta, and yellow inks. In theory, 100% of the blue ink, superimposed with 100% of the magenta ink and 100% of the yellow ink, will absorb the visible wavelengths and produce black. However, unlike dark black, the result of overprinting is dark brown. This is because the pigments used in printing inks are not very pure color particles. (So, in color separation, the magenta and yellow dot sizes are reduced so that the gray areas of the image appear gray instead of brown.) The fourth color, black, is added during the color separation process. One color. The use of black ink helps to add more detail and contrast to the printed image, and exhibits a wider range of densities. For more information, see the chapter on color testing.

The local colors of the local ink have matching colors and spot colors, which means all the colors of the non-primary colors. Many chromatograms are effective for selecting local colors, but keep in mind that these chromatograms are only a reference form and that different paper, printing materials, ink densities, and other parameters affect the locality on the printed proofs. Color effect.

The most effective way to reduce or minimize the color difference between chromatographic and printed proofs is to let the ink manufacturer use the actual paper that prints the job and formulate the spot color ink. However, chromatograms are created using a lot of color and print process controls, so different chromatograms can make a difference. Moreover, time can also affect the effects of printing inks and papers, so it is important to use real-time chromatography and periodically replace them. Most of the chromatograms have a stable life of one year.

* Paper effect on local color The physical characteristics of the paper affect the color of the printed ink. Bright coated paper, matte-coated paper, mechanically-coated paper, and non-coated paper all have different surface characteristics, absorption properties, and whiteness, all of which can affect printing color. Moreover, it is best practice to form local colors on the paper used for job production and to make proofs on such paper.

* The use of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks to generate local colors. Because the spot colors or local colors produced by the primary inks are produced on the press, there will be some color changes. So for key colors like company logos, it is best to use spot colors for matching.


Special inks and coatings
* Metallic inks Metallic inks are silver or gold-density inks that use metal particles instead of pigment particles to produce a highly aggregated state. These inks require specialized manufacturing processes to form, and generally require specialized printing processes. These special inks are generally less durable than pigment particles but can be protected with a print coating or glaze layer.

* Fluorescent-ink fluorescent inks use fluorescent particles to produce a range of bright, particularly clean colors. These colors include yellow, orange, red, magenta, green, and blue. Like metallic inks, they also require special manufacturing processes and printing processes. Because the fluorescent ink is transparent, it is often imprinted at one time and does not transfer enough ink. Generally, a desired density is obtained and multiple printings are required to achieve it.

* Fade-proof inks Many ink pigments have no chemical resistance to fading. If the printed product is exposed to sunlight for a long period of time, it may be necessary to use an ink that resists fading. If you really have such a request, please consult with the printer. The printer may also need to consult with the ink supplier to get the correct ink composition.

* Product Durability Components In many packaging applications, a printed package or container may require some resistance to the product it contains. This endurance involves the change of color, the exudation of color, or the unclearness of printed products. If there are requirements in this area, please remind the printing staff so that the printing personnel can print using the ink containing the correct formula.

Special coatings such as UV coatings, electron beam coatings, waterborne materials, and catalytic coatings such as catalytic coatings require special ink formulations. Pigment particles such as warm red, rhodamine red, purple, light blue, and green may react with the components of these coatings to produce exudation, color change, or discoloration. In order to ignore the potential problems caused by these unwanted reactions, and to use the coating at the same time, the ink maker will use the correct chemical protection particles and obtain similar colors. So please discuss with the printer about the use of the coating.

* Embossing varnishes embossed varnishes are used to increase the gloss of prints and provide additional rub resistance. It is generally used on-line wet prints or off-line dry prints. If it is off-line, the ink must be prepared to receive embossed lacquer.

* Ink for non-absorbable substrates like non-receptive substrates such as plastics, polyethylene, polycoated plates, polyolefins, and foils require special ink formulations to ensure that the printed film is properly dried , And there is adhesive appendix, will not produce the deformation of the printing material. Moreover, some non-absorbent substrates are prone to static electricity during printing, so they must be processed.

High-fidelity ink In recent years, high-fidelity color technology has emerged, and these technologies have extended the offset color gamut on the basis of traditional four-color offset printing. High-fidelity color provides a new method for printers who require high quality unlike ordinary printing products. Printing with more than four-color printing plates is not new. Today's difference is that technology and color management methods make high-fidelity technology more flexible and easier to receive for the majority of users.

The recent interest in high-fidelity colors has caused a wave of turmoil. This is partly due to the fact that today's designers are mostly designing in a relatively wide field of video. The colors reproduced in this field have higher saturation than offset printing. Another part of the reason is that there are now a variety of extended proofing forms to choose from, including digital and analog, desktop size and large format, and other proofing forms. The color gamut of these proofing forms is in the traditional short live market. Can challenge offset printing.

The recently used hi-fi technology now has about five major ways to achieve high fidelity:
* Add red, green or blue ink in traditional four-color printing.
* Add orange and green inks to traditional four-color printing.
* Add two or more color plates. These color plates are the same as CMYK color inks, but the density may be different.
* Use purer CMYK color inks.
* Add spot color inks in traditional CMYK printing; or use spot color inks to replace one or more color plates in CMYK color inks.

Costs Not all printers understand the use of high-fidelity printing. Moreover, because more color plates and inks are used, high-fidelity colors may cost more than four-color printing. There are some major problems that limit high-fidelity alternatives to the traditional four-color printing process: First, the use of six-color printing presses; then the cost of adding the film, media, proofing, and ink; in addition to the cost, The problem of creating effective color separations and combining high fidelity pages is also the biggest factor limiting the popularity of these technologies. The use of high-fidelity technology requires the addition of color separation software, an easier and less expensive way to combine pages and proofs than is currently used. High-fidelity technology also increases the requirements for the capabilities of the printing press, generally requiring more printing units or requiring multiple printing on the machine. Cost issues associated with high-fidelity colors may not be a critical issue, but when special jobs require high quality and the technology can provide this high quality, the high-fidelity technology reflects the ability to get this live. The problem is.

Waterless printing waterless offset printing does not require wetting solution. In waterless printing, because of the lack of water-based fountain solution, the dynamic characteristics of the offset printing base shift from water/ink balance to ink/temperature control. In the traditional printing process, there is an area of ​​both oleophilic and hydrophilic on the same plane of an exposed and processed plate. In waterless printing, the printing plate has a concave ink receiving area and a silicon layer non-image area that refuses to accept ink. On a waterless printer, there is no water-based wetting system, so the problems of paper expansion, wrinkling, registration, ink adsorption, and drying are minimized.

On a waterless printer, each primary ink requires somewhat different temperatures for best results. For example, the temperature of a black ink is often higher than the optimum temperature of a yellow or a product; while the temperature of a cyan ink is between them. Because there is no wetting system, the waterless printer must use a cooling system to keep the printing process stable while printing the long version. Installing a temperature control system is not limited to the printing of waterless printers. For a qualified and improved press, the operator can choose between waterless printing, traditional printing, or both printing formats (but this is not recommended).

The high viscosity of the water-free printing ink makes the printing effect clean and clear images, and the dot enlargement rate is very low, so the number of the screening lines of the printing job can reach 300 lpi or less. These very favorable features such as the high resolution of the image and the minimum dot gain are limited when using the proofing method for predicting the copy effect. Moreover, in the prepress step, it is also necessary to consider whether or not it is appropriate to use a lot of waterless printing problems, so it is very important to establish a good working relationship with the printer, and it is also necessary to be able to print on the front and the middle of the waterless printing. The link is tested.
Color guide=color swatch:Chromatography