Ink viscosity and drying performance are particularly sensitive to changes in environmental temperature. When the temperature rises, the ink viscosity decreases, and the drying speed relatively increases; conversely, when the temperature drops, the ink viscosity increases, and the drying speed slows down.
In addition, environmental humidity also affects the drying of ink. Generally speaking, it is appropriate to control the temperature in the printing workshop at 18~25℃ and the humidity at 55%~65%.
Methods to extend the shelf life of ink:
① The remaining ink after printing must be sealed and stored in a dark place, and can be reused in future production. It must be filtered with a screen of more than 100 meshes before reuse, and then mixed with new ink after sufficient stirring.
② In some regions of the north, the winter climate is extremely cold, and it is necessary to prevent the ink from being stored outdoors to avoid the ink from gelling at low temperatures. If the ink gels, it can be transferred to a warmer warehouse or placed in hot water to restore the insoluble substances to their original state.
③ In the storage and management of ink, the principle of "first in, first out" should also be followed, that is, the ink purchased first should be used first to prevent the ink from affecting its use due to storage for too long.
④ Ink should be sealed as much as possible to prevent dust. A large number of dust particles or various impurities may fall into the ink tank or adhere to the surface of the label material, thus affecting the printing quality.
⑤ Safety first, ink should be stored as far away from fire source and heat source as possible to prevent accidents.
⑥ The ink storehouse should maintain a constant temperature, and the temperature difference between the ink storehouse and the printing workshop should not be too great. If the temperature difference between the two is large, the ink should be placed in the printing workshop in advance, which is not only conducive to the stability of ink performance, but also ensures the high efficiency of production.
⑦ Ink also has a certain shelf life, if stored for too long, the various components in the ink formula may undergo decomposition, precipitation and other phenomena. Therefore, ink should not be kept for a long time, and the general storage period is about 1 year, otherwise it may affect the printing quality, or even cause printing faults.
