Harmony Ink Dispenser

To continue on our subject of tips and guidelines like the posts about printing pads and ceramic rings, we now want to raise awareness about pad and screen printing inks and ink mixing!

There are basically two ways to go about ink mixing; you can either pour the ink by hand or use our Harmony Ink Dispenser. The difference is that with the Dispenser, you have fine control over the amount of ink/thinners you mix (because of calibrated pumps) and ink does not get spilled around (even if your hands are shaking a little after yesterday ). Also the unmixed portions are preserved in Dispenser’s canisters instead of drying out all over the open cans. The ICN 1501 Digital Scale gives you (+/-) 0.01 gram accuracy, needed for precise measurement.

Follow these steps to achieve best possible ink mix:

• • Make sure you use unlined mixing cups (no wax) and wooden or metal mixing sticks! If you use plastic, your ink may get contaminated with plasticizers.
• • Zero the scale out and make sure its on a leveled surface.


ICN-1501 Digital Scale

• • Add the appropriate hardener or axillary ratio (4:1 or 10:1 for 1000H=25%. 20:1 for HGL=5%)
• • After adding the thinner, pour the ink into the mixing cup using no less than 40 grams since it doesn’t flow very well in the ink cup or inkwell once it’s mixed.
• • Add appropriate hardener ratio. For 1000H, depending on the ink series, the ratio is 4:1 or 10:1 (4 parts of ink to 1 part of hardener or 10 parts of ink to 1 part of hardener). For HGL, the ratio is 20:1 (20 parts of ink to 1 part of hardener).
• • To keep from over thinning, continue to add it drop-by-drop. If you add it all at once it tends to “shock” the ink and it’s always easier to add than take away.

For those of you who like the convenience of having the ink practically mix itself the Harmony Ink Dispenser will save you precious time (and ink!) If you want to find out more about it visit our Harmony Ink Dispenser page or give us a call at 978-646-8980.

Technorati tags: Ink Mixing Tips, Ink Dispenser, Ink Tips

Tags: ink dispenser, ink mixing tips, ink tips, mix ink

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 at 11:33 am and is filed under Pad Printing Tips, Screen Printing Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.