With the improvement of people's brand awareness, beer manufacturers increasingly focus on the image of beer packaging, not only on the body mark, but also seal caps on beer bottles. The body mark of beer is generally printed on synthetic paper, and the cap label is printed on aluminum foil. Therefore, the cap label has much higher requirements on the printing process and post-press processing. The gravure ink chosen for the beer cap has played a crucial role. How to choose a beer cap gravure printing ink for a simple analysis.
Basic properties and test methods of inks
1. Ink adhesion requirements
    If the fastness of the ink is not sufficient, there may be a drop mark during postpress embossing, slitting, and labeling at the brewery. The detection of the adhesion fastness is usually after the aluminum foil substrate printing ink, sticky with the tape, if it does not fade, it is qualified, otherwise it is unqualified.
 2. Printing ink gloss and vividness requirements
Although the aluminum foil itself has a metallic mirror effect, if an ink with good gloss and vividness is used, the printed pattern will be more vivid and beautiful. This is what the manufacturer wants to see, so it is also important that the ink has better gloss and vividness.
3. Printing ink smoothness requirements
If the label is not smooth enough, the work efficiency will be reduced due to sticking when labeling, but if it is too slippery, the knife edge will slip when cutting, so that the printing date and batch number can not be printed, so the ink is smooth Degree to adjust properly.
4. Printing ink waterproof and frost resistance requirements
In summer, people usually drink beer after they are chilled, so the ink is required to be resistant to water at low temperatures and does not fade. The test method is to place the prints in the freezer for 8 hours or soak in ice water for 8 hours. Rub them by hand, and do not discolour as qualified products.
Ink selection and use
1. The choice of beer cap marking ink
According to the characteristics of light oil, transparent ink, translucent ink.
(1) If the printed material has metallic light reflection effect, transparent ink should be used.
(2) If the color of the print is required to be bright, a translucent type ink may be used; for a more vivid color, a layer of varnish or white ink may be printed on the aluminum foil and a translucent type ink may be printed.
(3) Some label designs are small and most of them are bare aluminum foils. A layer of varnish must be printed.
2. The use of beer cap marking ink
(1) Control of Ink Viscosity
   According to the printing speed of the printing press to adjust, the speed is fast, and the viscosity is lowered; vice versa.
1 The press speed is 30 to 80 meters/minute, and the ink viscosity is controlled at 16-22 seconds.
2 Press speed is 80-120 meters/minute, ink viscosity is controlled at 12-16 seconds.
3 Press speed is 120-150 m/min, ink viscosity is controlled at 9-12s.
(2) Preparation of dilution solvent
Diluted solvents are classified into fast-drying, medium-drying, and slow-drying types according to the volatilization rate. Fast-drying diluents are used for faster printing speeds, and slow-drying diluents are used for slower printing speeds. After the dilution solvent is required, it is added to the ink in a certain proportion. Add it while stirring while diluting to ensure that there is no resin precipitation due to local over-dilution of the ink.
(3) Control of ink color
Aluminum foil base material is different from other materials, as long as the ink color is slightly different, the color difference printed on aluminum foil will be more obvious, so the control of color concentration is very critical. When reducing the color concentration, you cannot blindly use a dilute solvent, which will significantly reduce the viscosity of the ink. It is best to use a diluting agent with a diluent solvent. For spot color inks, it is best to use spot colors prepared by ink manufacturers in order to reduce ink color differences.