Inkjet Ink Characterisation

Viscosity, dispersions, jetting & surfaces

Wednesday 23 - Thursday 24 January 2019

SH Valencia Palace Hotel, Valencia, Spain

COURSE FOCUS

Development of high quality inks and fluids for inkjet applications requires state-of-the-art characterisation equipment and techniques. From fundamental ink properties such as viscosity and surface tension, which have a crucial impact on jetting performance, through analysis of particulates dispersed within the ink, understanding these properties is key to getting the best out of an ink development project. In addition, it is vital to understand how the developed ink actually behaves, both on ejection from the printhead and when landing onto the substrate of choice.

The Inkjet Ink Characterisation course gives an excellent introduction to these essential areas of study, presented by industry experts from leading suppliers and institutions in the field. The course will give you the basic foundations as well as a more detailed understanding of the vital equipment and techniques.

Live Demonstrations

As part of the course, there will be demonstrations using a JetXpert drop visualisation system - your chance to see the system in action.

COURSE OUTLINE

Wednesday 23 January

08:00 - 09:00 Registration

09:00 Course begins

Monitoring and controlling pigment particle size 
Dr Sarennah Longworth-Cook, Malvern Panalytical

  • Understanding the links between particle size and ink performance

  • Overview of light scattering techniques for measuring particle size

  • Pros and cons of different measurement techniques and approaches

  • Practical examples 

Evaluating and improving dispersion stability 
Dr Shona Murphy, Malvern Panalytical

  • Understanding stability mechanisms for ink dispersions 

  • Factors controlling stability – particle size, steric effects, zeta potential and viscosity

  • How to make stable dispersions – selecting the right approach for your ink

  • Practical examples

Assessing the impact of polymer structure on ink performance 
Dr Stefan Cairns, Malvern Panalytical

  • Understanding the role of polymers for inkjet applications

  • Correlating polymer properties with polymer solution behaviour including viscosity

  • Measuring molecular weight, molecular structure and intrinsic viscosity

  • Practical examples

12:30 - 13:30 Lunch

13:30 Session begins

Optimising ink rheology for printing applications
Dr Shona Murphy, Malvern Panalytical

  • Understanding the importance of fluid rheology for inkjet printing

  • Basic rheology theory - viscosity and viscoelasticity

  • Rheological test methods for inkjet inks and processes

  • Practical examples

Basic property measurements - surface tension
Dr Thomas Willers, Krüss

  • Surface tension - introduction

  • Relevance to droplet formation and spreading in inkjet printing

  • Interplay of surface tension and viscosity in drop formation

  • Impacts on wetting

  • How to optimise ink-substrate adhesion and spreading

  • Interfacial rheology and its relevance to drying

  • Theories and methods of measurement - compared and contrasted

  • Application examples from inkjet industry

17:00 Session ends

18:00 - 19:00 Reception

Join us for beers, wines and good company!

Thursday 24 January

09:00 Session begins

Jetting and print quality analysis
Kyle Pucci, ImageXpert

  • Introduction to drop analysis

  • How is in-flight analysis used?

    • Drop formation

    • Reliability

    • Misting

    • Nozzle-to-nozzle consistency

    • Drop measurement

  • Simple application examples

  • Overview of techniques

  • Fundamental measurements

  • Practical demonstration

  • Introduction to print quality analysis

  • How is print quality analysis used?

    • Dot properties

    • Line properties

    • Solid area quality

    • Colour registration

    • Ink interaction

  • Overview of techniques

  • Practical examples

12:30 Course ends

 

 

 

COURSE LEADERS

Dr Sarennah Longworth-Cook, Product Technical Specialist - Laser Diffraction
Malvern Panalytical, UK
Sarennah Longworth-Cook has a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Cambridge. After graduation, she spent 9 years working in particle characterisation labs for multinational manufacturers of fine chemicals, catalysts and foods. She has experience in a wide range of analytical techniques, including electron microscopy, surface science, electron and X-ray spectroscopies, and particle size analysis. Sarennah joined Malvern Panalytical in June 2014 in the role of Product Technical Specialist – Laser Diffraction. She provides high-level technical support across the business, to users, product management, marketing and sales functions. Her main focus is ensuring users are empowered to make high quality, meaningful measurements of particle size. Sarennah’s favourite application is chocolate.  

Dr Shona Murphy, Product Technical Specialist – Rheology
Malvern Panalytical, UK

Shona is a Product Technical Specialist for Malvern’s rheometry products based in the UK headquarters. She has completed a PhD in Polymer Science from the University of Birmingham studying the rheological characterisation of the influence of supercritical carbon dioxide on polymer reptation time. Shona is dedicated to helping our customers make high quality and meaningful rheological measurements. 

Dr Stefan Cairns, Product Technical Specialist – Separations 
Malvern Panalytical, UK

Dr Stefan Cairns is a Product Technical Specialist for GPC/SEC at Malvern Panalytical. He completed a PhD at the University of Edinburgh, specialising in ring opening polymerisation, where he became an expert in monomer, polymer and catalyst synthesis, and characterisation. He has a first has a first-class honours degree in Chemistry from University College Dublin and previous industrial experience working at Akzo Nobel.

Dr Thomas Willers, Head of Applications & Science
KRÜSS, Germany

Dr Thomas Willers studied physics in Cologne and Barcelona. He received his PhD degree in experimental physics at the University of Cologne. In 2012 he joined KRÜSS GmbH at its headquarters in Hamburg where he is now head of the department for Applications & Science. He is responsible for the KRÜSS Application Labs as well as teaching activities and now has more than five years’ experience in teaching surface science.

Kyle Pucci, Applications Engineering Manager
ImageXpert, USA

Kyle is Applications Engineering Manager at ImageXpert Inc. and lives in Nashua, NH USA. He graduated in 2014 from Villanova University with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. He specialises in integrating controllers and hardware with the JetXpert dropwatcher and offering support, installation, and training.

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