Although the product worked, the low demand and the limitations of commercial application were found in the non-commercialization of these inks in the USA. Other developments, carried out by the University of Rhode Island, have allowed the industry’s application of thermochromic polymers for food packaging due to their migration to non-food.
There are many types of smart inks described below UV Inks for Sale, but keep in mind that even today their main application is security printing, currency, stamping, and documentation.
Smart ink type
An intelligent ink is one that reacts after printing by presenting a change in some of its properties as a consequence of the variation of some characteristic of the surrounding environment.
We can list smart inks, depending on the variable property it presents.
Type 1
Are those that change color as a result of the variation of an external phenomenon? These inks can be divided into three types depending on the external phenomenon that causes the color variation.
Thermochromic inks AM.CO.ZA: those that change color due to temperature variation. This change can be reversible or irreversible. The color change occurs within a specific temperature range.
Electrochromic inks: those inks that have the ability to vary their absorption spectrum and are reversibly colored by applying an electrical impulse.
Photochromic inks: those inks that change color reversibly by varying the type of illuminant.
Type 2
They are those inks that are capable of emitting light of a different nature, as a consequence of an external phenomenon.
Electroluminescent inks: those that produce light when a potential difference is applied to them.
Fluorescent inks: inks are those that have the ability to emit light when nanoseconds are excited during their electrons to a higher energy state UV inks. The phenomenon of fluorescence therefore requires that a continuous source of excitation be continuously observed.
Phosphorescent inks: those inks that produce visible or invisible light, as a result of a small wavelength of incident light, detectable after the excitation source is removed.
Type 3: optically variable inks
Are those inks that change color depending on the viewing angle? You can even go from invisible to visible with glitter effect. Depending on the type and size of the particle used; it is possible to get different kinds of effects.
Type 4- magnetic inks
Do they have the ability to store encoded information?
Type 5- Biologically active inks
They are those that detect a microorganism as a consequence of a chemical reaction caused by a change in environmental conditions. This reaction produces a color change in the ink.
There have been some of the smartest inks on the market. With the exception of conductive and magnetic inks, they all show observable changes at a glance.
The inks described above have been selected for this article, the advanced properties presented and the possibility of integration in conventional printed product. It should be mentioned that there are many other inks with advanced properties that may also be of interest, such as scent and texture inks.
Smart inks on the market
The commercialization of these inks is carried out in the field of graphic arts, so possibly our usual supplier can inform us of different options for our printing.
While it is true that, to this day, it has not yet been possible to develop all smart or functional UV Ink Convert for all conventional printing technologies.
The reasons that have not been developed are listed below:
No interesting application found for the graphic arts industry.
There is no demand for these inks to drive your research and development for different printing technologies.
The cost of the inks is high compared to conventional inks.
Among them, most of the inks accepted in the market for their level of development or their similarity with conventional inks in their rheological properties and their application are related are UV Ink Cleaner:
Optically variable inks, where the final appearance of the printed ink depends on the particle size; so that depending on the printing technology the effect will be appreciated more or less. It is always possible to print with these inks, just to consider if the effect to be obtained is feasible due to our print quality.
Thermochromic inks, still under development to provide greater chromaticity when colored, and improve fading accuracy. These inks are for all printing technologies, although the supplier should inquire about the changes.