Coating ingredients for Flexographic Inks

CASAMID® 878 by Thomas Swan is an alcohol-soluble polyamide resin. It provides superior anti-blocking properties, preventing layers from sticking together.

• It has a high melting point (140-150°C), offering exceptional thermal stability for demanding applications.
• It features a low odor formulation, ideal for sensitive packaging and coating uses.
• It ensures excellent film formation upon solvent extraction for high-quality, durable prints and coatings.
• It prevents premature gelation, though higher alcohols or hydrocarbon solvents may be needed for added stability.
• The amide groups interact with pigments and substrates, ensuring optimum dispersion, gloss, and rub resistance.
• It enhances durability in printing and coating applications.
• CASAMID® 878 delivers superior adhesion and print quality in specialized flexographic ink applications.
• It offers excellent release properties and durability in release lacquers.
• It is optimized for overprint varnishes, providing smooth coverage.
• It provides strength and barrier performance in coatings.
• It ensures long-lasting resistance to heat, abrasion, and environmental factors in high-performance packaging inks.
• It has a shelf life of 12 months.

EBECRYL® 3701 by allnex is a VOC-, solvent- and tin-free, modified bisphenol A epoxy diacrylate. It imparts flexibility and toughness to ultraviolet light (UV) or electron beam (EB) cured coatings and inks, while maintaining fast cure response and superior chemical resistance that are typical of standard epoxy acrylates.

• It provides high gloss, and good abrasion and impact resistance.
• Formulated UV/EB curable products containing EBECRYL® 3701 may be applied via direct or reverse roll, offset gravure, metering rod, slot die, knife-over-roll, air knife, curtain, immersion and spin coating methods.
• It is recommended for clear coatings for paper, wood and rigid plastic, as well as lithographic, screen and flexographic ink vehicles.

CASAMID® 833 by Thomas Swan is a co-solvent polyamide resin. It acts as a film-forming binder that enhances adhesion, print quality, and flexibility of ink systems.

• It provides excellent adhesion to treated polyolefin substrates with good re-solubility in press.
• It offers superior compatibility with phenolic resins, nitrocellulose, alcohol, hydrocarbons, and esters.
• It is used in laminating inks to enable strong bond development with minimal solvent retention when properly formulated.
• It is also used in flexible packaging for food and consumer goods, offering excellent adhesion on films such as BOPP and treated polyethylene, along with good print definition.
• CASAMID® 833 enables excellent pigment dispersion and re-solubility properties in flexographic and gravure applications.
• It offers anti-blocking and gelation resistance in formulations.
• It is used in cold-seal release lacquers, providing high alcohol tolerance for reliable release performance and excellent stability on high-speed presses.
• It is optimized for overprint varnishes, providing smooth coverage, enhanced abrasion resistance and improved gloss.
• It has a shelf life of 12 months.

CASAMID® 876 by Thomas Swan is an alcohol-soluble polyamide resin. It provides strong film formation upon solvent evaporation, enhancing print quality and rub resistance. Its excellent solubility profile makes it particularly well-suited for use with a wide range of solvents and co-resins, enhancing formulation flexibility.

• It is used in combination with nitrocellulose to improve ink performance, contributing to superior print quality and resistance properties.
• It provides high resistance to moisture, abrasion, and wear in packaging inks.
• It features enhanced flow properties for smooth ink application and reduced clogging.
• It delivers sharp print definition and strong adhesion in flexographic printing inks.
• CASAMID® 876 provides excellent flow and leveling for deep, rich prints in gravure printing inks.
• It gives anti-blocking and gelation resistance to formulations.
• It offers protection, gloss, and durability in lacquers and coatings.
• It ensures strong bonding performance in lamination inks for multi-layer packaging.
• It is optimized for overprint varnishes, providing smooth coverage.
• It has a shelf life of 12 months.

EBECRYL® 578 by allnex is an inert resin diluted in trimethylolpropane ethoxylate triacrylate (TMPEOTA). It possesses medium viscosity, and is VOC-, chloride- and solvent-free. It is developed for ultraviolet light (UV) or electron beam (EB) cured offset lithographic inks and coating.

• It provides good adhesion to various substrate such as metallic and plastic materials.
• It exhibits good pigment wetting and high reactivity and cure speed, and low color for clearcoat.
• EBECRYL® 578 is used in other applications such as screen, gravure, flexo and overprint varnish.
• It has a shelf life of 2 years.

Sasolwax H1N4-G distributed by DKSH is a (ground wax) micronized FT hardwax. It possesses slip-, enhanced scratch- and rub resistance. Exhibits good overprint ability in flexographic, gravure- and paste inks.

• It provides hydrophobicity as well as surface protection in wood coatings.
• It is suitable for degassing and pin hole reduction in powder coating.
• Sasolwax H1N4-G is available in Europe.

CASAMID® 874 by Thomas Swan is a general purpose, alcohol-soluble polyamide resin. It forms a cohesive, durable film upon solvent evaporation. It offers high blocking resistance and water resistance, making it ideal for packaging requiring moisture protection.

• It provides enhanced gelation resistance, ensuring stable formulations and preventing premature thickening.
• It has excellent solvent compatibility, allowing flexible ink formulations while maintaining strong adhesion.
• It requires less nitrocellulose than conventional resins, simplifying formulations and reducing costs.
• It is broadly compatible with alcohol-based solvents and ink additives, enabling easy formulation adjustments.
• CASAMID® 874 improves pigment dispersion for vibrant and consistent color development.
• The amide groups interact with the substrate and pigments, enhancing gloss and abrasion resistance, making them ideal for flexible packaging and printing applications.
• It delivers excellent print quality, superior adhesion, and strong resistance in flexographic inks and lacquers.
• It is used in laminating inks for multi-layer packaging applications due to its high bond strength and flexibility.
• It is optimized for overprint varnishes, providing smooth coverage.
• It ensures reliable performance in both industrial and packaging coating applications.
• It has a shelf life of 12 months.

CASAMID® 831 by Thomas Swan is a thermoplastic, non-reactive co-solvent polyamide resin. It offers good lay, while exhibiting limited gelation resistance and low tolerance to polar solvents.

• It delivers the highest performance in alcohol-hydrocarbon systems and also stabilizes pigment dispersion.
• It is used in flexible packaging applications such as gravure inks on OPP, PE, and PET films, providing fast drying, high adhesion, and strong color holdout.
• It offers excellent flow, anti-blocking resistance, exceptional ink transfer, strong film integrity, wetting, and solvent release for inks such as flexographic inks.
• CASAMID® 831 is used in publication and graphics applications, including inks for catalogues, labels, and decorative film prints, ensuring smooth laydown and sharp definition.
• It is also used in industrial coatings, including polyamide-modified nitrocellulose lacquers or phenolic blends, to enhance hardness and flexibility.
• It is used in overprint varnishes as topcoats for printed films, providing mechanical protection along with high gloss, and clarity in clear lacquer systems.
• It is compliant with FDA 175.320 guidelines.
• It has a shelf life of 12 months.

CASAMID® 843W by Thomas Swan is an alcohol-reducible thermoplastic polyamide resin modified with wax. It combines the features of both alcohol-soluble and alcohol-reducible polyamides.

• It provides broad solvent compatibility.
• It has low static and dynamic coefficients of friction.
• Its excellent gelation resistance offers high-speed printing and improved ink transfer.
• CASAMID® 843W has very low odor, suitable for indirect food contact and hygiene-sensitive sectors.
• It has a thermoplastic nature that aids in fast drying and re-solubility during multi-pass printing.
• It improves print clarity and scuff resistance in flexographic and gravure surface inks, especially on polyethylene and BOPP.
• It enhances slip, anti-blocking, and rub resistance in overprint varnishes and lacquers used for flexible packaging.
• It ensures odor neutrality and a smooth finish in personal care packaging for sensitive applications.
• It provides reliable release properties in cold-seal and release lacquers without additional modifiers.
• It is optimal for achieving smooth coating flow and excellent film formation in specialty coatings for films.
• For enhanced surface properties, it can be blended with 5–10% standard polyamides or nitrocellulose systems.
• It is recommended to use 15–30% resin solids in the total formulation for inks and overprint varnishes.
• It has a shelf life of 12 months.

CASAMID® 1752 by Thomas Swan is a high-performance co-solvent polyamide resin. It is designed for ink and coating systems, offering excellent compatibility with various alcohols and esters.

• It can be blended with nitrocellulose or other film formers to improve mechanical strength and chemical resistance.
• It provides high heat resistance and melt viscosity, ensuring long-lasting performance.
• It enhances substrate wetting and flow, resulting in uniform and high-quality printing.
• It offers optimized gel recovery, controlled adhesion, and clean release in cold-seal release lacquers during high-speed packaging.
• It is a high viscosity resin similar to CASAMID® 831 but has a slightly lower gel recovery temperature.
• It ensures excellent adhesion in flexible packaging inks for both reverse and surface print on various substrates including treated films and foils.
• CASAMID® 1752 enhances packaging integrity and performance under thermal stress in heat-seal coatings.
• The polyamide matrix builds a flexible and tack-free dry film that adheres well to various treated plastic films.
• It acts as a thermoplastic film-forming binder that enhances cohesion and gloss.
• It prevents sticking during storage and transport in specialty coatings.
• It is also recommended for flexographic printing formulations, requiring anti-blocking and gelation resistance.
• It is optimized for overprint varnishes, providing smooth coverage.
• It has a shelf life of 12 months.