This guide explores selecting water-based inks for exercise book ruling. For high-speed paper ruling and exercise book machines, it emphasizes fast-drying formulas. Maintaining proper viscosity and high pigment loads ensures crisp, consistent lines while maximizing your factory's production efficiency and ROI.
In high-speed stationery production, your ink choice dictates your maximum output. For machines like our AFPS-1040 High Speed Paper Ruling Machine and AFPS-1020 Fully Automatic Exercise Book Machine, which feature an integrated 2+2 color flexographic printing unit, choosing the right ink is vital for maintaining speed and clarity.
This guide covers the fundamentals of selecting flexographic inks specifically for paper ruling.
1. Powder Mix vs. Ready-to-Use Water-Based Ink
When setting up your production line, you need to choose between mixing your own ink from powder or buying a professional ready-to-use liquid.
Powder Mix (Pigment Powder): While the initial cost of powder is lower and it is cheaper to ship, it requires manual mixing with water and additives. If not mixed with industrial high-shear equipment, undissolved particles can clog anilox rollers and cause uneven ruling lines.
Ready-to-Use Water-Based Ink: These inks are chemically stabilized and filtered to ensure they are homogenized, meaning they won't settle or clump during high-speed runs.
For fully automatic lines, ready-to-use ink is highly recommended to avoid clogging and downtime.
2. Viscosity: The Key to Sharp Lines
Viscosity is the measure of the ink's resistance to flow.
The Balance: If the ink is too thick (high viscosity), it won't transfer smoothly from the anilox roller to the rubber plate, leading to patchy lines. If it’s too thin, the lines may "bleed" or spread.
3. Precision and Pigmentation
High Pigment Load: This allows you to print thinner layers while maintaining vibrant "Ruling Blue" or "Grey" lines.
Thinner layers dry faster, supporting higher machine speeds.
Which Ink Strategy Fits Your Machine?
Get the Right Ink for Your High-Speed Success
Achieving top-tier production speed requires the perfect synergy between machinery and chemistry. If you would like to source high-quality ink specifically formulated to support high-speed machine runs, Cheung Wo Hing (CWH) is here to help, welcome to contact us today for professional advice on ink sourcing and technical support.
