Best Practices of Low Cure Ink.

You may already know that FlexCure™ inks cure across a range of low to standard cure temperatures (275°F/135°C to 325°F/163°C); but you may be wondering whether these inks need to be handled or printed differently from standard curing inks.

The short answer is no! FlexCure™ inks can be used in the same way you use normally curing inks. But to take full advantage of their low cure capabilities, International Coatings recommend some best practices that apply to any low cure or standard screen ink.

Here are some tips:

• Store FlexCure™ (or any) inks in a cool place away from a heat source, and from windows or skylights or walls exposed to afternoon sun.
• Store ink with the lid tightly sealed. A tight seal keeps debris out.
• Store inks on shelves off the floor where temperatures will be more consistent. Cool floors, particularly during the winter, can cause inks to thicken up.
• Do not leave inks in a hot vehicle.
• Do not scrape used ink from screens and put it back in a bucket containing fresh ink (this too goes for any type of ink), especially if a flash was used during production. Ink that’s been sitting in a screen may start to gel due to exposure to warm flash-heated pallets. Instead, scrape any used ink into a separate container.

FlexCure™ inks (as well as other low cure inks) are heat sensitive,  by design. Simply put, they take less heat to cure. This sensitivity is integral to their ability to cure at low temperatures, but also means that they need to be managed more carefully around potential heat sources, particularly during the summer.