Preparation and Application of Polyvinyl Alcohol Based UV Curable Flexographic Printing Ink

A. A. Salisu, H. Abba, M. S. Inuwa

Polyvinyl alcohol was utilized as a single sole binder in the formulation of water based UV curable flexographic printing inks. Six different formulation composition containing 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 8% and 10% polyvinyl alcohol were prepared using 1-(4-nitrophenyl)azo-2-naphthol as pigment and potassium dichromate as a cross linking agent. The formulations prepared were characterized for viscosity and FT-IR before being printed on different substrates. The integrity and pigment particle distribution of the ink film formed were assessed by optical microscopy, the print quality and fastness properties were found to meet most requirements in colour printing chemistry and technology applications.