(Perparing for the Future)
Ink mill manufacturers look for solutions for energy-curable inks and inkjet inks
To be successful in the industry, equipment manufacturers must have a keen insight into the progress and development of users; ink manufacturers need to know the needs of printers and produce the right ink products according to their needs.
In recent years, the printing ink industry has seen the strongest growth in two areas: one is energy-curable ultraviolet (UV) ink and electron beam (EB) ink; the other is ink jet and digital ink.
Continuous improvement of products to meet customers' technological innovations is always true for equipment manufacturers. Similarly, grinding machine manufacturing companies are also working hard to improve their technologies for ink manufacturers.
In terms of the requirements for grinding, ink-jet inks are just opposite to the spectrum of energy-curable inks. UV inks require a higher viscosity, whereas inkjet inks require a lower viscosity and a finer particle distribution because the ink must match the size of the print head.
At the same time, more and more mainstream ink manufacturers are facing various special demands put forward by printers, which also leads to necessary improvements to the grinding equipment. This has produced many new technologies that allow ink manufacturers to produce better products.
Inkjet Ink Presses As mentioned above, the two main development areas in the printing ink industry are ink-jet inks and UV/EB inks, of which ink-jet inks and digital inks are even more prominent. It is estimated that the annual growth rate is above 20%. Taking into account the continuous improvement of inkjet technology, the obvious benefits on digital presses, and the rapid growth of inkjet inks are not surprising. Wendy Rogalinski, manager of market information at MFIC, said: "Digital inks and electronic inks are constantly evolving and customers' demands are getting higher and higher, because only in this way can they maintain their competitiveness."
In order to be able to operate efficiently, ink-jet inks must have low viscosity and fine particle size. The manufacturers of ink-jet machines are striving to meet both requirements. Kirsten Grosse, Buhler's sales manager, said, "The viscosity of inkjet inks is very low, and to successfully pass the nozzles, the ink particles must be finely ground and very uniform."
John Sneeringer, Technical Director of Premier Mill, also showed great interest in digital printing. Many new formulas with medium and low viscosity have been developed and are suitable for grinding with Premier's Supermills and Submersibles.
Sneeringer said, “Our customers need fine grinding media as small as 0.1mm, not only for ink, but also for automotive coatings and conductive ceramics.â€
The dispersant and media mills produced by MFIC's Morehouse-Cowles division can reduce the particle size to 1 micron. If there is more demand for digital inks and electronic inks, the company's Microfluidics Division's Microfluidics Processors can produce sub-micron size pigment-based and dye-based inks. With these processors, all the ink is pushed into an "interaction box" that is smaller in diameter than human hair, and the ink particles are cut and collided inside. Microfluidics' unique technology is used in many patented products, and some customers must use the company's equipment.
Harvey Way, manager of Grinding Dispersion Research and Development at Netzsch GmbH, said, “Netzsch is a leader in the inkjet processing technology market. Our patented Netzsch media separation system can easily use abrasive media materials less than 200 microns. Netzsch's experience in this field has improved the grinding of non-metallic structural materials; process control by the Voyager control system has greatly reduced downtime and process reproducibility. The wide pallets of machines on the Netzsch product line can be adapted The rheological properties of each product ensure that the mix and grinding system are properly matched.â€
Gerry Chait, vice president and COO of Inoue USA, said: "Using standard puncture ink machines and small-sized ceramic media can successfully achieve sub-micron particle sizes."
Energy-curable inks As early as the 1960s, UV inks were only one of the pioneering ideas of some innovative inks. And in the following decades, the development speed of UV printing is very limited.
However, in recent years, UV ink formulations and their environmental advantages have led to a dramatic increase in UV printing, which in turn has driven the rapid development of energy-curable inks. In recent years, the annual growth rate of ink sales has reached double digits. With the increase in the demand for such inks, the competition between ink manufacturers has also intensified.
As a result, ink manufacturers have had to improve their products, and production equipment plays a key role throughout the process. Many ink mill manufacturers are developing new equipment for producing such high viscosity inks.
Mr. Chait said, “When we talked to ink companies, they said they wanted to improve the ink production process. This is what we have been expecting because we are experimenting with UV inks and have achieved great success. We are Investigate the future needs of our customers. The upgraded version of our company's Spike Mill equipment is designed to handle UV inks and other high-viscosity inks. It also handles adhesives and liquids of various viscosity grades."
According to Ms. Grosse, “UV inks are highly viscous and very sensitive to temperature. At low temperatures, they can achieve good curability. Usually, three-roller ink mills are used to grind UV inks because of the ball-rolling inks. Opportunities produce uncontrollable thermal reactions and polymerization occurs, but ball mills have better grinding performance than three-roll mills because some toners, such as purple, green, and magenta, are difficult to grind and disperse. Our company's K-series ink mills have tapered grinding boxes that provide a wider cooling range and can be used to process these inks."
Similarly, conventional three-roller presses cannot obtain the fineness necessary for low-viscosity products, but can be used with other presses to help obtain some of the necessary ink characteristics.
Ms. Grosse said: “The company is still using a three-roller mill, but after putting it in a ball mill, it gives the ink better gloss and color strength. This operation can be passed at once.â€
Mr. Way said that Netzsch entered the UV market through NKM or Inka ink presses, which are based on the well-known Netzsch John ink press and have improved temperature control systems, media separation mechanisms and cleaning mechanisms. The device was first introduced in Frankfurt, Germany, in May 2000 and has successfully secured a place in the viscous UV ink market in Europe.
The other trend is not that all developments in the printing ink industry are related to energy-curable inks and ink-jet inks. Other ink systems have their unique needs, and ink mill manufacturers are also trying to meet their needs.
Mr. Way said that Netzsch is providing more and more automated production systems and monitoring systems. These complete systems, whether for the cyclic processing of liquid inks or for the continuous processing of viscous inks, include automatic premixing, grinding and separating ventilation.
Mr. Sneeringer said, “Customers' demand for high efficiency tends to drive our progress. Every customer wants to produce more ink per hour with their ink press.â€
According to Todd Kritzer, sales manager at Kady International, “Ink manufacturers want to streamline the production process to produce high-quality products. They often achieve this by pre-grinding.â€
Working with customers In many cases, ink manufacturers have their own unique corporate projects. At this time, ink mill manufacturers need to investigate whether they can meet the needs of ink manufacturers.
Mr. Way also said that Netzsch is also a leader in customer service and technical services. Netzsch is constantly striving to consolidate the status of the industry and expand its global business operations so that the services and technical support established in a certain market can reach the same level throughout the world. In the North American market, Netzsch has a service and technical support team that is unmatched by other manufacturers. Netzsch understands the needs of manufacturers for outsourced services and maintenance, continuously expands its global service and technical support team, and adds additional domestic supplies. Netzsch's latest plan is to build a 14,000-square-foot laboratory and technology center building for customer testing and training to maintain its position in the market.
New products currently have new advances in the study of printing ink structures and continue to meet new demands.
In order to meet the fine-grained requirements of inkjet inks, Buhler introduced the ZR120 ball mill in Europe last year, and this year it has entered the US market. Ms. Grosse said, “The ZR120 equipment is mainly used for low-viscosity products that require high-accuracy in the sub-micron range. The media to be ground must be very small, and the ZR120 device uses balls of 0.2mm to 0.8mm. This allows us to obtain more efficiently. Subtlety of submicron."
Mr. Way said, “Considering the total processing system, Netzsch's latest concepts for stickiness and UV inks are HVS (hydraulic) vacuum pigment premixing, new NKM mill grinding and new three-roller coating machine. A complete process can be completed with the Netzsch filling system."
Premier Mill's Mr. Sneeringer said, “We have improved our high-energy grinding machines and are working on a new recirculating grinding system that will soon be available. We believe these high-energy devices will have a great response. We The new product, Submersible Mill, is used to produce small, dedicated batches of products that can constantly change colors."
MFIC has developed the M-140K Laboratory Microfluidizer Processor, which can be processed at a pressure of 40,000 psi. It is a device for the processing of inks and digital inks and for wider application.
Microfluidics guarantees that its production will increase proportionately.
Mr. Kritzer said, "Kady Mills has replaced many high-speed dispersants. Kady's products have better grinding performance, fewer grinding times, and better color effects. Kady Mills can completely grind materials at one time. Mr. Kritzer further explained that "the new type of Kady continuous operation equipment is an inline production equipment. This kind of equipment can be easily connected to the entire production line, or with the traditional pre-mixed equipment to form a circulation cycle, the equipment Also increase the total amount of premixing and grinding."
Attritor Technology's inventor and developer Unio Process has introduced a new QC-Mill device for grinding ultra-fine particles. The rotary axis of this small media mill is specifically designed to produce strong centrifugal forces and strong shear forces inside the press. These forces combine with the rapid circulation rate of the ink, resulting in an extremely efficient grinding that results in a more uniform particle distribution.
Due to the small amount of material required, the QC-Mill device requires less energy. In addition, the simple design of the ink press makes it easier to install and clean, and it is easy to add additives during the operation. Finally, due to the cyclical processing of the press, the processing of large amounts of material requires only minimal human resources. There are six different models of QC-Mill equipment that can handle materials ranging from 1 gallon to 400 gallons.
Inoue USA introduces the Spike Mill, a ball-type ink mill that continuously stirs dry materials. It has a unique way of moving and it can be processed into finer and more uniform particles. Spike Mill machines are available in a variety of different sizes and are much shorter than traditional ball mills. The cylindrical rotary shaft of the device can evenly distribute the grinding energy. The grinding efficiency is higher, the grinding ability is stronger, and the cooling function is stronger.
Draiswerke Company
Ink mill manufacturers look for solutions for energy-curable inks and inkjet inks
To be successful in the industry, equipment manufacturers must have a keen insight into the progress and development of users; ink manufacturers need to know the needs of printers and produce the right ink products according to their needs.
In recent years, the printing ink industry has seen the strongest growth in two areas: one is energy-curable ultraviolet (UV) ink and electron beam (EB) ink; the other is ink jet and digital ink.
Continuous improvement of products to meet customers' technological innovations is always true for equipment manufacturers. Similarly, grinding machine manufacturing companies are also working hard to improve their technologies for ink manufacturers.
In terms of the requirements for grinding, ink-jet inks are just opposite to the spectrum of energy-curable inks. UV inks require a higher viscosity, whereas inkjet inks require a lower viscosity and a finer particle distribution because the ink must match the size of the print head.
At the same time, more and more mainstream ink manufacturers are facing various special demands put forward by printers, which also leads to necessary improvements to the grinding equipment. This has produced many new technologies that allow ink manufacturers to produce better products.
Inkjet Ink Presses As mentioned above, the two main development areas in the printing ink industry are ink-jet inks and UV/EB inks, of which ink-jet inks and digital inks are even more prominent. It is estimated that the annual growth rate is above 20%. Taking into account the continuous improvement of inkjet technology, the obvious benefits on digital presses, and the rapid growth of inkjet inks are not surprising. Wendy Rogalinski, manager of market information at MFIC, said: "Digital inks and electronic inks are constantly evolving and customers' demands are getting higher and higher, because only in this way can they maintain their competitiveness."
In order to be able to operate efficiently, ink-jet inks must have low viscosity and fine particle size. The manufacturers of ink-jet machines are striving to meet both requirements. Kirsten Grosse, Buhler's sales manager, said, "The viscosity of inkjet inks is very low, and to successfully pass the nozzles, the ink particles must be finely ground and very uniform."
John Sneeringer, Technical Director of Premier Mill, also showed great interest in digital printing. Many new formulas with medium and low viscosity have been developed and are suitable for grinding with Premier's Supermills and Submersibles.
Sneeringer said, “Our customers need fine grinding media as small as 0.1mm, not only for ink, but also for automotive coatings and conductive ceramics.â€
The dispersant and media mills produced by MFIC's Morehouse-Cowles division can reduce the particle size to 1 micron. If there is more demand for digital inks and electronic inks, the company's Microfluidics Division's Microfluidics Processors can produce sub-micron size pigment-based and dye-based inks. With these processors, all the ink is pushed into an "interaction box" that is smaller in diameter than human hair, and the ink particles are cut and collided inside. Microfluidics' unique technology is used in many patented products, and some customers must use the company's equipment.
Harvey Way, manager of Grinding Dispersion Research and Development at Netzsch GmbH, said, “Netzsch is a leader in the inkjet processing technology market. Our patented Netzsch media separation system can easily use abrasive media materials less than 200 microns. Netzsch's experience in this field has improved the grinding of non-metallic structural materials; process control by the Voyager control system has greatly reduced downtime and process reproducibility. The wide pallets of machines on the Netzsch product line can be adapted The rheological properties of each product ensure that the mix and grinding system are properly matched.â€
Gerry Chait, vice president and COO of Inoue USA, said: "Using standard puncture ink machines and small-sized ceramic media can successfully achieve sub-micron particle sizes."
Energy-curable inks As early as the 1960s, UV inks were only one of the pioneering ideas of some innovative inks. And in the following decades, the development speed of UV printing is very limited.
However, in recent years, UV ink formulations and their environmental advantages have led to a dramatic increase in UV printing, which in turn has driven the rapid development of energy-curable inks. In recent years, the annual growth rate of ink sales has reached double digits. With the increase in the demand for such inks, the competition between ink manufacturers has also intensified.
As a result, ink manufacturers have had to improve their products, and production equipment plays a key role throughout the process. Many ink mill manufacturers are developing new equipment for producing such high viscosity inks.
Mr. Chait said, “When we talked to ink companies, they said they wanted to improve the ink production process. This is what we have been expecting because we are experimenting with UV inks and have achieved great success. We are Investigate the future needs of our customers. The upgraded version of our company's Spike Mill equipment is designed to handle UV inks and other high-viscosity inks. It also handles adhesives and liquids of various viscosity grades."
According to Ms. Grosse, “UV inks are highly viscous and very sensitive to temperature. At low temperatures, they can achieve good curability. Usually, three-roller ink mills are used to grind UV inks because of the ball-rolling inks. Opportunities produce uncontrollable thermal reactions and polymerization occurs, but ball mills have better grinding performance than three-roll mills because some toners, such as purple, green, and magenta, are difficult to grind and disperse. Our company's K-series ink mills have tapered grinding boxes that provide a wider cooling range and can be used to process these inks."
Similarly, conventional three-roller presses cannot obtain the fineness necessary for low-viscosity products, but can be used with other presses to help obtain some of the necessary ink characteristics.
Ms. Grosse said: “The company is still using a three-roller mill, but after putting it in a ball mill, it gives the ink better gloss and color strength. This operation can be passed at once.â€
Mr. Way said that Netzsch entered the UV market through NKM or Inka ink presses, which are based on the well-known Netzsch John ink press and have improved temperature control systems, media separation mechanisms and cleaning mechanisms. The device was first introduced in Frankfurt, Germany, in May 2000 and has successfully secured a place in the viscous UV ink market in Europe.
The other trend is not that all developments in the printing ink industry are related to energy-curable inks and ink-jet inks. Other ink systems have their unique needs, and ink mill manufacturers are also trying to meet their needs.
Mr. Way said that Netzsch is providing more and more automated production systems and monitoring systems. These complete systems, whether for the cyclic processing of liquid inks or for the continuous processing of viscous inks, include automatic premixing, grinding and separating ventilation.
Mr. Sneeringer said, “Customers' demand for high efficiency tends to drive our progress. Every customer wants to produce more ink per hour with their ink press.â€
According to Todd Kritzer, sales manager at Kady International, “Ink manufacturers want to streamline the production process to produce high-quality products. They often achieve this by pre-grinding.â€
Working with customers In many cases, ink manufacturers have their own unique corporate projects. At this time, ink mill manufacturers need to investigate whether they can meet the needs of ink manufacturers.
Mr. Way also said that Netzsch is also a leader in customer service and technical services. Netzsch is constantly striving to consolidate the status of the industry and expand its global business operations so that the services and technical support established in a certain market can reach the same level throughout the world. In the North American market, Netzsch has a service and technical support team that is unmatched by other manufacturers. Netzsch understands the needs of manufacturers for outsourced services and maintenance, continuously expands its global service and technical support team, and adds additional domestic supplies. Netzsch's latest plan is to build a 14,000-square-foot laboratory and technology center building for customer testing and training to maintain its position in the market.
New products currently have new advances in the study of printing ink structures and continue to meet new demands.
In order to meet the fine-grained requirements of inkjet inks, Buhler introduced the ZR120 ball mill in Europe last year, and this year it has entered the US market. Ms. Grosse said, “The ZR120 equipment is mainly used for low-viscosity products that require high-accuracy in the sub-micron range. The media to be ground must be very small, and the ZR120 device uses balls of 0.2mm to 0.8mm. This allows us to obtain more efficiently. Subtlety of submicron."
Mr. Way said, “Considering the total processing system, Netzsch's latest concepts for stickiness and UV inks are HVS (hydraulic) vacuum pigment premixing, new NKM mill grinding and new three-roller coating machine. A complete process can be completed with the Netzsch filling system."
Premier Mill's Mr. Sneeringer said, “We have improved our high-energy grinding machines and are working on a new recirculating grinding system that will soon be available. We believe these high-energy devices will have a great response. We The new product, Submersible Mill, is used to produce small, dedicated batches of products that can constantly change colors."
MFIC has developed the M-140K Laboratory Microfluidizer Processor, which can be processed at a pressure of 40,000 psi. It is a device for the processing of inks and digital inks and for wider application.
Microfluidics guarantees that its production will increase proportionately.
Mr. Kritzer said, "Kady Mills has replaced many high-speed dispersants. Kady's products have better grinding performance, fewer grinding times, and better color effects. Kady Mills can completely grind materials at one time. Mr. Kritzer further explained that "the new type of Kady continuous operation equipment is an inline production equipment. This kind of equipment can be easily connected to the entire production line, or with the traditional pre-mixed equipment to form a circulation cycle, the equipment Also increase the total amount of premixing and grinding."
Attritor Technology's inventor and developer Unio Process has introduced a new QC-Mill device for grinding ultra-fine particles. The rotary axis of this small media mill is specifically designed to produce strong centrifugal forces and strong shear forces inside the press. These forces combine with the rapid circulation rate of the ink, resulting in an extremely efficient grinding that results in a more uniform particle distribution.
Due to the small amount of material required, the QC-Mill device requires less energy. In addition, the simple design of the ink press makes it easier to install and clean, and it is easy to add additives during the operation. Finally, due to the cyclical processing of the press, the processing of large amounts of material requires only minimal human resources. There are six different models of QC-Mill equipment that can handle materials ranging from 1 gallon to 400 gallons.
Inoue USA introduces the Spike Mill, a ball-type ink mill that continuously stirs dry materials. It has a unique way of moving and it can be processed into finer and more uniform particles. Spike Mill machines are available in a variety of different sizes and are much shorter than traditional ball mills. The cylindrical rotary shaft of the device can evenly distribute the grinding energy. The grinding efficiency is higher, the grinding ability is stronger, and the cooling function is stronger.
Draiswerke Company
Mositurizing Hand Gloves Mask
DELIN HAIR COSMETICS , https://www.arganshampoofactory.com