Polyurethane-polyacrylate hybrid systems for packaging inks and coatings

Abstract

Described herein are compositions suitable for use as binder components for inclusion in printing inks and coatings, such as those used in the gravure and flexographic printing process and which are printed on substrates such as polyolefin (e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). The compositions are non-aqueous dispersions in which an one or more ethylenically unsaturated acrylates or (meth)acrylates is polymerized with a polyurethane, polyurethane-urea or polyurea in a non-aqueous polymerization medium, such as esters, ketones, and mixtures thereof, forming polymeric hybrid resins in the polymerization medium, which are solvent-dispersible hybrid resins of polyurethane-polyacrylate, polyurethane-urea-polyacrylate, and polyurea-polyacrylate. Films of hybrid resins are also disclosed. These materials exhibit improved film adhesion and are suitable for flexographic and gravure printing inks, especially for printing applications where adhesive lamination bond strengths are required, especially plastic films packaging applications.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.