Tom Kubinski
Printing Consultant
TKubinski@shapco.com
Direct: 612-278-1568
Fax: 612-334-5879
Cell: 612-760-3700


www.shapco.com
1109 Zane Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN. 55422
Phone: 612-375-1150
Fax: 612-334-5879
Toll Free: 1-800-230-2828


Branding - 22 Laws Of
Brand Warfare
Creative Coatings Techniques
Desktop Techniques
Digital / Variable Printing
Direct Mail Raise Response, Lower Costs
Duotones-Tritones-Quadtones
FSC Certification
For Direct Marketers
In House Mailing Capabilities
Ink Tour
Microsites
Paper Mill Tour - Coated
Paper Mill Tour - Uncoated
Picking the Right Paper
PDF Formats
PDF Info & Quark vs. InDesign
PODi - Digital Print Success Story
Postal Increases & Requirement Changes
Post it to the Web vs. Print
PURLs
PURL - Avoid Dog House Campaign
QR Codes
Save Disk Space
Social Media -- The Basics
Social Media vs. Print
Top File Issues
UV Burn
Ways to Save Money
What Sets Sexton Apart?
Why Print in a Down Market?
Why Work With TK?

November 2011 TK's Korner
Ink

  • This issue will focus on 1 of the two main ingredients in every printed piece.
    The first is paper, followed very closely by
    ink.

    The time and effort you put into your printed materials design and researched techniques can only be as good as it can be reproduced during the printing processes.

Here are some ??? to think about concerning your next project and how ink plays a part -

How well will the type be read???
How will images/photos and art pop (or not! according to your desired intention???
What special techniques do you have in mind, and how well will they materialize???
Will the piece produce the results with your target audience that you wanted???

Where to begin to answer these questions and more? I'll try to shed some light on this subject as it pertains to it's basic ingredients, shelf life, special notes about metallics, color matching, draw-downs and job continuity. It should help guide you in making decisions when it comes to your next piece.

A tour of an ink manufacturing plant will show you the process of making ink. (See photos from the tour).

Listed below are types of inks produced by this plant:

  • Oil Based Inks for web heat set, newsprint, offset for both commercial and packaging industries.
  • Water Based for flexo.
  • Solvent Based for flexo, gravure and news injector.

There are 100's, if not 1000's, of Different Inks being used today. They all share the same 3 basic ingredients.

  1. Colorants (liquid dyes or dry pigments), gives the ink its color.
  2. Vehicle carries the pigment and can include petroleum/vegetable oils, solvents or water.
  3. Additives provide the desired performance characteristics.
    • DRIERS help the ink dry more quickly. (See how inks dry based on different types).
    • WAXES help the printed surface resist scuffing and reduces setoff, (the transfer of the image from the front of one sheet to the back of another).
    • Other ADDITIVES allow the pigments to cover more area, protect against drying too quickly, and improves the way the ink bonds with the paper or other substrate.

Terms to describe the Different Characteristics of Ink:

VISCOSITY is the degree to which the ink resists flowing. This can change under the heat and pressure of the printing process, especially during long runs or at high speeds.

BODY is the overall consistency. This can range from soft and pliable to stiff and rigid.

OPACITY is the degree to which it allows the whiteness or color of the stock to be visible to the viewer.

LIGHT FASTNESS or COLOR PERMANENCY the ability to resist a shift in color caused by UV radiation or heat. Typically used for In Store signage that sits under strong and constant lighting or where sunlight hits all day long

Shelf Life of ink:
REGULAR INK has a shelf life of about one year. After that time, it can start to body up and become tackier. The driers can also become weakened and cause some drying problems.

METALLIC INK has a much shorter shelf life, which is only about one month, dependent on the amount of the metallic pigment in it. Pigment oxidation also comes into play, which is where the ink color starts to tarnish and the tack or viscosity of the ink changes.

Special Notes about Metallic Inks:
Metallic inks contain
metallic particles such as bronze or aluminum. The metallic particles make the inks opaque, rather than transparent. This is why you noticed the trapping of a metallic over another ink.

These metallic particles stand on end top to bottom when printing and only lay flat to give you their true color when they dry. That is why they tend to look different when press checking rather than the metallic color swatch books. (There are techniques one can use while on press to try and get the true color to come forth.)

It is also important to note that screening metallics can cause you some concerns. Each metallic color has a different break pointthat it can handle before a screen will plug. What this means to you, is that you may not be able to run the metallic as heavy as you want or need in order to keep the screens clean and open. Consult with me in order to have a better understanding on what can be accomplished in this area.

Also, because the particles cannot be ground as fine as conventional pigments, they can often cause problems on press. They require a different ink-water balance than conventional inks and it may be necessary to include extra drying time. They also can cause post-printing issues with your finishing techniques such as UV coatings, film lamination, foil stamping and some laser applications.

Metallics are very soft and susceptible to rub-off and tarnishing, which can necessitate the use of varnishes or coatings. Unfortunately, coatings will tend to soften the metallic effect.

Finally, the type of paper you use with metallics is very important. (Read more on paper below.)

NOTE, when using an Aqueous or UV coating, you'll need to be aware of UV burn. For more info, please go to
UV Burn.

Environmentally Friendly Inks
What is an environmentally friendly ink, and how can it be measured and compared in a conventional sheetfed ink. The difference comes down to petroleum products vs vegetable oils in an ink formula. The easiest and most reliable way to tell this is by the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are released into the air. The VOCs are from the petroleum products. The higher the VOCs, the more petroleum in the ink. There are different ways to measure VOCs, so you need to be using the same standard to compare apples to apples. The EPA Method 24 is the most common standard method used.

Sexton offers three process ink lines. Standard house ink, agri ink, and soy ink. Soy ink is the most recognized name when it comes to eco ink. But while it makes a good newspaper ink, with about 90% of the daily newspapers using it, it’s not the best eco choice as a sheetfed ink. The problem with soy oil is that it likes to take on water which creates drying problems. Today's sheetfed soy inks set and dry well, but there may be more petroleum products to help them dry, and therefore, the overall VOCs will be a bit higher. Agri ink on the other hand, can use less soy oil (20% is required in soy ink to use the soy logo) along with other vegetable oils such as linseed, corn, canola, ext..., to create an ink that will set and dry better with less VOCs. At Sexton, our standard house ink is a high vegetable oil ink, but not quite as high in vegetable oil as our agri ink. We do offer a soy process ink for those clients that are absolutely required to use the soy logo, even though it's our least eco friendly ink.

Sexton's 4-Color Process Inks

Standard House Ink

    VOC'S
    Black 15%
    Cyan 15%
    Mag 15%
    Yell 15%
SOY Ink Due to low demand, this ink has to be special ordered. (Must have at least20% soy oil to use soy logo.)
    VOC'S
    Black 16%
    Cyan 16.7%
    Mag 20.3%
    Yell 17.9%
Agri Ink
    VOC'S
    Black 3%
    Cyan 3%
    Mag 3%
    Yell 3%

    *All VOC'S listed use EPA Method 24

On Press:
The INK ROLLERS spread the inks onto the imaged areas of the plate, while other rollers apply water to repel the oily ink to the non-image areas of the plate. Each plate then transfers the ink to a rubber blanket that in turn transfers the ink to the paper. Like a squeegee effect - the result is a crisp, clean print job, unlike the old metal type onto paper where smearing occurred quite often.

NOTE, the ink must be sticky, or tacky enough to stay exactly where it's put, but not so sticky that it pulls the coating away from
the surface of the paper.

Paper:
The type and color of the paper stock can have a major impact on the color. Coated vs. uncoated papers will yield somewhat different results and each has its own swatchbook for colors. For more information on papers, please see (Picking the Right Paper).

There is a GREAT TOOL provided by various ink companies where one PMS color is shown on many different types of paper. Once you view it, you'll understand why picking the same family and type of paper for your brand or identity is critical.

If you are planning to use different types of papers, known as substrates, lets talk about it. We may either want to run the standard ink, or make a custom ink (color matching) based on each different type of paper being used. In either case, DRAWDOWNS will come in handy to let you know how the inks will look on the various papers.

Color Matching:
Computer color management is used in matching colors as well as in quality control. I have used
computer color matching many times where a client had been varnishing a project in the past and now wanted to change to an aqueous. Or a brand PMS color was running on white stock and they wanted to go to a colored stock.

Drawdowns:
The ink company calls drawdowns prints or proofs. They are created (pulled) on a lab proof press called a little Joe. All drawdowns are made one at a time, one color at a time, by hand. It normally takes about 3 to 5 pulls to get an acceptable one.

You can also have these made with different types of coatings applied to see if the desired effect you want will be obtainable. (Please note this does take time to get paper in, plus the time it takes to produce could incur a charge based on specifics.)

Job Continuity:
Keep in mind that ink can vary by lots just like when buying another can of paint after running out during a project. When you know that you'll have companion pieces, (especially with very light colors or tints), you may wish to discuss having enough ink made for all of your pieces at the same time.

(Some of this info was obtained from Flint Ink, StoraEnso's "This is Ed #9, Understanding Ink" and of course my own past experiences.)

If you have a production issue not discussed within this issue that you would like me to address, a project that needs to be looked at or more information about Sexton's capabilities, you can: give me a call at (651)-255-1225; check out the other issues of TK's Korners or visit Sexton's web site @ www.sextonprinting.com.I look forward to our next opportunity together.

Stay tuned for the next issue of TK's Korner. You just might be surprised!

Please refer back and visit often the entire library of TK's Korners where you will find information on subjects that may be of interest to you like:

You may also want to CHECK OUT the following TK's Korner issues –


BE SURE TO CHECK THEM OUT!

Referrals are greatly appreciated, if you know someone I could help, or who might like to receive TK's Korner, please let me know.

You can also check out my profile, join my network and view more client comments on LinkedIn at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tomkubinski

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