Resolving Common Issues of White Ink

Without extra and proper maintenance, white ink, serving as the base layer of numerous digital printing, may cause unexpected issues and interrupt a printing plan from time to time. In this blog, we’ll take a closer look into the white ink property to accordingly solve the related malfunction issues.

Written by Procolored - Published on Oct 18, 2024

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8 minutes read

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Written by Procolored - Published on Oct 18, 2024

PASSAGE SUMMARY

1. Why White Ink is a Must in Specialty Printing
1.1 Ideal layer between substrates and graphic
1.2 Higher graphic reproduction
1.3 Branding and design consistency
2. Understanding the White Ink Property
3. The Commonly Seen White Ink Issues
3.1 Incomplete or missing white ink
3.2 Fading or grayish white ink
3.3 White lines with mixed colors on the testing page

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1. Why White Ink is a Must in Specialty Printing

First of all, let’s clarify what specialty printing is.
Different from office printing that mainly presents text and simple graphic on paper, specialty printing delivers printing with intricate design and multiple colors on diverse materials, including fabric, metal, acrylic, etc.
With rapid development of printing technology, specialty printing evolves from manual methods like screen printing to digital methods including Direct-to-Film (DTF), Direct-to-Garment (DTG), Ultra-Violet (UV) printing, and so forth.

In most digital specialty printing methods, white ink acts as the base layer of a printing. Now we come to the second question - why a base layer is needed?
As previously mentioned, specialty printing can be applied on a wide range of materials which exhibit different absorption of ink. Take fabric printing as example. Among all fabrics, cotton is known for its high water absorption capacity compared to other fabrics. Direct printing on it may cause incomplete graphics or evident color inconsistency.
A base layer under the final print can effectively reduces negative effects brought by the desired substrate. So, why the base color has to be white ink?

printing front and back view - no white ink (left); with white ink (right)

image: youtube @Hai-Tech

1.1 Ideal layer between substrates and graphic

Almost ink in all colors can cover the original substrates, but only white ink can be the perfect base layer without causing graphic color deviation or blending. Graphics covered on colored layers especially dark ones will be negatively affected in graphic contrast, brightness and opacity.

1.2 Higher graphic reproduction

Compared to colored background (especially dark one), print colors covered on white ink would be much brighter and richer. And the key reason for that lies in light reflection.
Light reflection is essential in presenting graphic color - the more reflected light the printed ink receives, the brighter it will be. Colored background fails to help ink stand out since it per se has absorbed some of the light already. White ink instead, reflects most of the light and passes it through the printed ink, providing the highest color contrast and presenting intricate graphic details.

1.3 Branding and design consistency

Given the previously mentioned points, applying white ink as the color base provides a higher color standard and a more complete reproduction. For printing orders of brand logos or brand visual designs , this guarantees a consistency of graphic colors, helping create a professional brand or corporate image.

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2. Understanding the White Ink Property

Since white ink plays such an important role in specialty printing, how to efficiently maintain its dynamic and reduce its malfunctioning?
One key solution is to fully understand its formulation.
Same as color inks, white ink is composed of binders, solvents, dispersants and so forth chemicals to achieve its viscosity and liquidity. Generally they only differentiate in pigment or dyes that decide their colors.
Unlike color inks, white ink is often added with titanium dioxide (TiO2) to promise its opacity and brightness. TiO2 is a white solid pigment that’s heavier and larger than most organic pigments - TiO2 has a density of about 4.23 g/cm³, whereas many organic pigments used in color inks have densities ranging from 1.0 to 2.0 g/cm³.
So what property will white ink exhibit with such formulation?

Easier sedimentation: As previously mentioned, TiO2 in white ink is much thicker and heavier than other pigments in color inks, leading to its easier sedimentation if left unused for a while.

Shorter drying time and higher viscosity: Though both white ink and color inks apply similar solvents and binders, their volume differentiates greatly. White ink encompasses fast-drying solvents and binders of higher concentration, deciding that it will get dried quicker and stay firmer on substrates. That’s to say, it will evaporates and get dried fast, firmly sticking on printhead and easily causing nozzle clogging issues.

3. The Commonly Seen White Ink Issues

3.1 Incomplete or missing white ink

Possible reasons: Insufficient or expired white ink; clogged printhead
Following steps below may help solve this problem:
1) Check whether the white ink is sufficient - it’s recommended to be over one-third of the ink tank.
2 )Check if the white ink is within its expiration period.
3) If the white ink is sufficient and valid, extract 5ml ink from each ink damper, this will help exhaust the air out.
4) Restart the printer then extract 5ml ink from the waste ink tube.
5) Execute printhead self-cleaning in the software.
6) Print a new test page to check if the situation has been improved.
7) If the problem still exists, please contact our service team for more help.

3.2 Fading or grayish white ink

Possible reasons: sediment in white ink
Following steps below may help solve this problem:
1) Shake white ink bottle to accelerate the dissolution of sediment.
2) Extract over 10ml from the cartridge.
3) If none of above is helping, better use new white ink .
4) If the problem still exists, please contact our service team for more help.

3.3 White lines with mixed colors on the testing page

Possible reasons: clogged suction motor of the capping station; waste inks flowing back to nozzles; broken ink circuits in nozzles.
Following steps below may help solve this problem:
1) Clean the capping station and the print-head bottom manually
2) Execute print-head self-cleaning in the software.
3) Print some test graphics to get the mixed ink discharged.
4) Then do the text page again to check if the situation has been improved.
5) If the problem still exists, please contact our service team for more help.

About the Author - Simon

Simon has worked in inkjet printing industry for years. He has the rare ability to see print related issues from many perspectives. Witnessing the gradual development of digital printing especially inkjet printing, Simon knows better about what the users are looking for and how the new technologies will truly help big or small businesses.

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