INK IN THE INKJET - By: Emiley David

Ink is a liquid which consists of dye or pigment used to color the surface to produce an image, text, and graphics. Ink can be a complex medium composed of solvents, pigments; dyes, surfactants, solublizers and many other materials .The basic type of inkjet inks used are Dye Ink and the Pigment Ink. The basic difference between these two inkjet inks is that Pigment inks are not absorbed by the paper but it sits on top of the paper and encapsulates while dye inks completely absorbed by the paper.

The choice of ink depends on which characteristic we favor the most. The advantage of Pigment dye is

• It dries up easily, 100 times faster than Dye ink.

• Pigment dye does not dissolve; it is more like flour and water mixture.

• Second thing is it is water fast on most paper media.

• It is also known for non fading color and long life cycle.

Dye based inks can dissolve in water like sugar dissolves in water completely.

• It produces wide range of colors.

• It is known for high brilliance and contrast.

• Dye based inks are inexpensive as compared to pigment ink.

Dye based inks are used in monochrome printers while pigment inks in color printers. Pigment ink should be the choice who favors color stability in their products. Dye based printouts last for at least 20-30 years if stored under proper conditions.

Another kind of dye used in inkjet printers is aqueous inks which are mixture of glycol, water, dyes and pigments. Aqueous inks are basically used for thermal inkjet head. These inks are inexpensive to manufacture but difficult to control on the surface of the media. While these inkjet inks provide the broadest color gamut and most vivid color, some are not waterproof without specialized coating.

Some professional printer use aqueous inks but today there are wide varieties of inks most of which require extensive maintenance:

Solvent inks- the main ingredient of solvent inks is volatile organic compound that have high vapor pressure. The chief advantage of these inks is that they are inexpensive and enable printing on flexible uncoated vinyl substrates. The disadvantage is that the solvent used is needed to dispose. These solvents are divided into two subcategories:

Hard solvent inks- they offer the greatest durability without specialized over coating but require specialized ventilation to avoid exposure to hazardous fumes.

Mild or Eco solvent inks- these inks gain popularity these days for their greatest durability and color quality. Well it is not safe as aqueous inks and is intended to use in enclosed spaces.

UV curable inks: these inks consist of acrylic monomers. When printing is done these inks are exposed to strong UV light. The main advantage of UV curable inks is that they dried very fast and produce a robust image. Disadvantage is that they are expensive and required expensive curing modules in the printer. Because of their volume these inkjet inks are susceptible to cracking if applied to a flexible substrate.

About the Author

Emiley David acts as a consultant for wholesaletoner and for more information see, discount printer ink , ink cartridge refill or hp ink cartridges .

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Emiley-David/78768

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