Coating ingredients for Flexographic Inks

VISCOPOL™ 6191 by allnex is a low-foaming, fast-drying and anionic styrene acrylic copolymer emulsion. It exhibits excellent water and grease-resistance, excellent gloss and adhesion properties and has excellent mechanical shear stability. It also shows excellent pigment wetting and good block resistance coupled with wide solvent tolerance. VISCOPOL™ 6191 is particularly recommended for use in water-based flexographic & gravure printing inks, overprint lacquers and paper & board-coating applications. It is also highly recommended for use in the formulation of anti-corrosive metal primers. It has a shelf life of 12 months.

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.

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.

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® 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® 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.

BLACK PEARLS® 570 distributed by DKSH is a high structure general-purpose black pigment. It possesses better jetness with good dispersibility. It exhibits high color intensity with excellent dispersability.

• It is suitable for aqueous newspaper printing inks, flexographic inks, decorative-, industrial-, building products-, powder coatings and leather dispersions applications.
• BLACK PEARLS® 570 is available in Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Myanmar.

EBECRYL® 367 by allnex is a low VOC, solvent-free polyester acrylate designed to be used at additive levels in UV/EB inks and coatings to improve adhesion onto plastic substrates.

• It is bisphenol A (BPA)-, tin- free grade and offers low viscosity and low acidity.
• It exhibits low migration, long pot life, low color for clearcoat, faster cycle time, lower energy consumption and low flammability.
• It is suitable for use in radiation curable coating compositions, white flexographic inks, paints and overprint varnishes.
• It may be applied by flexography, inkjet and gravure, direct and reverse roll.
• The typical addition level is 10% by weight or more.
• The shelf life of EBECRYL® 367 is 6 months.

CASAMID® 872 by Thomas Swan is a medium-viscosity, alcohol-soluble polyamide resin. It is highly compatible with nitrocellulose, supporting flexible formulation adjustments for a wide range of solvent-based ink systems.

• It has lower water resistance than CASAMID® 873, 874, and 876, but its strong anti-blocking properties make it ideal for inks where preventing layer adhesion is critical.
• It offers balanced flow, good abrasion resistance and optimal film formation.
• It features a low odor profile, ideal for packaging applications.
• CASAMID® 872 provides excellent gelation resistance, minimizing storage and application issues.
• It provides smooth and uniform ink flow, excellent adhesion, and consistent print quality in flexographic printing.
• It delivers a durable, protective finish in lacquers and coatings.
• It enhances the gloss and protective qualities of overprint varnishes without compromising the ink performance.
• It has a shelf life of 12 months.

CASAMID® 879 by Thomas Swan is a general purpose, alcohol soluble thermoplastic polyamide resin. It enhances ink and coating performance by forming a strong, durable film upon solvent evaporation. It is optimized for high-speed printing with fast drying times, enabling higher press speeds and increased productivity.

• It provides uniform ink coverage, reducing defects and improving print consistency.
• It delivers excellent press performance through good flow, minimizing downtime and maintenance.
• It offers outstanding gelation resistance, preventing premature thickening during storage and use.
• It ensures exceptional water resistance for durability in humid or moisture-prone environments.
• CASAMID® 879 is recommended for lacquer formulations featuring strong anti-blocking properties.
• It prevents ink layers from sticking together.
• It offers smooth coverage, and superior adhesion for flexographic packaging applications.
• It is used in laminating inks for multi-layer packaging applications due to its high bond strength.
• It is used in overprint varnish enhancing gloss, abrasion resistance, and overall print quality.
• It has a shelf-life of 12 months.