Inks, Paints, and Coatings

Regulatory requirements in the past few of decades have prompted the coatings industry to move its focus from conventional low-solid, solvent-based formulations to waterborne systems, high-solids coatings, energy-curable inks and other low-VOC technologies. This important environmentally-responsible shift coincided with exciting developments of new functionalities as a response to changing customer needs. Now faced with a growing demand for specialty and high value-added coatings, manufacturers are taking a closer look at their processing methods, particularly the mixing and milling steps. The question “What can we do better?” is asked more earnestly as coatings producers strive to improve performance and compliance while managing costs.

Various dispersion tools are employed in the production of paints, inks and coatings. Some of these technologies are relatively new solutions to age-old processing issues. Mixer selection is based on a number of factors including viscosity profile, shear requirement, order of addition and throughput.

ROSS High Speed Dispersers, High Shear Mixers, Three Roll Mills, and Multi-Shaft Mixers are widely used for various applications throughout this industry.

• Artist Colors - high solids pigment oil-based paints.
• Electronic Coatings - Electronic circuitry and devices require protective materials to shield it from the elements. Whether of low or high viscosity, an intermediate or the final coating, there is a ROSS Mixer suitable for this application.
• Fumed Silica Dispersions - Manufacturers of paints and coatings benefit from purchasing fumed silica in powder form and preparing the dispersions themselves than ordering silica dispersions for which they absorb higher shipping costs. Depending on the maximum viscosity and final grind, various ROSS Mixing Equipment allow manufactures to create these dispersions in-house.
• Inkjets - in the inkjet industry, the move away from dye-based inks towards pigments-based inks to deliver products of greater resistance to weathering and exposure to moisture, have also demanded mixing equipment that efficiently grinds pigments with reduced or no downstream milling necessary. Various ROSS high shear mixing devices, including the PreMax, have dramatically improved the production of inks for inkjet printers.
• Lithographic Pastes - high-viscosity pastes composed of oleoresin varnish filled with carbon black are prepared on ROSS Double Planetary Mixer and a Discharge System, economical alternative equipment to sigma blade mixers. Recent developments in mixing equipment and coatings formulations have shown that an investment in high viscosity vacuum premixing can return a larger dividend in productivity than a comparative investment in downstream milling.
• Paints - Various ROSS Mixers are used to disperse pigments and extenders used in paint including Titanium Dioxide (TiO2), Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3), Clay, Talc, Silica, Mica, and other coloring or plastic pigments into either water, oil or solvent, along with modifiers and additives.
• Silicone Coatings - silicon-based substances are used to create coatings and encapsulants for electronics, automobiles, aerospace, medical devices, etc.
• Specialty Inks - metallic/conductive, fluorescent, security, phosphorescent, and others.
• Standard Printing Inks - web offset ink, sheet-fed ink, soybean-based ink, rubber-based ink, water-based ink, UV ink, laser ink, process ink for color printing, and others.
• Steel Activators - coatings applied to steel prior to plating.