Low Shear Viscosity of Publication Gravure Inks and Its Implications

Transfer of publication gravure inks takes place in the low shear region of 0.01 - 300.0 sec-1. Comparative studies of inks show that pseudo-plastic flow in this region, without excessive solvent evaporation, can greatly improve transfer which is evident in a more faithful dot reproduction. This is especially true for the mid to light tones. Photo-micrographs and viscosity studies on the Haake RV100/CV100 Viscometer show this to be the case.