Ink mixing is a basic but very essential stage in producing a quality
image on a wide range of materials and formats. If done incorrectly, the whole
printing operation can be inefficient, inaccurate and a waste of time and
resources. Colour is very important and emotive in our daily lives as well as a
powerful tool for business. The way that colour is displayed on printed
material can dramatically improve productivity, communication and enjoyment. In
this blog you can read an ‘all- you-need-to-know’ guide about the manufacture
of inks and their mixing process.
Ink Production
At its most basic, ink is a liquid or paste that is used to colour a
surface to create a design, text or image. It can be a deceptively complex
medium, especially in the modern age, and its ingredients can serve lots of
different purposes. Dye and pigment are the foundation stones on which ink is
built. Dyes are soluble when combined with something like ink to create a
colour through its properties. Pigments are created both organically and
artificially, are insoluble unlike dyes,
and aren’t changed by the chemicals they are being mixed with. Coloured inks
often contain petroleum distillate solvent, soybean oil, linseed oil, and
another sort of organic pigment.
Black
ink on the other hand commonly uses titanium dioxide and a carbon black to get
its tone. Both of these types of ink are also supplemented by oils, wax and a
drying ingredient to help with the printing process. If the drying agent is
alcohol, evaporation will cause the ink to dry. With linseed oil as a base, the
ink will dry via air oxidation.
The process of ink manufacture involves dissolving the dye into the
ink, followed by adding the particular pigment after it has been ground up.
This grinding stops the pigment separating into pockets or settling at the
bottom of the vessel. The exact proportion and mixture of the pigments and dyes
combined with other additives depends on the purpose of the ink in the pigment
dispersion process. After this mixture is complete, the pigment and dye
solution will be blended with water, linseed oil or alcohol contingent on later
chemical additions or the purpose of the ink.
Once this stage is complete, all the substances are placed into a hot
container until the different ingredients are properly dispersed and the
solution is in a fine liquid form. To aid this process some makers of ink
strain the ink mixture through a filter to ensure that there is no sediment
left. Any sediment left during this process threatens to interfere with the
rest of the printing process when the ink is eventually used.
What Different
Colours Can Be Made By Colour Mixing?
Undecided which colour to choose? That’s understandable - with ink the
sky's the limit! Inks are great because they can be blended in a multitude of
different shades and tones to perfectly fit the object. When you are deciding
to mix various inks to produce your ideal shade you have two options: formula
or no formula.
No Formula Ink
Mixing
If you decide to not use a formula, you can still get a great colour.
This can be done by using a couple of base colours and a combination of black
and white. There are some basic colour rules that you can follow to easily mix
the ink into the approximate shade that you require.
In the RGB colour model you have red, green and blue. Mixing these
colours makes new colours (known as additive colours) as shown on its colour
wheel. These are the primary colours and as such, when all three are added
together, white is created. This is generally used on electronic devices. When
you mix using paint however, you instead use a subtractive colour method. If
you subtract the original colours from white you get cyan (blue), magenta (red)
and yellow. The mixing of these three colours produces black, and when these
colours are gradually mixed, they tend to get darker as you would expect. This
is the CMYK colour system and this is the one employed during printing. With a
handy list of basic colour combinations you’ll be sorted.
Ink Mixing With A
Formula
Artists and printers have been mixing inks for hundreds and hundreds
of years and have you used many differing colour systems. Today however, the
most commonly use system is called the Pantone Matching System. With this
system there is a basic set of 13 base colours and black and white. By
utilising this system you can create up to a standard 1,667 colours - surely
enough to pick from! You can get your Pantone formula guide
from Pantone
or from a printing or ink business. When you choose a Pantone colour you mix
three base colours by adding a certain proportion of parts as listed.
As mentioned previously, CMYK is another colour system in use. This
cyan, magenta, yellow and black method using just four basic colours and are
employed in the production of paper based products like newspapers and
magazines. Combined on occasion with orange and green, these four base colours
can give the impression of complete full colour on printed materials.
How To Mix Inks
Mixing inks can be a messy process so it is a good idea to prepare a
reasonable sized area while covering anything important to prevent potential
stains. A flat surface that is clean and free from matter is a must, as is
somewhere that is well lit. A table made from metal, glass or stone is an
excellent surface to use, but a glass plate on white card is considered the
optimal choice.
Equip yourself with multiple ink knives, spatulas and containers for
any mixed ink. You also need a scale to help you with mixing the different
particular proportions of the ink. If you are working from a formula it doesn't
matter what order you mix the different colours, but it is often best to start
the mixing process with the lighter colours and then go darker. This is because
dark colours can very speedily overpower lighter tones. If you are unused to
mixing then you should take especial time and care with the proportions. When
mixing the ink try and use the normal ink rather than the ‘ink skin’ that
sometimes forms at the top of containers. Try your best not to disturb the ink
too much when doing this as exposure to air can affect its quality.
As with all paint use you should ensure that there is a decent amount
of ventilation for health reasons, especially when cleaning the mixing surface
and your tools.
Centre Colours
If you are looking for a company that is an expert in all things ink -
get in contact with Centre Colours! Regardless of what type of company you are,
we at Centre Colours can offer you years of expertise, skills and a reputation
in paint. Our inks are renowned throughout the sector and we cater for our
customer’s bespoke needs in paint, coating, colour and much, much more. There
isn’t a member of staff on our team that isn't highly trained, experienced and
a complete know-it-all when it comes to the painting and coatings industry.
Centre Colours is a Leeds based pigment dispersion company that is proud to
offer only the best in service to the great county of Yorkshire and beyond. We
have a vast selection of different customers covering a range of different
sectors and sizes. Feel free to read more about our services on our website
and get in touch with us on
01977 685 458 or contact us via email on info@centrecolours.co.uk
for more information.
