Luminous Printing Ink Mixing Method and Direction for Use

These are the guidelines to making photoluminescent printing ink. Your application may require some adjustments to the technical material below. Mix the photoluminescent pigment into clear vehicles. Any other pigment in the medium will obscure the luminosity. Such photoluminescent printing ink is suitable for many surfaces such as paper, textile, wood, plastic, metal, ceramic, etc. The PL printing ink comprises PL pigment, organic resin, organic solvent and solvent assistant.
How to make photoluminescent printing ink:
1. The choice of resin.

(1)Apply neutral transparent resin  ( Use transparent inks with pH levels around 7). We’d better to choose the resin for uncolored or transparent.

(2) Choose different transparent oil to mix into printing ink according to different materials. For instance, to print on metal, the mixed oil for metal should be chosen; print on PVC materials, the mixed oil for PVC material should be chosen.

2. The choice of pigment.
   Regarding the particle size of pigment, your better choice is 300grid/cm2(our specification of RBBx02,RBG x02). Because the pigment should be pass the silk-screen. Furthermore, bigger particle size will result in the more rough surface.

3. The dosage of PL pigment.

Generally speaking， 20%-50% by weight is the best ratio for mixing photoluminescent pigment to a vehicle. The percentage depends on how much glow is desired, how many passes you want to make, the screen mesh size, etc. If the base is a other color than white， you may need to add more pigments to achieve desired results. If the printing ink contains more luminous powder, the radiation degree will be higher and glow time will be longer.

4. The technics of confect.
   (1) Due to the nature of the photoluminescent pigment, an anti-settling agent may be required. photoluminescent pigment is heavier than most vehicles and settling does occur. Therefore use a viscous vehicle or an anti-settling agent, always stir before printing.

(2) Do not use heavy metal compound as additive.
(3) Do not grind the photoluminescent pigment. If there is deposit, use containers with ceramic or glass inner and stir it with high speed.

(4) Due to the nature of the photolumienscent pigment, it can deposit after long time storage. Just stir it while using, the deposit will not effect the luminosity.

Notice:

(1) The photoluminescent pigment will be dissolved in water somewhat and decomposed in acid liquid, so it can not be used in water-solubility and acidity solution(except for specially remarked).

(2)The storehouse should be ventilated and dry, and the photoluminescent pigment should avoid to be affected with damp. It should be kept airproof if the photoluminescent pigment is not used totally.

(3) The afterglow brightness of photoluminescent pigment will diminish if photoluminescent pigment is gritted on the surface of the metal, so it can not touch metal. 

Using for Luminous Printing Ink:
(1) Viscosity of ink should be about 3000-5000 micro-poises. During printing, viscosity should be adjusted by using a diluting agent based on printing speed.

(2) In order to get ideal printing pattern, we can choose meshwork with less 200 grid/cm2 to make plate. If we use the meshwork of less mesh, the ink layer will be print more thick, then we can get more bright pattern. So the meshwork with 80-120 grid/cm2 is ideal.
(3) Apply a white background coat under the luminous material layer to improve afterglow. Having the glow on top of any other color will diminish the glow strength.

(4) Regarding the thickness of printing ink layer, 100 um film thickness is required to achieve the best results. If you want the maximum luminous effect use 130-150 um thickness. Sometimes more than one pass will be necessary to obtain the level of glow required, the second or more pass should wait until the last layer has dried.

(5) If screen printing clothes try to use white fabric, any other color will decrease the glow. If using a non-white fabric, place a white layer below the luminous layer for the best glowing effect.

(6) One kilogram of dry photoluminescent pigment can cover an area roughly 3.3 square meters or 12 square feet with a 150 um thick film. One gram covers approximately 25 square centimeters.