Study on Application Performance of Water-based Pigment Ink on Uncoated Paper

The performances of three kinds of water-based pigment inks were compared and studied, which include self-made ink, original printing ink and compatible ink. Art paper, matte paper and white card paper were used as the substrates. Testing the contact angle of ink droplets, the spreading, wetting, and drying rate of inks were investigated. The color density and CIE L*a*b* values of the printed samples were measured, to evaluate the hue error and color gamut. The water resistance was studied with corresponding experiments. The result indicates: self-made water-based pigment ink has the smallest contact angle on coated paper, showing a faster drying rate. Its color gamut is similar to the original printing ink on art paper, and the hue error is low. Through the water resistance test, the color density measured on art paper and matte paper had no changes, without color dissolving and color fading, showing good water resistance applicability.