Preparation and Characterization of Water Based UV Curable Flexographic Printing Ink.

Abstract

Polyvinyl alcohol was utilized as a single sole binder in the formulation of water based UV curable flexographic printing inks. Six different formulation containing 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 8% and 10% polyvinyl alcohol were prepared using 1-(4-nitrophenyl)azo-2-naphthol as pigment and potassium dichromate as a cross linking agent. The formulations prepared were characterized for viscosity and FT-IR before being printed on different substrates. The ink films formed were assessed by optical microscopy, the print quality was found to meet most requirements in colour printing chemistry and technology applications.

Keywords: Flexographic printing inks, Pigment, Polyvinyl alcohol, Potassium dichromate