Ink manufacturing
Across the printing industry, dynamic ink colors and special visual effects make products, packages and labels really stand out. Some inks are specially made to simulate metallic luster, some are very bright, others are scuff or chemical-resistant. And depending on the printing process employed, inks can be stiff and strong in color (e.g., litho), very fluid (e.g., gravure and flexo) or even paint-like in consistency (e.g., screen). But no matter the application, it's usually BASF products that make these inks perform.
BASF special effect pigments provide depth, luster and dramatic visual effects to a wide variety of inks. Mearlin® mica-based pigments, for example, impart a range of lusters, from soft satin to brilliant sparkle, to gravure and flexographic printing inks, while Mearlite® pigments are ideal for sheetfed offset printing, web-heatset printing and metal decorating. These special effect pigment lines can bring life and vibrancy to screened pieces as well.
From a color perspective, BASF is known for quality control and color consistency from batch to batch. In fact, BASF Synergy™ and other color pigments deliver vibrancy, opacity, transparency, excellent lightfastness and economy. BASF rubine reds 57 and 52, for example, are used extensively in printing inks as good-quality, blue-shade reds. These cost-effective pigments provide high tint strength, brightness, lightfastness, very good bleed resistance and dispersion properties, as well as some heat resistance at an economical selling price.
BASF performance minerals are used to improve and/or maintain ink performance at competitive cost and to extend higher-cost pigments. For example, Ultrex® 96 extender pigment provides high opacity, exceptional tint strength and ultrahigh brightness for improved ink color. And BASF ASP® products are used to improve color development and printability, prevent strikethrough and reduce costs, while Attagel® specialty additives are used as thixotropic agents for reducing "misting." For gravure, lithographic, news inks, web offsets, flexographic and screen inks, BASF has a product for improving both cost and performance.