Tools To Guide Low VOC Ink Vehicle Selection

As the trend continues toward very low VOC ink formulations, ink vehicle selection becomes more critical. Basic physical characteristics of a vehicle such as viscosity and non-volatile content are not good enough. There are other physical measurements that can give the formulator more insight into the behavior of a particular vehicle. Dynamic surface tension, particle size, and viscosity versus shear profile are three useful measurements that can guide vehicle selection. In addition, they can help explain differences in aqueous ink print quality.