In the formulation of water-based ink, what is the difference between wax emulsion VS micronized wax

In the formulation of water-based ink coatings, various low-molecular and high-melting micronized wax powders or wax emulsions are often added. The main purpose is to improve the thermal transfer process so that the coating surface has a full feel, wear resistance and scratch resistance. Degassing and texture effects, because in the water-based ink system, the wax molecules can play a bonding effect, and the wax molecules can be adsorbed on the ink filler particles, and can be transferred to the top layer of the coating to prevent the coating from sticking and It will not affect the overall leveling of the water-based ink, and solve the problems of pinholes and craters on the surface of the paint coating.

So in the water-based ink formulation, is it better to add wax emulsion that has been emulsified or micronized wax powder?

In the water-based ink system, the role of wax emulsion is the same as that of micronized wax powder, which can improve the abrasion resistance, scratch resistance, leveling and degassing of ink paint.

Between wax emulsion VS micronized wax, the biggest difference is dispersibility and compatibility

Dispersion.
After the wax emulsion is emulsified by an emulsifier, the system is relatively stable and has good dispersibility. When added to the ink system, it can be well dispersed in the ink system and has good compatibility. The wax powder itself belongs to ultra-fine particles. The finer wax powder is added. Due to the action of molecular force, the wax powder will agglomerate and be added to the ink system. If the dispersion is not good, the surface of the ink paint film will be rough and not smooth. The feel is grainy. However, if the dispersion of the wax powder is good, the effect is also leveraged.

Compatibility.
In the preparation of all coating formulations, the overall compatibility will directly affect the performance of the entire product. Therefore, whether it is wax powder or wax emulsion, in the process of use, it is necessary to consider whether other formulations in the formula will occur with it. reaction, leading to the problem of poor compatibility.

To sum up, in the formulation of water-based ink, both wax emulsion and micronized wax powder can bring excellent product performance to the ink coating, but the problems of dispersion and compatibility must be fully overcome.