Inks and Paints
Detect oversize particles in inks and paints using the AccuSizer® SPOS system.
The particle size of pigments used in inks and paints is an important physical characteristic that affects both appearance and functionality. This is particularly true for inks used in inkjet cartridges where large particles could plug the jets and channels. The AccuSizer® SPOS system is a popular particle size analysis instrument for measuring the size distribution of inks. Customers with a high sample throughput often pair the AccuSizer system with the Autosampler for automated analysis.
Featured Application Note
Featured Application Note
Featured Application Note
Inkjet Ink Filtration Tests
Inkjet inks are made of colloidally stable pigments. For proper deposition onto paper the ink must successfully traverse microtubing within the ink cartridge. When these colloids become unstable and agglomerate or coalesce the tubing clogs and the cartridge fails to deposit ink. To combat this issue ink manufacturers have investigated filtering the ink as a last step before packaging in the hopes of decreasing the concentration of oversized particles within the printing cartridge.
SPOS technology for Inkjet Ink Filtration Tests
With SPOS technology it is possible to determine the concentration of oversized particles within an ink sample. Figure A shows an overlay of SPOS results for a filtered and unfiltered ink sample. The filtered sample shows a significant decrease in the concentration of particles >0.5 µm. With this data the manufacturer was able adjust processing to optimize functionality of the ink jet cartridges.
Figure A