Inkjet Ink Characterisation

Viscosity, dispersions, jetting & surfaces

Wednesday 29 - Thursday 30 January 2025

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 29 January 2025

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 30 January 2025

09:00 Session begins

Evaluating and improving dispersion stability
Daniel Scholz, DataPhysics

  • Destabilisation mechanisms

    • Local changes (e.g. sedimentation)

    • Global changes (e.g. agglomeration)

  • Technical measurement approach

  • Mie Theory in concentrated systems

  • Particle size characterisation and use of different wavelength

  • 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, Director of Product and Business Strategy
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. Since 2024 he is Director of Product and Business Strategy at KRÜSS.

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.

Daniel Scholz, Head of Global Sales
DataPhysics, Germany

Daniel Scholz is the Head of Global Sales at DataPhysics Instruments. With over ten years of experience in application and sales, he is an expert for measurement technology in surface/interfacial science as well as stability analysis. Daniel studied biophysics at the Technical University Kaiserslautern, Germany, and the University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom.

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