Overcoming the daily challenges of pigmented ink printing

Using pigmented ink in printers, especially ‘white ink’, often presents daily challenges compared to standard dye-based ink printers that result in more downtime. These challenges often include more frequent servicing and daily cleaning.

But why?

Because pigment isn't naturally soluble in the solvent, there is often:

• Reduced contrast
• Blocked filters, pipes and nozzles
• Broken pumps and valves
• Settling and clumping leading to poor print

Using pigmented ink offers some benefits as well.

Dyes filter light and make the ink darker while pigments reflect light and make the ink lighter. This makes pigmented inks perfect for dark substrates like cables, pipes, bottles, electronic chips and automotive parts, which often tend to be black or darker in color.

The extremely high color fastness of pigmented inks ensure the color is retained for a long period of time. Pigmented inks also offer very high adhesion.

Certain design features of a pigmented ink printer can minimize the challenges and ensure high print quality. A key area to consider when selecting a printer is whether the printer limits pigment settling.

Features to look for include the following:

• Emptying and flushing of pipes and filters: If the pipes are properly cleared when not in use, it eliminates the risk of ink and sediment settling in the pipes and causing a blockage.
• Does the printer:
  • Empty feed lines and pipes on shutdown? Emptying the filter on shutdown prevents sedimentation into the filter while the printer is not in use.
  • Flush the gutter pipes during starts and stops?
  • Tolerate some ink and sediment settling?

• Adaptive solvent usage: Choosing a printer that has advanced adaptive solvent usage ensures the ink is always at the correct thickness for maximum opacity while ensuring the ink isn’t too thick and at risk of clogging. Look for a machine that automatically adds more solvent if the ink is thick and adds less if the ink is thin.
  
• Enhanced filtration: The quality of filtration is critical to ensure any particles are picked up and filtered out before reaching the print head. The better the filtration technology, the lower the risk of blockages. 
• Sediment mixing and holiday shutdowns: Can the pigmented ink printer easily redisperse the settled pigment on startup after holiday shutdown periods without the need to flush the printer? Look for a coder where the sediment is continuously mixed within the ink so that the ink opacity stays strong and no sedimentation occurs.
• Ease of use: Consider the ease of use of the machine, the ease and speed of message creation and the message options to suit your individual coding need. Look for a printer with easy user interface, intuitive touchscreen and a range of different message options.

INTRODUCING THE LINX 8940 SPECTRUM

The revolutionary Linx 8940 Spectrum pigmented ink printer has been designed with patent-pending technology to ensure it includes all the above critical features for maximum reliability when marking with white inks, resulting in longer service intervals, less cleaning and more uptime.

The Linx 8940 Spectrum makes traditionally cumbersome hard-pigmented marking simpler and more reliable. The problems typically faced with pigmented inks from alternative printer suppliers or from our previous generation have been tackled and addressed with the innovative and market-leading Linx 8940 Spectrum printer.

With the Linx 8940 Spectrum, printing highly visible codes for dark glass or plastic bottles, wires, cables and extruded products with reliability and without daily maintenance has never been more achievable.