Systems and methods for manufacturing pigmented radiation curable inks for ink-based digital printing

摘要

A method for continuous production of radiation curable ink suitable for ink-based digital printing includes feeding ingredients suitable for forming a pigment concentrate to an extruder; blending the ingredients in the extruder to form a pigment concentrate paste; feeding additional ingredients to the extruder for blending with the ink concentrate to form an ink product configured for ink-based digital printing, wherein a pigment particle size is less than about 1 micron.

主权项

1. A method of continuously producing radiation-curable liquid ink, comprising:
heating a first section of a mixing chamber of a mixer to a first temperature of at least 60 degrees Celsius to 90 degrees Celsius; continuously providing ink ingredients to a first end of the mixing chamber, the ingredients being selected for forming a pigment concentrate liquid paste of a radiation-curable liquid ink product; blending the ink ingredients at the first section of the mixing chamber downstream the first end toward a second end of the mixing chamber to form the pigment concentrate liquid paste in the mixing chamber, the pigment concentrate liquid paste being a blended combination of all ingredients provided to the mixing chamber while keeping all ingredients in the mixing chamber, the pigment concentrate liquid paste having a pigment particle diameter of about 1 micron or less; conveying the pigment concentrate liquid paste to a second section of the mixing chamber downstream the first section towards the second end and opposite the first end; cooling the second section of the mixing chamber to a second temperature less than the first temperature; conveying the pigment concentrate liquid paste to a third section of the mixing chamber downstream the second section toward the second end of the second mixing chamber; feeding additional ink ingredients into the third section of the mixing chamber, the ingredients comprising at least one of low-viscosity monomers, oligomers, mixtures thereof, and leveling agent; heating the third section of the mixing chamber to the first temperature; and blending the pigment concentrate liquid paste and the additional ink ingredients in the third section to produce the radiation-curable liquid ink product by conveying the ink ingredients toward the second end for continuous output from the mixer.