Edible Gravure Printing Ink

Ink application purpose

An alcohol-based edible printing ink used on medicine and dietary supplement of oral solids to achieve the purpose of brand identification.

Applicable machine

Capsule printing, candy printing machine, pad printing machine, rotary printing machine

Ink preparation 

The ink contains liquid dispersions of insoluble particles, so it must be re-dispersed well before using.

For optimal dispersion effect, vigorous shaking by hand or with an industrial paint-style shaker should be applied for two minutes.

A sealed new bottle of ink is recommended for each batch printing, this should be replaced with a new bottle ink at the end of a work shift due to the solvent inherent evaporation and the adjustment of the original ink. 

In-Process Adjustments

The ink contains volatile solvents which evaporated throughout the printing operation .Both viscosity and printing effect changed due to the volatile solvent, so adjustments of the ink throughout the printing operation is required. A skilled operator must closely monitor the process and adjust the ink to maintain the required printing quality.

Diluents adjustment

The ink commonly contains a combination of the following solvents, (according to the order of decreased evaporation rates), ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, water, n-amyl alcohol, propylene glycol. These can be added alone or in combination to adjust the ink viscosity and optimize printing effects. It is highly recommended that only to adjust the inks with solvents which already contained in the formula.