Please tell me something about ink.

Photochromic ink, also known as photochromic ink, is a photochromic or photoactive compound added to ink. In the sun, ink can change from colorless to colored, or from orange to black. Generally, it can be divided into ordinary type and UV type. Ordinary type means that under the action of ordinary sunlight and strong light, ink will change in color depth and return to its original state after leaving the light source. It seems to change color in the sun, but it is actually changed by ultraviolet radiation, and the color change wavelength is 400~800nm. The application of this ink in packaging and decoration can not only improve the quality of goods, increase interest, but also highlight the anti-counterfeiting effect. UV ink is colorless or does not change color under the irradiation of ordinary light source, but it will show bright red, orange, yellow-green and green fluorescence under the irradiation of ultraviolet light (ultraviolet). Ordinary large denomination banknotes are printed with this ink, and the authenticity can be revealed under the action of the banknote detector.

In screen printing, thermochromic and photochromic inks can be transferred to different substrates, such as paper, cloth, nylon, plastic, metal, glass, ceramics and so on. It has the characteristics of sensitivity to external conditions, obvious changes and rapid response. It is an ideal material for anti-counterfeiting technology and interesting gifts at present, and has broad development and application value.

5. Fluorescent ink

Fluorescent ink is made by dissolving fluorescent materials in corresponding resins. The particles of fluorescent pigments are generally coarse, and there are many kinds of binders. Different binders will produce different fluorescence. When using fluorescent ink, it is necessary to ensure that it has enough concentration, and the ink layer on the printed matter is thicker, so as to ensure satisfactory fluorescent effect. The fluorescent ink after screen printing has bright colors and good decorative effect, and can emit sparkling fluorescence under the action of visible light and ultraviolet light. Fluorescent ink can be prepared by itself, and different formulations can get different fluorescent effects, and the anti-counterfeiting effect is better. However, fluorescent ink has poor light resistance, and outdoor printed matter is not effective.

6. Light-storing phosphorescent ink

The light storage pigment is made of some inorganic phosphors, such as zinc sulfide/copper phosphor, calcium sulfide/bismuth phosphor, etc. Inorganic phosphors emit light through crystals. If the crystal is pressurized, the crystal will break and the luminosity will decrease. Therefore, screen printing is generally suitable, and the carrier of ink is mixed with fluorescent powder when used. The characteristic of phosphorescent ink is that it can absorb light and emit it at a certain wavelength within a certain period of time. The pigment of this ink is zinc sulfide (such as zinc cadmium sulfide) containing a small amount of impurities, which is afraid of acid and alkali, so it is required to use neutral resin, such as cyclohexanone resin, cellulose ester, ether, etc. In addition, heavy metals, desiccants and drying oil should not be added to the ink, so as to avoid damaging pigment substances. The adhesive used should be transparent and transparent to ultraviolet rays. This kind of ink is mainly used for printing advertisements and signs, but if phosphorescent ink and fluorescent ink are mixed for anti-counterfeiting packaging printing, good packaging decoration and anti-counterfeiting effect can be obtained.

7. Printing special ink

Printing ink is mainly composed of pigments, fillers and adhesives. Among them, the selection of pigment components is an important link to determine the hue and brightness of printed matter. Many manufacturers and ink factories have customized special inks for printing each product, and the ink factory is responsible for the confidentiality of the formula. Such as "Zhonghua" and "Peony" cigarette packs produced by Shanghai Cigarette Factory, the ink used is the special ink specially customized by Shanghai Ink Factory. This kind of ink is difficult to make without knowing the detailed formula, so the anti-counterfeiting effect is very good.

8. Composite ink

After two or more anti-counterfeiting inks are mixed in a certain proportion, a composite ink with new properties can be developed, and it will be difficult to imitate if the ink formula is not fully mastered.

9. Other anti-counterfeiting screen printing inks

Plastic anti-counterfeiting ink. Suitable for printing on plastic products such as PP, PVC, PE, PS, ABS, PC, etc. With 150~200 mesh polyester screen, each kilogram of ink can be printed for 20~30m. Dry naturally or at 130℃ for 3min.

Metal, glass and ceramic anti-counterfeiting ink. Suitable for printing on metal temperature signs, color-changing glass water vessels, color-changing milk cups, ceramic tea sets and other gifts. Using 70~ 100 mesh polyester mesh, each kilogram of ink can print 10~20m2, and the drying conditions are 25℃, 48h or 120℃, 45min.

Special anti-counterfeiting ink for glass-ceramic decal paper. Suitable for printing glass and ceramic decal paper, using 150~200 mesh polyester net, and the drying condition after water transfer is 200℃ for 20min.

Waterborne anti-counterfeiting ink and printing paste. Suitable for printing paper, cotton cloth, knitted fabric, T-shirt, sportswear, etc. With 80~ 150 mesh polyester screen, about 20m2 can be printed per kilogram of ink (cotton fabric will be less than this number), and the drying condition is130℃ for 3min.

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General situation of flexible packaging printing market in Asia

Development trend of flexographic printing in Asia in the future

When a country reaches an affluent standard of living, it will inevitably improve its packaging materials and its internal products. By then, Asian supermarkets will become very influential, and printing and processing companies will begin to face new pressures, which is like a copy of the West. The decrease of production quantity and diversification of printing materials, especially the increase of PE film consumption, will stimulate the new development of flexographic printing.

At present, the development of CI flexographic printing machine for printing plastic film is closely related to high-quality PE film. At present, many packaging and printing processors in Asia think that they don't need flexographic printing yet, because there are not many PE film packages, and they haven't encountered the pressure of short edition and quick replacement of printing parts. At the same time, they prefer gravure printing to flexographic printing. However, in the long run, investing in flexographic printing now is more worthy of consideration than reinvesting in the future. Opportunity is to pamper those who are ready for printing and processing.

Will the proportion of packaging and printing processors in Asia adopting flexographic printing reach 60% or 80%? Our view is that flexographic printing will appear in more supermarket shelf space, but it may not reach the proportion of Europe. The reason lies in different thinking patterns, such as different preferences for food. In the long run, this difference also lies in the fact that the change of consumption habits does not happen overnight.

We believe that flexographic printing and wide packaging industries will shine brilliantly in Asia in the future. The main reason is that Asian printers will learn advanced flexographic printing technology from Europe and America by purchasing the first high-quality CI machine, and will establish cooperative relations with printer manufacturers and consumers, which will enable them to produce high-quality printed products in a short time.

The traditional thinking of buying machinery is about to disappear, and now buying machinery needs a complete analysis. The main determinant is no longer price, but cost recovery and profit. Flexographic printing can be compared with gravure printing. Modern consumption habits and current distribution channels promote the popularization of TQM/JIT, while TQM/JIT promotes the trend of small orders, which means that everyone likes to use printing methods with short printing preparation time, so they prefer flexographic printing to gravure printing.

Another important reason is the rapid improvement of flexographic printing quality. There are many technologies that can make flexographic printing quality play a greater role, such as CTP (computer-to-plate), CTS (direct output sleeve plate making), the latest sharper ceramic net roller made by laser engraving, the coating and polishing of uV, IR and EB inks, and the FM screening technology of printing plates.

We believe that in 2005, the share of flexographic printing in Asia will increase significantly, reaching 7% in Japan and 15% in other Asian countries.

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Just visit the local supermarket and you will find some interesting phenomena. What are the buying habits of local people? What is the approximate ratio of the total shelf space of a product to its sales volume?

When a country's economy develops to a rich level, it will inevitably improve packaging materials and its internal products. By then, supermarkets will become very influential, and printing processors will begin to face new pressures, which is another copy of the West.

At present, in Europe, about 60% of flexible packaging is printed by flexography, and in North America, the proportion is as high as 80%. But in Asia, flexographic printing is only used for corrugated box printing, and some narrow packaging printing, such as trademarks, labels, folding cartons and so on. There are only dozens of high-quality wide flexographic printing machines (plastic film printing machines) for printing color soft bags; In addition, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of high-quality gravure printing machines.

Differences between East and West Consumers

To the surprise of westerners, they often find that Asian consumers demand so much printing quality, even far exceeding that of western consumers, which should be a habit from Japan. The understanding of flexographic printing by most ordinary users in Asia still stays in the past. They think that the quality of flexography is too poor, and only the quality of gravure plastic film is acceptable.

The progress of flexographic printing in recent years is amazing, and now it has reached the quality that Asian users want. Technological progress such as thin plate technology, laser engraving roller, elastic sleeve and newly developed water-based ink are the key driving forces to promote flexographic printing to achieve high quality printing. For example, many enterprises use offset printing or relief printing, such as trademarks, labels and folding cartons, which can now be done by using narrow or medium flexographic printing.

Although most packaging consumers in Asia seem reluctant to adopt new attempts, some multinational companies in Asia have introduced flexographic printing they used in other parts of the world to Asia, which provides a reference for packaging and printing processors in the Asian market, and its guiding role has always been to encourage Asian printers to invest in flexographic printing.

In most western countries, most major foods are sold in supermarkets, and supermarkets will inevitably become a very powerful guide for the packaging industry, teaching them how to calculate their own costs. Most markets require small and fast delivery (J 1T) to meet the limited space on the shelves. Promotional measures in the food industry are also frequently introduced, thus accelerating the multi-terminal packaging design.

Printers like to use the advantages of flexographic printing to meet the rapid changes and needs of the market. Importantly, flexographic printing plate making is much faster than gravure plate making, and it is extremely cheap; Flexographic printing can quickly change the substrate of any material, even PE and other films can be changed immediately, and it can be produced at full speed immediately (300 meters/minute). Printers in Europe use flexographic printing of pe or PET to achieve the required high quality, quick replacement and high-speed production.

In Asia, supermarkets can attract ordinary citizens, but housewives still like traditional markets. Supermarkets have not gained the advantage of food suppliers, so the development of flexographic printing has been slow and takes a long time.