Backed by advanced process technology, the dyes that are made available for water based inkjet inks are ones that are soluble in water soluble and are able to provide colors that are highly saturated. These also need to refract very less quantity of light. Currently, different types of dyestuffs are formulated and made available in the markets. These include:
Reactive
Direct
Acid
Base for application in delicate Inkjet Inks.
Essential Features:
Low salt content where Chloride, Sulfate, Calcium and Iron are below 50 ppm
Excellent light fastness and purity in finish
High surface tension and tinctorial strength
Brilliant and vibrant colors
The chief colors we use in these dyes include:
Cyan
Magenta
Yellow
Black
These Water Based Dye and Pigments are used as colorants that once processed are supplied in pre-filled cartridges as well as in bulk ink bottles and are used in different printer models that are currently sold in the markets. The colorants used in these including dyes or pigments are both industrially and commercially available in different varieties. Here, the selection of colorant is based on performance demands of ink.
Before using any dye in the process, we need to ensure that these are:
pH balanced
Filtered
Treated by reverse osmosis
Some of the knowledge areas one need to know for ensuring proper formulation of ink with dye includes:
Viscosity
pH
Surface tension
Color
Spectroscopic analysis
There are two distinct classes of inkjet inks where dyes are used. These include:
Water Solvent Base Inkjet Inks
Non-Water Solvent Base Inkjet Inks
Non-Water Solvent Base Inkjet Inks:
These utilize oil or alcohol as primary solvent of ink formula
This base permits use of soluble dyes with water proof properties which have powerful UV resistance
These dyes are normally not soluble in water/ink alcohol and are not used in small desktop printers
Water Solvent Base Inkjet Inks:
These inkjet inks are non-toxic, non-flammable and non-carcinogenic and make use of two types of colorants:
Water soluble dyes
Non-soluble pigment suspensions
Properties:
These Water Soluble Dyes are common colorants that are used for providing widest color gamut for color printing
As these are relatively easy and inexpensive, these are used extensively for manufacturing print heads
Characteristics:
Clean, bright colors
Carefully controlled surface tension and viscosity that allows fine dot structure having low dot gain on most substrates
These can be used on most substrates including matte papers, photo and gloss papers, printable fabrics and canvasses
