One-Component UV Ink Jet Printing Ink Composition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional UV ink jet printing inks require mixing of two components and contain hazardous monofunctional monomers, which are impractical for ink jet printing and pose health risks due to volatility and toxicity, and effect pigments tend to settle, causing printing issues.
Innovation Solution
A one-component (1K) UV ink jet printing ink composition comprising difunctional (meth)acrylate monomers, photoinitiators, and effect pigments with a particle size distribution of D98<10 μm, which is ready-to-use, non-hazardous, and maintains effect pigments in suspension, ensuring stable and efficient printing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If two-component photo curable ink composition is used, then curing performance is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate due to mixing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines two separate components (polymerizable compound and photoinitiator) into a single-component ink composition. The photoinitiator is incorporated directly into the ink formulation along with the polymerizable compound and colorant, eliminating the need for separate component storage and mixing operations while maintaining effective UV curing performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the ink composition into functional components within a single formulation: polymerizable compound (for curing), photoinitiator (for UV activation), colorant (for printing), and solvent (for delivery). This segmentation allows each component to perform its function independently without requiring external mixing.
2Power
If monofunctional monomers are used, then polymerization reactivity is improved, but object-generated harmful factors worsen due to volatility and toxicity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the functional parameter of the monomer from monofunctional to difunctional. This parameter change reduces volatility and toxicity while maintaining adequate polymerization reactivity through the presence of two reactive groups per molecule, which can compensate for the slightly reduced reactivity per group.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of using highly reactive monofunctional monomers (volatility and toxicity) into a benefit by selecting difunctional monomers that have reduced harmful properties. The dual functional groups provide sufficient reactivity while the molecular structure reduces volatility and improves safety.
3Manufacturing precision
If effect pigments are added to improve optical properties, then product quality is improved, but stability deteriorates due to pigment settling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a surfactant as an intermediary substance between the effect pigments and the ink medium. The surfactant adsorbs onto the pigment surface and provides steric or electrostatic stabilization, preventing pigment aggregation and settling while maintaining uniform distribution and optical properties throughout the ink composition.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite ink system combining effect pigments, polymerizable compound, photoinitiator, and surfactant in a unified formulation. This composite structure ensures that the pigments remain suspended in the liquid medium while maintaining the reactive components for UV curing, achieving both optical quality and compositional stability.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If UV curing is used to eliminate solvents, then object-affected harmful factors are reduced, but productivity worsens due to longer curing time for heat-sensitive substrates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the curing mechanism from thermal drying to UV photopolymerization. This parameter change eliminates the need for high-temperature heating, enabling rapid curing at ambient or elevated temperatures without damaging heat-sensitive substrates, thus improving both safety and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the thermal energy-based drying mechanism with a photochemical UV curing mechanism. This substitution allows the ink to cure through light activation rather than heat, eliminating solvent evaporation requirements and enabling fast curing speeds on temperature-sensitive materials.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The 1K UV ink jet printing ink composition is stable, non-toxic, and effectively cures quickly, preventing pigment settling and ensuring high-quality prints with superior optical properties without the need for mixing, thus enhancing printing efficiency and safety.
Implementation Method 1
UV ink jet printing ink compositions are advantageous in that these compositions do not contain solvents or only minor amounts of solvents and are dried or cured by irradiation of UV light
Implementation Method 2
effect pigments having a volume averaged particle size distribution with a D98<10 μm
Data Source
AI summary
A 1K UV-ink jet printing ink composition comprising effect pigments, wherein the composition comprises: a) at least one difunctional (meth)acrylate monomer, b) at least one photoinitiator, c) effect pigments having a volume averaged particle size distribution with a D98<10 μm, d) optionally trifunctional and/or polyfunctional (meth)acrylate monomers, and wherein the viscosity of the ink jet printing ink composition is at maximum 30 mPas, measured at 25° C. for 10 minutes with a Brookfield R/S rheometer using a double gap cylinder according to DIN 53453 (German Industrial Standards) at 150 rpm and wherein the total concentration of the at least one difunctional (meth)acrylate monomer of a) and the trifunctional and/or polyfunctional (meth)acrylate monomers of d) is in a range of 75 to 100 wt.-%, based on the total amount of (meth)acrylate monomers.