Predicting the Application Behavior of Printing Inks from Dynamic Rheological Measurements

Dynamic rheological measurement provides a valuable means of characterizing the viscoelastic behavior of printing inks. The viscoelastic parameters can be used to predict the printability of inks. Also, these parameters relate directly to the structure of dispersed systems and can serve to relate the inks' formulations to their application behavior. Once the components of the formulations are identified that relate to elasticity and viscosity independently, it is possible to optimize the printability of inks. Tack is related to the low frequency viscosity of inks. The need for additional testing to determine this ink property is therefore eliminated. possible to optimize the printability of inks. Tack is related to the low frequency viscosity of inks. The need for additional testing to determine this ink property is therefore eliminated.