It doesn’t take a genius to know that quality inks are essential for newspaper printing. But ink quality is dependent upon a wide range of external factors beyond the ink manufacturers’ control — from paper quality to age of printing press. How then, can ink suppliers guarantee a consistent quality and runnability of their respective inks?

To Flint-Schmidt, precise control over the entire ink production process is the most critical element, said Kai Oppenlander, a corporate spokesman.

Michael Brinckman, head of offset applications at Siegwerk Druckfarben, goes a step further, saying ink quality begins with careful selection and constant control of raw materials used.

Similarly, Erich Frank, who oversees quality of raw materials for BASF Drucksysteme, said the company adheres to a strict quality control standard spanning the entire ink production process – from composition to finished product.

That said, ink suppliers must operate without the protection of a comprehensive industry standard that can be used to govern quality. There is one yardstick that does exist — ISO 2846-2 — that defines color and transparency. It’s a standard with which all the major ink vendors comply.

Trend towards process inks

Today, for competitive reasons, color reigns among newspapers. Few papers can afford to ignore market demands for color photos and ads; in response, most have invested huge sums of money to build modern production facilities that can support four-color printing on almost all of their pages.

The ink manufacturers’ sales figures confirm the clear trend toward color newspapers. Whereas the sales figures for black ink have stagnated or dropped in recent years, the share of color inks has increased proportionately.

Paul Casey, technical service development director for Sun Chemical Ltd. in the United Kingdom, said the market for process color volume has grown by an average of 20 percent each year.

At the same time, the demand for spot color inks has dropped. Siegwerk Druckfarben, for example, said the decrease in pure spot color inks is partly attributable to the use of mixed systems, such as those managed by Pantone.

“But there is also a growing trend towards four colors, given further impetus by installations with 4-high tower configuration,” said Siegwerk’s Brinckman.

Press influences

The transformation of printing press technologies has also influenced the composition of inks. Higher production speeds mean that inks are subjected to an increasing amount of mechanical and thermal stress. At the same time, interfacial reactions and the web’s ability to absorb the ink also contribute to how well ink performs.

“Developments in the printing press sector have a very great influence on the composition of the inks,” according to Brinckman.

Higher production speeds also mean that inks are subjected to increasing mechanical and thermal stress. In response, ink vendors are always trying to find better raw materials, said Thomas Fuß, head of offset ink applications technology at Hostmann-Steinberg.

Close cooperation

It’s no surprise then, that ink vendors work very closely with press manufacturers.

“In the final instance, ink properties must reflect the requirements of the press,” said BASF’s Frank.

Continuous changes, such as increased press speeds, mean that ink recipes must be adapted accordingly to optimize misting behavior and the ink/water balance. To that end, Siegwerk recently developed a measuring method to determine the misting tendency of inks for high-speed presses. New press concepts, meantime, such as MAN Roland’s computer-to-plate DICOweb and KBA’s waterless Cortina press, are forcing ink vendors to respond with equally new ink formulations.

“We need to be aware early in the development of new presses what the impact will be on our products, and we need to liaise with the press manufacturers and develop our products accordingly,” said Sun Chemical’s Casey. “But it is not only press manufacturers we need to work closely with. New designs or enhancements may mean that several materials need to be changed, so we need also to work closely with paper mills and other suppliers such as blanket and roller makers, washes and founts.”

Suitable ink series are also being developed to meet the demands created by new types of coated newsprint and the trend toward increasingly thinner paper.

The goal, say print vendors, is to mesh all the ingredients needed to print a newspaper — press, paper and ink.