SUBMICRON DISPERSIONS

Dye based ink jet ink is subject to many problems that are solved with pigment dispersions such as light fastness that dyes based inks don’t have. A classic example is the Magenta dye based colorant which has very poor light fastness compared to almost any red organic pigment dispersion.

The main reason pigments have been harder to use for ink jet inks in the past are due to possible oversize particles that would plug the print head or ink jet nozzles. Even with dye based inks insoluble materials have caused the same results thus ink products require extensive filtration.

There are reasons for the oversize particles such as poor dispersion, flocculation or agglomeration and just plain settling with respect to time. All these the problems can be solved with stable sub micron dispersions. This can be accomplished with proper wetting of the pigment particle and providing enough force to de agglomerate the pigment particles.

Good house keeping or “clean room standards” are required! This is no small effort and is much different than usual paint or ink manufacturing facilities have. The ink jet manufacturing facilities more closely resembles the cleanliness of a hospital. This is easily understood since the surrounding air that we breath most likely has dust particles that are in the micron range. If these particles enter the ink they could easily agglomerate forming larger particles that would Clog the ink jet nozzle and all the time and effort spent dispersing pigments plus filtration is wasted.

 RESEARCH WORK INDUSTRIES has experience in the complexities of balancing formulations for the desired properties along with capabilities of finding vendors of specialized raw materials, analysis and processing equipment needed for a successful development project.

RESEARCH WORK INDUSTRIES also develops trial samples for specific industrial applications.

RESEARCH WORK INDUSTRIES also has experience in Technical Writing along with building web sites for engineering products and services.