US 5,496,879 AGranted

Printing ink

AssigneeSiegwerk Druckfarben GmbH & Co. KG

InventorsRudolf Griebel, Karl A. Kocherscheid, Klaus Stammen

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Abstract

A solid or amorphous printing ink, especially a gravure printing ink, is fused to become printable in a fluidized condition. The ink is fixed on imprint material by solidification by heat extraction or cooling. The ink includes a binder-material having at least two component groups with each having at least one member, of which members of the first component group have the property to act as solvent for the members of the second group of components. The members of the first component group are solid state crystalline materials. The materials are solid at ambient temperature with a relatively low melting point. The members of the second component group are in a vitreous solid or amorphous condition at ambient temperature. These materials, especially polymers, are soluble in the molten first component group.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A printing ink consisting essentially of:

a solid solventless ink such that said ink is printable in a fused fluid condition having a ready-to-print viscosity for a gravure printing method after addition of heat, and said ink being solidifiable by heat extraction after having been printed onto imprinting material;
said ink including an optional colorant and a binding agent having at least two component groups, each component group including at least one member, said members of the first component group having solvent character for said members of the second component group;
wherein said members of the first component group are present as solid phase crystaline materials at ambient temperatures;
wherein said members of the second component group which are polymers are present as viterous, amorphous materials in solid phase at ambient temperature, which are soluble in said molten members of the first component group, and precipitate at a temperature above the melting point of the members of the first component group;
and
wherein upon heat extraction, the members of the first component group are dissolved as a solid solution in the members of the second component group when these are precipitating from the fused fluid condition.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.