Archive: 2025年10月30日

Must-Know for Inkjet Printing Ink: Why “Filtration” Is the Key to Ink Quality?

In inkjet printing operations, have you ever been puzzled by this scenario: despite selecting ink labeled “high-quality raw materials” and “fine grinding”, you still face frequent issues such as printhead clogging, skewed jetting, ink spattering, and the need for frequent printhead cleaning and maintenance? In reality, the root cause of these problems often lies in a critical yet easily overlooked step — ink filtration.

Today, we will explore in depth the importance of “filtration” to inkjet ink quality and how to identify truly high-quality ink using “filtration standards”. This knowledge will help you avoid production pitfalls, boost printing efficiency, and enhance the quality of finished products.

I. First, Understand: Why Is Filtration Essential for Inkjet Ink?

To fully grasp the core value of filtration, it is first necessary to recognize the “unique technical requirements” of inkjet printing — the orifice of an inkjet printhead is extremely small, typically only tens of micrometers (roughly 1/10 the diameter of a human hair). This characteristic means that even microscopic impurities invisible to the naked eye (such as incompletely ground pigment particles, residual dust from raw materials, and debris introduced during production) can become trapped in the printhead orifices, leading to a range of production issues:

• Printhead Clogging: Impurities blocking the orifices directly cause ink breakage and spattering. Not only does this require production halts for printhead disassembly and cleaning, but repeated unclogging also wears down the printhead, shortening its service life. (High-quality inkjet printheads are often costly, and frequent replacements can significantly increase production expenses.)

In short, the primary function of filtration is to “completely remove all types of impurities from the ink”, providing a core guarantee for the “purity” and “stability” of the ink. This is the fundamental prerequisite for achieving stable, efficient inkjet printing operations.

II. Evaluate Quality: What Standards Define Effective “Filtration” for High-Quality Ink?

Once you understand the importance of filtration, the next critical question is: how to determine if an ink’s filtration process meets high standards? In fact, truly high-quality inkjet inks must satisfy three core criteria in their filtration processes, which can be summarized as the “Three Pillars of Filtration”:

Pillar 1: Filter Cartridge Selection — Is a “Reliable Core Filtration Component” Used?

The filter cartridge is the “heart” of the filtration system, and its quality directly determines filtration performance. Currently, many ordinary inks on the market use low-cost, general-purpose filter cartridges to cut costs. These cartridges have low filtration precision and poor chemical resistance, and their efficiency tends to degrade and fail over time. In contrast, high-quality inks prioritize professional industrial-grade filter cartridges, particularly those from well-known brands validated in industries with strict purity requirements, such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.

For instance, in our production process, we exclusively use industrial-grade filter cartridges from two globally renowned brands: Cobetter and PALL. These cartridges offer three key advantages:

• “High-Precision Retention”: Capable of accurately capturing micrometer-scale impurities and effectively blocking tiny particles;
• “Strong Chemical Resistance”: Compatible with various inkjet ink formulations (including solvent-based, water-based, and UV-curable inks) without deformation, slagging, or other issues caused by ink corrosion;
• “Stable Performance”: Maintains consistent filtration efficiency during long-term use, ensuring uniform purity in every drop of ink.

Therefore, when selecting ink, we recommend proactively asking about “the brand and grade of the filter cartridges used” — this is the primary indicator for assessing the filtration quality of the ink.

Pillar 2: Filtration Process — Is “Comprehensive, Multi-Layered Purification” Achieved?

Relying solely on high-quality filter cartridges is insufficient for thorough, efficient filtration; the scientific design of the filtration process is equally critical. Some inks use a “single-stage filtration” process, which only removes larger particles, leaving finer impurities behind. A truly effective filtration system, however, requires a “progressive multi-stage filtration” process — analogous to “first sieving sand, then sifting fine soil, and finally filtering out dust” — to ensure complete removal of impurities from the ink.

Our three-stage recirculating filtration system is a prime example of this progressive purification approach:

• “Coarse Filtration Stage”: Prioritizes the removal of large particle impurities in raw materials (such as poorly dispersed pigment clumps) to prevent damage to subsequent precision filtration components;
• “Fine Filtration Stage”: Further eliminates fine dust and small, incompletely ground pigment particles, improving the uniformity of particle distribution in the ink;
• “Ultra-Fine Filtration Stage”: Finally traps trace impurities invisible to the naked eye (such as micrometer-scale dust), elevating ink purity to meet the strict requirements of high-standard inkjet printing.

Practical testing confirms that after adopting the three-stage recirculating filtration system, the rate of printhead clogging caused by ink is reduced by over 90%.

Pillar 3: Replacement Standards — Is a “Strict Filter Cartridge Replacement Mechanism” in Place?

Filter cartridges naturally wear out during use, and their filtration efficiency declines over time — this is an unavoidable reality. However, some manufacturers delay cartridge replacement based on “subjective experience” to reduce costs, resulting in lower ink purity in later production batches and inconsistent quality across batches.

In contrast, manufacturers of high-quality ink establish standardized filter cartridge replacement mechanisms, relying on data rather than “subjective judgment”. For example, our established standard is: mandatory filter cartridge replacement after every 400kg of ink produced. Regardless of the cartridge’s appearance or perceived usability, once this production threshold is reached, the cartridge is immediately replaced with a new one. This measure ensures that the filtration effect of each ink batch remains optimal, fundamentally eliminating the issue of “batch-to-batch quality fluctuations”.

For you, consistent ink quality across batches means: no need to worry about “the current batch performing well, while the next batch has issues”. This enables more stable standardized production and reduces production risks associated with ink quality variations.

III. Key Benefits: What Practical Production Issues Does “Filtration-Qualified” Ink Solve?

At this point, you may wonder: what practical value does understanding filtration and choosing filtration-qualified ink bring to my production? In summary, its core benefits are reflected in three key areas:

1. Lower Production Costs: Reduced printhead clogging frequency not only cuts printhead maintenance costs but also significantly extends the printhead’s service life, lowering expenses related to printhead replacements;
2. Higher Production Efficiency: Minimizes production downtime caused by ink-related issues, ensures smooth printing processes, and shortens production cycles;
3. Superior Finished Product Quality: High-purity, stable ink delivers uniform print colors and sharp patterns, ensuring consistent finished product quality. This improves customer satisfaction and strengthens your brand’s competitiveness.

Final Thought: Valuing Filtration Means Valuing Your Production Value

While “filtration” may seem like a minor detail in ink production, it directly impacts your production efficiency, cost control, and finished product quality. We hope this overview helps you gain a deeper understanding of the importance of ink filtration and provides an additional “professional evaluation criterion” when selecting inkjet ink in the future.

If you encounter issues related to “filtration” or other technical challenges during ink selection or use, please feel free to contact us at any time. We are not only committed to providing high-quality inkjet ink but also aim to be your “printing technology partner” — working together to solve practical production problems and jointly enhance printing quality and efficiency.

The Core Protection of a Bottle of Ink: Decoding the Hardcore Strength of Solvent-Based, Sublimation, and UV Inks—From Stability and Smoothness to Printhead Protection

In the field of industrial printing and creative production, the value of solvent-based inks, sublimation inks, and UV inks extends far beyond mere “color rendering.” For users, ink stability, printing smoothness, and printhead protection capabilities are the core factors that determine both user experience and costs:

• Stability means avoiding batch-to-batch color variations and sedimentation during storage, reducing material waste caused by ink deterioration;
• Smoothness means eliminating printhead clogging, ink breakage, and rework losses, ensuring production efficiency;
• Printhead protection directly impacts equipment lifespan, cutting down on the thousands of yuan often spent on printhead repairs or replacements.

Today, we break down how these three ink types achieve the ultimate goal of “stability, smoothness, and printhead protection” through formulation, raw materials, production processes, and quality control—exploring these three core dimensions in detail.

I. Formulation: The “Core Framework” of the Three Ink Types, Setting the Tone for Stability, Smoothness, and Printhead Protection

Formulation is the “source” of an ink’s core performance. Tailored to the unique application scenarios of solvent-based, sublimation, and UV inks, our R&D logic centers on “balancing stability and printhead compatibility,” ensuring no sedimentation or clogging at the molecular level while achieving precise printhead compatibility to avoid performance conflicts.

• Solvent-Based Inks: Designed for long-term outdoor use (e.g., billboards, vehicle wraps), their formulation features “long-acting dispersion stabilizers + high-performance wetting solvents,” preventing delamination or sedimentation even after 18 months of storage—effectively avoiding print color variations caused by uneven ink concentration. Additionally, ink viscosity is strictly controlled within the 15–20 cP range, paired with optimized surface tension parameters. This ensures the ink flows smoothly through the printhead cavity without adhering to walls or leaving residues, reduces solvent-induced corrosion of printhead gaskets, and extends printhead lifespan by over 30%.
• Sublimation Inks: Engineered for high-frequency continuous printing in textile transfer (e.g., T-shirts, mugs), their formulation adopts a “low-viscosity, high-dispersion” system combined with “anti-crystallization additives.” This fundamentally prevents dye crystallization and clogging in the printhead’s tiny 20–50 μm nozzles. To match the piezoelectric properties of sublimation printer heads, the ink’s piezoelectric responsiveness is further optimized, ensuring the error in each ink droplet volume is ≤ 2%—avoiding production disruptions from ink breakage and reducing wear from repeated printhead cleanings.
• UV Inks: Built for industrial mass printing on non-absorbent substrates (e.g., glass, metal), their formulation uses a “low-shrinkage resin + high-efficiency photoinitiator” blend to prevent coating cracking after curing. A specialized thixotropic structure design ensures the ink remains slightly viscous when stationary (preventing sedimentation) and instantly thins under printhead pressure during printing (ensuring smooth flow)—guaranteeing both long-term storage stability and jamming-free jetting. Moreover, a “printhead protectant” is added to form a nano-scale ultra-thin film on the printhead surface, isolating UV light and resin from eroding the printhead and slowing aging.

Guided by the core principle of “stability, smoothness, and printhead-friendliness,” our R&D team has tested over 100 models of mainstream printheads (e.g., Epson, Ricoh, Konica). By simulating printing conditions across different temperatures and humidity levels, we ensure the three ink types achieve over 99% compatibility with printheads—eliminating the risk of “clogging and printhead damage” at the formulation stage.

II. Raw Materials: The “Quality Baseline” of the Three Ink Types, Building a Solid Foundation for Core Performance

High-quality raw materials are the backbone of “stability, smoothness, and printhead protection.” Impurities or low-grade components can cause ink sedimentation, printhead clogging, or even physical wear to the printhead. Based on the unique properties of each ink type, we have established “multi-dimensional strict screening standards” for raw materials to mitigate performance risks at the source.

• Solvent-Based Inks: Pigments use “nano-scale spherical particles” (particle size precisely controlled at 50–80 nm) with uniform, edge-free structures—preventing scratches to printhead nozzles during high-speed jetting. Each batch of pigment undergoes professional antistatic treatment to avoid agglomeration and clogging. Solvents are high-purity, low-impurity industrial-grade variants (impurity content ≤ 0.1%), reducing impurity buildup in the printhead. Resins are “flexible and corrosion-resistant,” enhancing adhesion to outdoor substrates while avoiding chemical reactions with the printhead’s metal components.
• Sublimation Inks: Dyes are “high-purity, easily soluble” (purity ≥ 99.5%), with no insoluble particles to prevent stubborn clogs in the printhead. Solvents are low-volatility, slow-drying, and eco-friendly—preventing the ink from drying and crusting on the printhead surface and cutting cleaning frequency by 50%. Dispersants are polymer-based, leveraging steric hindrance effects to keep dyes uniformly dispersed for 12 months without agglomeration or sedimentation.
• UV Inks: Resins are low-viscosity, low-irritation specialty grades—ensuring good flow while avoiding corrosion of the printhead cavity. Photoinitiators are low-residue types, leaving no excess small molecules after curing to prevent blockages in the printhead’s fine channels. Pigments are UV-resistant and dust-free, undergoing three rounds of purification (filtration + centrifugation + precision sieving) before production to remove tiny dust particles—minimizing clogging risks at the source.

All raw materials must pass an “ink sample simulation test” before entering the factory: raw materials are mixed into ink samples according to the actual formulation ratio, subjected to a 72-hour stability test, and then run through simulated printing on standard printhead equipment. Only after confirming no sedimentation, no clogging, and no corrosion are the raw materials approved for production.

III. Production Process: The “Precision Guarantee” of the Three Ink Types, Where Details Define Performance

Excellent formulations and raw materials require sophisticated production processes to become finished inks that deliver “stability, smoothness, and printhead protection.” Tailored to each ink type’s characteristics, we have developed exclusive production workflows—from grinding, dispersion, and blending to filtration—with every step focused on “reducing printhead risks and enhancing stability,” rejecting one-size-fits-all production.

• Solvent-Based Inks: We use a “horizontal grinding + high-speed dispersion + three-stage filtration” process:
  • A horizontal grinder operates at 600 rpm for 2.5 hours to ensure uniform pigment particles (without fine powder from over-grinding);
  • A high-speed disperser mixes at 1000 rpm for 1 hour to ensure full integration of components;
  • Filtration proceeds through solvent-resistant membranes (1.0 μm → 0.45 μm → 0.22 μm) to remove all impurities and large particles;
  • A vacuum defoaming process (-0.09 MPa) eliminates tiny bubbles, preventing “ink splattering” or “breakage” during printing.
• Sublimation Inks: We adopt a “basket pre-grinding + vertical fine grinding + three-stage circulation filtration” process:
  • A basket grinder pre-disperses dyes, followed by a vertical grinder operating at 800 rpm for 1.5 hours to refine dye particles to 30–50 nm (matching printhead nozzle size);
  • A high-speed disperser mixes at 1200 rpm for 1 hour to ensure complete fusion of dyes and solvents (no agglomeration);
  • Hydrophilic filter membranes are used to avoid dye adsorption on the membrane surface (preventing uneven concentration and color variations in prints).
• UV Inks: Production follows a “light-proof manufacturing + two-stage dispersion + specialty filtration” process:
  • The entire process takes place in a light-proof workshop (light intensity ≤ 50 lux) to prevent premature curing and particle formation;
  • Dispersion occurs in two stages: low-speed mixing (300 rpm for 30 minutes) of resin and photoinitiator, followed by high-speed dispersion (800 rpm for 1 hour) of pigments (avoiding agglomeration);
  • UV-resistant polyethersulfone filter membranes (0.22 μm precision) are used—these do not react with UV components and ensure impurity-free ink, protecting the printhead from damage.

After production of each batch, 10 samples are selected for a “full-process performance test”: first, filterability and viscosity stability are checked; then, continuous printing is run on a standard printer for 24 hours, with real-time monitoring of jetting smoothness and printhead pressure. Only when no clogging is detected and pressure fluctuation is ≤ ±0.1 bar is the batch approved for storage—ensuring every bottle of ink is “ready to use immediately, with no printhead damage.”

IV. Quality Control: The “Safety Barrier” of the Three Ink Types, Safeguarding Core Value at Every Stage

Quality control is the final line of defense for “stability, smoothness, and printhead protection.” We have established a “full-process quality control system” with specialized testing standards for each ink type’s core performance—rejecting “basic qualification” and only delivering “high-quality” products to users.

• Stability Testing:
  • Solvent-based inks: 18 months of storage (no delamination, sedimentation, or concentration change > ±1%);
  • Sublimation/UV inks: 12 months of storage (same stability criteria as above);
  • High-low temperature cycle test: 10 cycles of -10℃ to 50℃ (8 hours per cycle), with post-test fluctuations in key parameters (viscosity, surface tension) ≤ ±5% (ensuring stable performance across regions and seasons).
• Smoothness Testing:
  • 20 bottles per batch are randomly selected and run through 100 test prints on 3 mainstream printer models (covering piezoelectric, thermal bubble, etc.);
  • Requirements: No ink breakage, no splattering, no clogging, and 100% print qualification rate;
  • Viscosity stability: ≤ ±0.5 cP change within 24 hours (ensuring consistent performance during long-term continuous printing).
• Printhead Protection Testing:
  • Ink is circulated through a printhead for 72 hours, after which the printhead is disassembled for microscopic inspection (requirements: no nozzle wear, corrosion, or residual impurities; no gasket aging/deformation);
  • Corrosion rate testing: Ink-induced corrosion on printhead metal components ≤ 0.001 mm/year (far below the industry standard of 0.005 mm/year)—verifying printhead protection with data.

Choose Us: Let Ink Be a “Stable Partner,” Not a “Printhead Burden”

For users, a high-quality ink should not be a hassle that “requires frequent adjustments and worries about clogging”—it should be a partner that is “ready to use, stable, reliable, and protective of equipment.” We have always focused on “stability, smoothness, and printhead protection” in developing solvent-based, sublimation, and UV inks. Whether for long-term outdoor advertising printing, high-frequency textile customization, or industrial mass production, our inks deliver:

• Over 80% reduction in printhead clogging risk, lowering maintenance costs;
• 99.9% print qualification rate, cutting rework losses;
• Extended ink shelf life and printhead lifespan, boosting overall cost-effectiveness.