Influence of the viscosity of gravure printing inks on the quality of printed packaging

Viscosity is the property of gases and liquids to resist the flow or relative motion of adjacent layers. Viscosity is a form of internal fluid friction that occurs when fluid molecules move their layers during flow under the influence of appropriate stress. Ink viscosity affect the ink transfer and is therefore a very important parameter for the overall quality of the print and is defined by the printing technique. If the viscosity of the ink is not properly adjusted, the quality of the print will deteriorate, i.e., when the fluidity of the ink changes, the thickness of the ink layer will also vary. The quality of the gravure printing process depends on many chemical and physical properties of the materials and components involved in the process itself. In this study, the influence of the viscosity of conventional and UV curable gravure inks was observed in comparison with visual quality control and undertone parameter. The printing substrates prepared for this research were made by mixing recycled wood pulp with wheat, barley, or triticale pulp in a ratio 7:3 which gave insight into their potential use as packaging intended for printing.