Is Cleaning up Forever Chemicals like PFAS on the Horizon?
Eradicating PFAS Forever Chemicals? Two exciting research developments from UC Riverside scientists, published in the journal “Nature Water”, have given rise to the hope that “forever chemicals” might be broken down and neutralized. The focus is on the subclass of these chemical products (PFAS) that contain chlorine atoms. New research under the leadership of Professor […]
Aqueous Coatings & Foaming
Aqueous Coatings are Complex Blends Aqueous coatings are complex blends of materials with a typical formula consisting of a mixture of aqueous emulsions, blended with additives to improve properties and performance. These additives are commonly, small quantities of an amine, a plasticizer, waxes, a surfactant, coalescent aids, and anti-foam agents.
Mystery of Drying Aqueous Coatings
It’s well known and understood that washed clothing dries when the wash water is evaporated. Similarly, paint dries when the diluent solvent is evaporated, leaving a film of dry paint solids. Aqueous coatings dry as volatile components (mainly water), about 60% of the typical formula composition, evaporate or are absorbed by a porous substrate. Coalescence […]
What Is It About Viscosity?
Understanding and Testing of Viscosity in Coatings Viscosity tells us how thick or thin a liquid is. Coating viscosity is the property of a fluid that causes it not to flow easily because of the resistance of its molecules. When we use coatings, we need to understand viscosity, because it is key to accurate application, […]
Improving Printing Quality with Clean Substrates
Achieving the best printing results? Start with clean substrates!
Using Humidity Control to Optimize Pressroom Productivity
OFFSET PRESSROOM AIR EVACUATION, WHY? The control of humidity is critical in offset printing in order to optimize productivity. It is well known that dry air causes paper to lose its moisture so that wrinkling, paper jams, and register issues are likely due to a pick-up in static electricity. A humidity level of 45 to […]
Aqueous and UV Coatings Tricks to Cleanup Process
Aqueous and UV / EB Coatings have distinct cleanup methods that can make the processes run better. This article will address specific tricks to cleanup before, during, and after press runs of aqueous, UV, and EB Coatings. Safety First and Second We will tackle the important steps in the cleanup of coatings for both Aqueous […]
Measuring Durability in Coatings with Abrasion Testing
How do we best test to predetermine the durability of printed/coated graphic arts products? Abrasion tests can determine the durability of printed and coated graphic arts. The durability of a printed coating is typically defined by such terms as, scuff, wear, rub, smudge, abrasion, blotching, and/or pick-off resistance. Historically a problem, defacing abrasion damage is […]
Advantages of UV LED Curing in the Print Industry
The advantages of UV LED light curing over the traditional mercury lamp have been pushing its growth. Explosive Growth Recently LED lighting technology, because of its low energy consumption and long life, has been eating up the competition while being rolled out with an explosive future trend playing out. Research from Gartner, Inc. says that Smart LED […]
UV LED Light Curing is Booming
Once a lab curiosity, barely able to cure a UV ink, UV LEDs first appeared early in the 21st century as play things, and then later as commercially available curing devices. With very low power initially, power levels have increased to a point where curing applications emerged in the last few years. Progress to full […]
