Adhesion Improvement of Nitrocellulose-Based Inks on Nonabsorbent Polyethylene Films

Nitrocellulose is one of the most important ink binders in flexographic printing, but one of the major problems is lack of proper adhesion of nitrocellulose-based ink to polyethylene film. Adhesion promoters are considered as best ingredients that are used in ink and coatings industries as cross-linking and waterproofing agents. In this study, gamma-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane adhesion promoter was used to improve the adhesion of Nitrocellulose the polyethylene film. The results indicated that adhesion was improved by adding gamma-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane in the formulation of ink. The best adhesion was achieved for ink containing 5% gamma-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane. According to the results from the contact angle test, polyethylene film containing gamma-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane compared to films without Silane compound formed more hydrophobic film. It is worth noting that the addition of Silane adhesion promoter to ink formulation causes to reduce the surface tension of ink.