Coating ingredients for Gravure 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.

MARNEX™ AH448 by Macroocean is a high molecular weight, saturated linear polyester resin. It shows excellent adhesive strength to steel, aluminum foil, PET or PVC films. Also, better adhesion and film strength can be achieved while cross-linked with melamine or blocked isocyanate curing agents. This grade offers heat seal properties, flexibility, good processibility and no sticky problem during transportation. It can be dissolved in ketone, ether or esters type of solvents, such as isophorone, acetone, MEK, CYC, DBE & EA. And it is usually dissolved with aromatic solvents, such as 100# & 150#. MARNEX™ AH448 is recommended for interior can coating and screen printing & gravure inks. It complies with FDA 175.300 (only for non-alcoholic goods) and 175.105. The shelf life of this product is 24 months.

MONARCH® 280 distributed by DKSH is a high structure, general purpose, low color carbon black. As a fluffy product, it is a versatile and an easy to disperse carbon black that can be used to replace lamp blacks.

• It can be easily dispersed using a high-speed disperser for liquid coatings or a single screw extruder for powder coatings.
• It is also suitable for underbody/ underhood automotive coatings and general industrial coatings where high jetness is not required.
• It offers blue undertone, excellent hold out and excellent dispersability.
• It is suitable for a variety of tinting applications.
• It is particularly suitable for lithographic and gravure printing where a matte finish is required.
• MONARCH® 280 is available in Belgium, Luxembourg, Myanmar, and Netherlands.

Bentone SD® -2 by Elementis acts as a rheological additive for moderate to high polarity solvents ketones, esters, glycol ethers and alcohols, including polar systems with some aromatic solvents. It is an organic derivative of a bentonite clay.

• It provides stable viscosity build, controls sag and pigment settling.
• It offers easy incorporation and eliminates need for pregel and chemical activator.
• It is a cost-effective replacement for conventional organoclay additives.
• It can be added as a powder to the millbase either before or after the pigment dispersion or during letdown.
• It disperses very easily, even under low shear conditions.
• Bentone SD® -2 is suitable for anti-corrosion paints, automotive finishes/primers, foundry paints, gravure printing inks, industrial finishes, inorganic zinc-rich coatings, maintenance coatings, NC lacquers/inks, vinyl paints.
• Recommended dosage level is 0.2-1%.
• It has a shelf life of 4 years.

MARNEX™ AH651 by Macroocean is a high molecular weight, saturated linear polyester resin. It shows excellent adhesive strength to steel and PET or PVC films. It offers heat seal properties, excellent pigment wetting and heat resistance. Also, offers better flexibility and adhesion is available while using with low Tg types of resin, such as MARNEX™ AL171 and MARNEX™ AL072. It can be dissolved in ketone, ether or esters type of solvents, such as isophorone, acetone, MEK, CYC, DBE & EA. And it is usually dissolved with aromatic solvents, such as 100# & 150#. MARNEX™ AH651 is used in coil coatings and gravure & screen printing inks. It complies with FDA 175.300 (only for non-alcoholic goods) and 175.105. The shelf life of this product is 24 months.

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® 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.