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Flexo Ink Production line
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USD 10,000.00 ~ USD 100,000.00/set
1/ set (Min. Order)
1.introduction
Flexographic ink is a sophisticated liquid formulation engineered for high-speed printing on a vast array of substrates. Its performance hinges on the precise selection of raw materials and a carefully controlled manufacturing process. Here’s a breakdown of what goes into making flexo ink.
2. Key Raw Materials (The Ingredients)
A typical flexo ink formula is a complex mixture of four primary components:
1. Colorants: Providing the Color
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Pigments: These are finely ground, solid particles that impart color, opacity, and gloss. They are insoluble in the carrier and are dispersed throughout the ink. Examples include:
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Phthalocyanine Blue / Green: For strong, stable blues and greens.
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Diarylide Yellow: For vibrant yellows.
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Carbon Black: The primary pigment for black inks.
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Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂): A white pigment used for opacity and as a base for light colors.
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Dyes: These are soluble colorants, less commonly used in flexo due to their tendency to bleed and poorer lightfastness compared to pigments.
2. Resins: The Binding Agent
Resins are the heart of the ink. They bind the pigment particles together, form a continuous film after drying, and are primarily responsible for the ink’s adhesion to the substrate.
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Shellac & Maleic Resins: Common in some water-based inks for paper.
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Acrylic Resins: Widely used in both water-based and UV-curable inks for their excellent adhesion and resistance properties.
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Polyamide Resins: Provide excellent adhesion to flexible films like polyethylene and polypropylene, often used in solvent-based inks.
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Nitrocellulose: Used in solvent-based inks for its fast-drying characteristics.
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Urethane Resins: Offer flexibility and chemical resistance.
3. Carriers (Vehicles or Solvents): The Delivery Medium
The carrier is the liquid that transports the pigments and resins onto the substrate. Its type defines the ink category.
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Water: The carrier for water-based inks. It is inexpensive, non-flammable, and environmentally friendly.
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Organic Solvents: The carriers for solvent-based inks. Common examples are ethanol, isopropanol, n-propyl acetate, and ethyl acetate. They offer strong solubility for resins and dry very quickly.
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Reactive Monomers & Oligomers: In UV-curable inks, these liquid components (like acrylates) act as the carrier. They do not evaporate but instead form the solid film during the curing process.
4. Additives: The Performance Enhancers
Added in small quantities (often 1-5%), additives fine-tune the ink's properties:
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Wax & Slip Additives: Improve rub and scuff resistance.
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Defoamers: Prevent foam formation during manufacturing and high-speed printing.
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Surfactants: Modify surface tension to improve wetting and lay on the substrate.
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Plasticizers: Enhance the flexibility of the dried ink film.
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Biocides: Prevent bacterial growth in water-based inks.
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Photoinitiators: Crucial for UV inks; they absorb UV energy to start the curing reaction.
3. The Production Process (A Step-by-Step Overview)
The manufacturing of flexo ink is a multi-stage process focused on achieving a homogeneous, stable dispersion of pigments.
Step 1: Formulation & Weighing
The process begins in the laboratory, where chemists develop a specific recipe (formula) based on the desired ink properties. Raw materials are then precisely weighed according to this formula.
Step 2: Pre-Mixing (Pasting)
The weighed ingredients – pigments, resins, carriers, and a portion of the additives – are loaded into a large, closed mixing tank. A high-speed disperser (a shaft with a spinning toothed blade) vigorously mixes them into a rough, pasty consistency. This step wets the pigment agglomerates and begins the breakdown process.
Step 3: Milling (Dispersion or Grinding)
This is the most critical step. The pre-mix is pumped through a series of mills to break down the pigment agglomerates into primary particles and distribute them evenly throughout the vehicle.
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The most common mill is a sand mill or bead mill. It contains a chamber filled with small grinding media (e.g., zirconia beads). The pre-mix is pumped through this chamber, where the intense shear force generated by the beads grinding against each other separates the pigment particles.
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The fineness of grind (FOG) is constantly monitored to ensure it meets the required standard (typically very low for flexo inks to prevent clogging fine anilox rolls).
Step 4: Let Down / Finishing
The dispersed pigment paste (called the "mill-base") is transferred to a larger finishing tank. The remaining resin solution, carriers, and additives are added at this stage. This "lets down" the concentrated mill-base to the final desired ink strength and viscosity. It is mixed thoroughly to ensure complete homogeneity.
Step 5: Quality Control (QC) Testing
Samples are pulled from the batch and tested in the QC lab for key properties:
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Color Strength & Hue: Compared to a standard.
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Viscosity: Measured with a cup or viscometer.
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pH: Crucial for stability of water-based inks.
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Fineness of Grind: Checked with a Hegman gauge.
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Adhesion & Rub Resistance: Tested on the target substrate.
Step 6: Filtration and Packaging
Once the batch passes all QC tests, it is pumped through a filter (e.g., a bag filter) to remove any potential oversized particles or contaminants. The finished ink is then packaged into drums, pails, or totes, labeled, and prepared for shipment.
3. TGM Factory Profile:
TGM Chemical Machine Co., Ltd is a group enterprise. We have brands like TGM, Pengchang and Tongpeng.
We are a leader in the field of chemical machine industry, with 18 years of industry experience.
We have professional R&D design team, strong technical support, skilled production team, reliable after sales service, flexible customized solutions,
to meet your various standards and non standard equipment procurement needs. We committed to providing the complete and professional chemical equipment solutions.
We integrate, design, development, production, sales and training together.
Our products scope: Disperser, Bead Mill, Basket Mill, Mixer, emulsifier, Mixing kettles, Reactor, Filling machine, Bag filter, Pumps, Zirconium Bead, 3 roll mill, and other accessories.
Our machines help you to make ideal products: paints, coatings, inks, pigments, dyes, thinner, hardener, emulsions, varnish, spin finish, putty, glues, adhesives, viscous pastes, concrete Admixtures,
PCVC solvent cement, liquid resins, sealants, silicone sealant, lithium battery, electronic slurry&paste, pulps, silicon dioxide, liquid rubber, pesticide, liquid fertilizer, disinfectant, liquid detergent, gel,
lotions, shampoo, body wash, liquid soap, hand sanitizer, liquid wash, nail polish, creams, and so on.
We could offer individual machine or full production lines for your plants.
4. What are advantages of your factory?
1) Our factory is a leader manufacture of Chemical machine With 18 years of Industry experience. We have a lot Technology Patents & Product Patents;
2) Our factory has Professional R&D Teams, High Technical Supports, Skilled Production Team, Reliable After Sales Service, Flexible Customized Solutions;
3) Our factory is the leader of this industry, named with high and new technology enterprise;
4) Our factory has plenty of industry experience, we could offer you the complete palnt planning.
5. Who are your factory's clients? Could you list some of them?
AKZONOBEL, JUNTON, PPG, NIPPON, DABAO, BURGER, MAYDOS, RAINBOW, HITECH COATING, CHINA PAINT, CHANGJIANG COATING, TOA, LYNWON PIGMENT,
PEONY INKS, TL INKS, ZR INKS, SAKATA INKS, KINGSWOO INKS, DIC INKS, ANLI, ACHILLES, REPOW GROUP, SHINETSU ADHESIVES, JUSHI, XINGLONG PESTICIDES...
6. What certificate your factory could offer?:
CE, BSC, CNEX, ISO, patents.
7. Manufacture Processing:
Our Chemical Machines are strictly quality control at every single production step, after quality past, we will move to do next step production.
Our Chemical Machines production process: raw materials preparing-cutting/bending materials-welding-polishing-assembling-coating-testing-packing-loading.
8. Packing And Shipping:
