Causes and solutions for the skinning of thermal transfer film printing ink

Causes and solutions for the skinning of thermal transfer film printing ink

1 Skinning of thermal transfer film printing ink
Why does the phenomenon of thermal transfer film printing ink skinning occur?

Thermal transfer film printing ink skinning occurs when the ink in the ink fountain forms a layer of film due to surface drying during the printing process. At this time, it is necessary to place a stirring device or simply pour out the ink, otherwise the film will adhere to the roller, resulting in uneven surface, which will cause the printed product to be contaminated by random knife marks.

Thermal transfer film printing ink skinning product example

2 Causes of thermal transfer film printing ink skinning
The reason for thermal transfer film printing ink skinning is that the ink industry tends to:

1. Thermal transfer film printing ink dries too quickly;

2. Thermal transfer film printing ink has poor fluidity;

3. The precipitation of thermal transfer film printing ink has dried.

However, few people know that this phenomenon is caused by the volatilization, evaporation, or oxidation drying gradient of the ink system. The printing industry believes that the ink barrel or ink fountain structure is not good, resulting in a non-flowing retention part, and the air leaking from the dryer dries the surface of the ink or the hot air blows the ink in the ink fountain.

3 Solutions to the skinning of thermal transfer film printing ink
For the skinning phenomenon of thermal transfer film printing ink, each company has its own opinions, but around the occurrence of the skinning phenomenon of thermal transfer film printing ink, the treatment method generally adopted by thermal transfer film printing technology operators is:

1. Do not use thermal transfer ink that dries too fast;

2. Add medium and slow drying solvents;

3. Replace the deteriorated ink (that is, from poor fluidity to excellent fluidity);

4. Stir constantly in the ink fountain;

5. Set a closed top cover on the ink fountain;

6. Adjust the angle of hot air blowing.

Faced with the phenomenon of ink crusting in thermal transfer film printing, people with printing experience and common sense will generally take the approach of increasing the speed of the printing machine when the drying speed is too fast, or the ink concentration is too light, or the fluidity is poor, or the ink is highly thixotropic, or the ink is static. This not only prevents the ink from drying on the printing plate prematurely, but also overcomes the crusting caused by the film formation of packaging printing ink and eliminates the streaking fault of the image and text.