As we kick off a new year in digital printing and ink formulation, I thought it would be interesting to look at 5 important trends in ink formulation as I see them.
Let's take a look...
1. The Use of Bio-based Raw Materials and Eco-solvents
This is a trend that I don’t see going away. At Ink Intelligence one of our primary functions is to develop new ink systems for our clients. In almost all cases, companies are asking for more environmentally safe formulations or those based on
raw materials from a bio-source.
It could generally be agreed that using bio-based materials means that:
− Our environment is healthier
− Our health is safer, and
− We reduce our dependence on imported oil
But most ink developers say that they want to use bio-based materials because they want to get more business! How do you ask? By packaging their
ink systems in a way that is attractive to the buyer.
NAPIM’s Bio-renewable Content (BRC) program identifies the use of such bio-derived renewable resources in
printing ink formulations and creates a rating program based on the level of BRC used. Below is a table which highlights some of the bio-based raw material that we see used in ink and coatings.
| Product |
Origin |
Usage |
Binders
|
Cellulosic resins, including CAP,
CAB and Nitrocellulose |
Wood pulp/cotton |
Binder |
| Hemicellulose |
Plant |
Binder |
| Gum Arabic |
Trees |
Thickening agent, Binder |
| Gum Dammar |
Trees |
Thickening agent, Binder |
| Gum Rosin |
Trees/Plants |
Binder |
| Tall Oil Rosin |
Trees |
Binder |
| Wood Rosin |
Trees |
Binder |
| Alkyds |
Plants/vegetable oils |
Binder |
| Polysaccharides |
Plants |
Binder |
| Polyurethanes |
Castor Oil |
Binder |
| Casein |
Animal Milk |
Binder |
| Natural Rubber |
Trees |
Binder |
| Soy Protein |
Plants/Soybean |
Binder |
| Starch |
Plants |
Binder |
| Shellac |
Trees (insect) |
Binder |
| Polyester Acrylates |
Linseed oil |
Binder/Oligomer |
| Epoxy Acrylates |
SoyBean |
Binder/Oligomer |
Solvents & Additives
|
| Alcohols |
Plant |
Solvent |
| Butyl and ethyl lactate |
Plant |
Solvent |
| Water |
Earth |
Solvent |
| Castor Oil |
Plant |
Preservative |
| Linseed oil |
|
Drying oil/plasticizer |
| Bees Wax |
|
Wax |
| Carnauba |
|
Wax |
| Castor Oil Polyol |
|
Plasticizer |
» Continue reading to explore other trends in digital ink formulation!