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LABORATORY EVALUATION OF NONSTICK COATINGS TO REDUCE INK ADHESION TO PRINTING PRESS COMPONENTS
Citation:
Cornstubble, D., M. A. Bahner, AND S. Nishtala. LABORATORY EVALUATION OF NONSTICK COATINGS TO REDUCE INK ADHESION TO PRINTING PRESS COMPONENTS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-00/018 (NTIS PB2000-107708), 2000.
Description:
The report gives results of a project to identify surface coatings or preparations that might reduce and/or eliminate the need for solvent cleaning of ink-feed-system components of printing equipment. The study was designed to provide qualitative, but not quantitative, results. The ability to eliminate wiping and solvent cleaning of printing system ink pans can cut labor costs, wasted ink, and the use of cleaning solvents. This goal might be enhanced by coating the printing ink pan with a product with physical and chemical properties similar to those of polymeric products such as polytetrafluoroethylene (better known as Teflon). In theory, the free energy of the surface coating, or the excess energy of the atoms or molecules on the surface, is reduced compared with that of the subsurface. Ink would then bead up to be removed by various means, such as gravity or minimal wiping with a dry (solvent-free) cloth. Components covered with polymeric coatings should also reduce process down time and labor required to clean ink-delivery-station components as well as reduce wasted ink and volatile solvent emissions from the use of cleaning solvents. Water usage could also be decreased if printers using water-based ink did not have to use as much water to clean each ink delivery station. All of the nonstick coatings evaluated were found to reduce residual ink in the coating pan.