In recent years, with the acceleration and final completion of the European integration process and the increasing number of domestic textile export processing, the European Community has more and more stringent “so-called†environmental protection requirements for “Made in Chinaâ€. The raw material suppliers at home and abroad have been unable to work overnight, updating the product standards and tracking the quality of products around the clock to ensure the smooth processing of the environmental protection slurry.
For most printing manufacturers, there may be some "so-called" harmful substances such as APEO, organotin, PAH, PFAS, etc. that are prescribed in environmental protection standards. However, we still have to choose to face these almost absurd demands. For a long period of time, since we have chosen the direction of export processing, we must make every effort to successfully complete these orders, in order to guarantee the maximum satisfaction of foreign customers, in exchange for more foreign exchange and enhance national strength!
When it comes to textile trade, we must mention the United States and Japan. These two “old friends†have a long history with China. For a long time, the United States’ “care and concern†and sanctions on China’s trade have not stopped for a day. The Chinese people sent textile products for the American people that are cheap and beautiful, but they did not receive the approval and gratitude of Uncle Tom. On the contrary, the U.S. government has tit-for-tatly and intensified its "Made in China" stance and has been defensively defensive. What is ridiculous is that from time to time, through the media, the Chinese government and the Chinese people have been viciously attacked. For example, previous children's inadvertent eating of plastic toy balls caused the factory owners to jump from the building; the event that a certain brand of collective garments came under the cabinet, these events tell us that there is a noun. Call "environmental protection"!
In short, before China truly becomes a powerful nation in the world, we still need to work harder, have more open-minded learning attitudes and more patience!
First, what is the machine printing ink?
The so-called machine-printing water-based ink is a kind of hydrophilic resin-type paste that can be printed on a fully automatic machine. It can be uniformly dispersed in water and become milky or creamy. Adding moisture to the raw material does not affect Its chemical properties change.
Corresponding to the machine-printing aqueous ink is a machine-printing thermosetting ink or a hand-printing aqueous ink.
1, machine printing thermosetting ink
Is generally called PLASISOL thermoplastic ink, soluble in solvents, insoluble in water, a single layer of ink must be in the 160-170 °C high temperature to achieve molten state, and in the high temperature environment rely on the role of plasticizer to complete the physical The molecular polymerization reaction has the strongest degree of washing water firmness and the strongest grip and peel resistance with the fabric.
The advantages of machine-printing thermosetting inks:
â—‹ Since the particles cannot be dried at room temperature, the molecular particles can be made finer, so that they can pass through the mesh of the higher mesh without occurrence of residue, and the meshing problem does not occur;
○ In the unopened or sealed state, the ink is stored for a long time and generally does not deteriorate in 3 to 4 years. Under the condition of 20-25°C at room temperature, no caking or deterioration will occur.
The shortcomings of machine printing thermosetting ink:
○Because it cannot be dried at room temperature, the drying temperature is required to be high, between 160-170°C; it will cause color difference when some sensitive colors or partially sensitive fabrics pass the tunnel dryer;
○ In the high-temperature operating environment, such as 40-60 °C or in the printing process of the machine, the knotting problem of the ink will begin to occur as the temperature of the platen rises, and it is necessary to supplement and replace the fresh slurry in time;
â—‹ Larger printing pressure is required to allow the ink to properly penetrate into the fabric to achieve the best firmness and suppress the cloth on the fabric surface;
â—‹ high viscosity, need to stir vigorously.
2, handprint water ink
It is RUBBERINK mortar which we generally talk about, the resin type is acrylic, soluble in water, insoluble in solvent, it is also hydrophilic type slurry, can be uniformly dispersed in water and form emulsion or paste, usually after adding curing agent It can start at the low temperature in the air and begin to dry naturally. It can also be heated or heated by 130-140°C to completely volatilize the water to achieve the goal of complete gelation. It has the strongest Washing firmness and soft peel resistance.
Handprint water ink advantages:
â—‹ Low-temperature drying, under the same mesh and other printing process conditions, feel soft and smooth relative to thermoset ink;
â—‹ When using a low screen screen version, sizing can be achieved with a small printing force;
â—‹ The viscosity is very low and the stirring operation is easy.
Disadvantages of handprint water ink:
â—‹ In the printing process, the moisture evaporates quickly, and when the ink layer is very thin, such as on the surface of the screen, it can be quickly dried. Especially in the hot or high temperature working environment, the network blocking and film formation problems are more likely to occur.
â—‹ The storage time is relatively short with respect to the ink. In the unopened or sealed state, the storage time is generally about 1 year. Under the open state, the film will be formed on the surface in a short time and become dry.
â—‹ feel relatively strong rubber, not the kind of American customers like.
The above is a brief introduction for memorizing plastisol inks and handprinting aqueous inks. Let's take a look at the following: What are the characteristics of machined inks?
3, machine printing water ink
As the name implies, it is a hydrophilic special resin paste that can be printed on a fully automatic machine. It is soluble in water and insoluble in solvents.
Second, the status of environmental printing at home and abroad
In foreign countries, automatic printing machines and environmentally friendly printing materials have become very popular and the technology is very mature. Not only environmental-friendly screen printing tends to be mature, but also the current foreign fashion trends have started from screen printing to digital silk screen printing. Process development, and has begun to show the trend of popularity!
In China, many manufacturers are still looking for the choice of environmentally safe pulp or cheap non-environmental or unstable mortar! Many manufacturers also have headaches for choosing automatic printing equipment or continuing to use artificial desks!
At the dawn of the reform of the printing industry, for printing companies, the right to make decisions is in your hands. We choose to be our own, for our children and grandchildren, and our country, to make printing companies better, bigger and bigger, or choose to follow the tide and be swallowed up by the wave of reforms?
I believe the answer is very clear: Chong is moving forward to create a brighter future for the printing industry!
Then, in the face of numerous dizzying European environmental protection standards and rising domestic artificial materials and other processing cost prices, we need both an environmentally friendly slurry that fully meets European standards and an efficient and simple full Automatic printing equipment replaces manual operations. Therefore, we now have to start thinking about the feasibility and investment options of fully automatic machines for environmental protection printing. How do we make prudent choices in the face of numerous automatic machines and environmentally friendly raw material brands? ?
In the last issue of "Textile Printing" magazine, I have made a more detailed analysis and explanation of the selection and function of automatic machines. Here, I will focus on the selection of environmentally friendly machine printing pastes. on.
Third, the machine printing water ink selection and use guidance
Through the above explanation of various types of ink, I believe that everyone now knows what is called waterborne ink, and now the more popular brand types in the printing market in China and Southeast Asia are as follows:
American water-based ink brands - such as: Ruilun WB series / Wei Fei Shi, etc.;
Japan's water-based ink brands - such as: Matsui 301 series / Da Japan and so on.
The outstanding features of these brands are the strong printing capabilities on the machine, no net blocking, easy operation, safety and environmental protection, and no European standard banned substances such as PVC and plasticizers. We now take the Matsui 301 series as an example. How to select the machine-printing water-based ink, how to operate and use the machine-printing water-based ink, and some details that need attention in the operation process, do a simple analysis and discussion:
1, the selection of raw materials
The focus is on machine printing, no plug-in network problems, stable quality, and environmental protection and safety!
No congestion network problem:
The plug-in network problem has always been a big problem for printing factories. Many machine printing plants have a lot of unsuccessful experience in the operation of ordinary glue (ie, water-based inks with fingerprints) on the machine, because they have just started printing less than 10-20. In minutes, the screen will quickly form a film, and the mesh will be blocked and the screen will need to be cleaned in time. This is not efficient in production, and waste of slurry is huge!
Environmental safety and quality stability issues:
Many suppliers of water-based inks (mastic) have poor quality stability. There have been prototype test tests and tests, but after shipment of large goods, due to the detection of environmental problems and were prohibited from entering the target country, similar examples are numerous. There is also a certain brand in the cupboard, because the pumped out environmental indicators failed to be ordered to lose money and lost compensation. Therefore, I propose to choose a brand of pulp with stable quality, strong environmental protection, and good reputation, and obtain the authoritative organization's inspection reports and guarantees from the manufacturer.
2, operation and use
I will use the Matsui 301 series machine-printing water-based ink as an example to illustrate the use and operation procedures:
Matsui 301 series machine printing water ink is divided into the following series:
Conventional printers:
Low Mesh 301 Series - Suitable for High Block Effect Printing (80 mesh - 150 mesh)
High Mesh 301 Series - Suitable for high mesh and outlet effect printing (150 mesh -300 mesh)
Elastic 301 Series - Suitable for swimsuits, stretch fabrics and other elastic fabric printing (80 mesh -200 mesh)
Printed 301 series - suitable for pulling white cotton in active cotton fabric (80 mesh - 200 mesh)
Special machine printing class:
Anti-sublimation 301 water-based ink - suitable for polyester or polyester cotton fabric rendering
Flash 301 water-based ink - suitable for silver and adjustable color glitter effect
Stamping 301 water-based ink - suitable for bronzing effect printing
Flocking 301 water-based ink - suitable for direct or transfer flocking effect
Foam 301 water-based ink - suitable for foaming effect printing
and many more……
Machine type:
Any automatic printing machine or oval printing machine
Printing process:
High-quality wear-resistant mesh yarn, medium hardness blade, water lotion, full ink, high tension screen (recommended), ventilation or compressed cold air equipment (recommended)
Using supporting quality tools and equipment will make your environmental printing operation even more powerful!
Taking a high-tension screen as an example, the screen can be quickly detached from the printing surface after printing to increase the production speed and avoid sticking problems.
Taking an air-exchange or compressed cold air equipment as an example, the water vapor on the printing surface can be dissipated in a very short period of time, and the temperature of the printing surface can be quickly reduced to avoid the problem of sticking fabrics in the next printing.
It is necessary to pay special attention to the printing process control of the waterborne ink in the process of printing. Care must be taken to avoid the difficult control of the printing process caused by water evaporation during the flashing or drying process of aqueous raw materials.
Drying process: 140-150°C
When the printed ink layer is thick, it can be completely dried by drying or low temperature (60-100°C for a long time, then high temperature (140-150°C)).
In Europe, in the United States, in all developed countries, the use of environmental protection standards as a threshold to restrict the export of “Made in China†products has become increasingly fierce. As the 21st century China’s new generation of printing people, in order to maximize the customer satisfaction of the printing trade, We must ensure the lowest processing costs through the use of safe and stable environmental protection raw materials, especially the use of automatic printing machines for the printing and production of environmental-friendly machine-printing inks, in order to maximize the benefits of trade and enable the Chinese printing industry to work together under our joint efforts. Prosperous!