Ink Additives & Vehicles | Umicore Portfolio

Quality Raw Materials for Superior Inks
Printing Ink Resins, Varnishes, Solvents, Wax Compounds and Metal-based Driers

Conventional Sheetfed Ink Vehicle

Ink vehicles, vital liquid components in the ink manufacturing process, act as carriers or mediums for pigments, delivering the desired color. They also help regulating key product attributes like drying time and gloss. 
 
Our KB 406 EU ink vehicle excels in printing on non-porous surfaces like plastic, thanks to its smudge resistance and excellent adhesion properties. 

Conventional Sheetfed Ink Additives, Including Pigment Dispersants and Rheology Modifiers

Our collection features pigment wetting agents, ink bodying additives and ink additives that ensure resistance to water. Pigment dispersants guarantee even pigment distribution in ink, preventing clogging and ensuring even color consistency. Ink bodying additives, or rheology modifiers, strengthen the ink structure.

Wax Additives for Excellent Rub Resistance in Inks

In addition to resin- and varnish-based ink additives, we provide wax compounds for the ink industry. With our KBW high-quality polymers, we stand out in delivering excellent rub resistance. They can also enhance gloss and slip properties of the ink. Compatible with low-VOC ink formulations, our polyethylene compounds support foil stamping and overprinting. Suitable for both vegetable-based and solvent-based inks, our products cater to diverse needs.

Sheetfed Overprint Base & Heatset Web Offset Overprint 

Our portfolio includes two low-odor overprint bases, suited for both HS & SF inks. The KB 3170 EU serves as a conventional, general purpose sheetfed overprint base, while the KB 3731 EU is designed for web offset, heatset ink formulations. Further, we also offer KB 8700 EU, which is a sheetfed overprint base suited for indirect food contact.

VOC-free, Sustainable Solvents for Ink Formulations 

Our VALIFLEX fatty acid esters feature several products made from sustainable Tall Oil Fatty Acid (TOFA), a raw material with a negative carbon footprint, obtained from responsibly managed pine forests. These biodegradable esters maintain the benefits of TOFA, offering an eco-friendly solvent solution for ink manufacturers. 

Our green chemistry solvents grant unrivaled formulation flexibility. Due to their high solvency power, they can effectively replace mineral distillates and increase solids. The result: low VOC-inks with high gloss retention, robust rub resistance, effortless application to printing surfaces, and swift, uniform drying properties.

Manganese, Zirconium, Cerium and Cobalt Driers for Ink Formulations

Ink driers hold a significant place among the chemicals used in printing inks. These additives accelerate ink drying time, making them crucial for high-speed printing applications where rapid drying prevents smudging, offsetting, or other complications. 
 
Ink drying time depends on various factors, like ink vehicle type, environmental conditions (temperature and humidity), and ink layer thickness. Ink driers catalyze the oxidation of the ink vehicle, promoting faster polymerization and solidification. Our VALIREX and ECOS drier collection features metal-based compounds that react with unsaturated fatty acids in the ink vehicle, accelerating the drying process. 
 
Note that regulatory developments cast doubt on the future use of traditional cobalt-based carboxylates, particularly in consumer applications such as the printing ink industry. To address this uncertainty, we have created our ECOS portfolio based on patented technology. ECOS products incorporate metal into a polymeric structure, restricting its bio-accessibility. 

Interested in reading more on our efforts to create safe, low-toxic chemicals with improved environmental impact? Read our information on the replacement of traditional cobalt products.