Inkjet Ink Characterisation

Viscosity, dispersions, jetting & surfaces

Wednesday 24 - Thursday 25 January 2024

Hotel Primus Valencia, 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.

COURSE OUTLINE

WedNESday 24 January 2024

08:00 – 09:00 Registration

09:00 Course begins

Jetting and print quality analysis
Jochen Christiaens, 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 - 13:30 Lunch Break

13:30 Session begins

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

Optimising ink rheology for printing applications
Torsten Remmler, Netzsch

  • 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

17:00 Session ends

17:00 - 18:00 Reception

Join us for beers, wines and good company!

Thursday 25 January 2024

09:00 Session begins

Monitoring and controlling pigment particle size 
Dr Francisco J. López, IESMAT

  • 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 Francisco J. López, IESMAT

  • 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 Francisco J. López, IESMAT

  • 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 Course ends

COURSE LEADERS

Jochen Christiaens, Regional Manager Europe
ImageXpert, Germany

Jochen Christiaens has over 20 years of product and business development experience in the inkjet industry on a worldwide level. His experience is in translating his print process understanding into product development for a wide range of application fields, including large format printing, industrial print on glass, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, banknotes and security printing.  

In his previous role at Zeller + Gmelin he laid the foundation of the new Strategic Business Unit “Digital Printing” and steered the implementation of project management workflows. As Regional Manager Europe, Jochen represents ImageXpert in all technical sales, strategic business development and technical support activities.

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.

Torsten Remmler, Sales and Applications Rheometry
NETZSCH, Spain

Torsten Remmler is an application and sales specialist for the rheometry product line at NETZSCH. He studied physics at the University Of Leipzig, Germany and has been working with rheology and supporting customers for over 25 years. Torsten specialises in a vast range of application areas, including inks, paints and coatings, foods and pharmaceuticals in addition to adhesives, asphalts and battery slurries.

Dr Francisco J. López, Product Manager
IESMAT, Spain

Francisco is the product manager of ex-Malvern products in Spain. He has worked at IESMAT since 2014, where he started as an application specialist for particle size and separations techniques. He is an environmental scientist and his PhD was focused in developing and using green self-assembled supramolecular systems in analytical chemistry.

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