What role does oxidized polyethylene wax play in ink

The main components of inks are pigments (solid components such as organic pigments and dyes), binders (vegetable oils, resins or water, solvents, liquid components of inks), fillers, additives (plasticizers, desiccants, surfactants, dispersant), oxidized polyethylene wax, etc.

There are four main types of printing inks, namely resin-based inks, solvent-based inks, water-based inks and UV-curable inks.

The ink manufacturing process can be divided into two stages: mixing pre-dispersion and grinding and fine dispersion.

In the process of mixing and pre-dispersion, the pigment and the binder are mixed in a container to form a slurry; in the process of grinding and fine dispersion, the slurry needs to be finely ground and dispersed to overcome the cohesion of the pigment and the large mechanical pressure and shearing force. The ink is a colloidal suspension.

The role of oxidized polyethylene wax in ink

1. Adding 1%-3% oxidized polyethylene wax to the ink can change the fluidity of the ink and reduce the viscosity of the system;

2. It can improve the smoothness, abrasion resistance and scratch resistance of the ink, and improve the dispersibility of the pigment.

3. It can also improve hydrophilicity, speed up color fixing, and make printing dots complete;

4. At the same time, it can reduce the disadvantages of caking, plucking, and easy dirtying, and improve the printing performance of the ink.

5. Polyethylene wax can be dispersed in organic solvent and emulsified in water to make wax emulsion or wax dispersion of suitable particle size.

Add amount and use method

1. The addition amount is generally between 0.1-5%, and is adjusted according to the product system and use;

2. It can usually be directly dispersed in solvent-based coatings and inks by high-speed stirring;

3. When used in water-based coatings, a small amount of surfactant needs to be added, which can be dispersed in the water-based coating system;

4. The effect of dispersion depends on many factors such as the viscosity/container/equipment of the coating system.