Screen printing of the hottest ceramics

Ceramic silk printing

the pattern decoration on ceramic ware has been used for a long time by blowing, hand drawing, rubber printing, and the transfer of printed decal paper, which has been widely used in industrial production with copper plate and flat Rockwell hardness tester. In recent years, with the application of silk printing in the ceramic industry, the decorative patterns on ceramic ware are more three-dimensional. After firing, the enamel is very thick and the color is very bright, which looks like painted with enamel. Its pattern is more delicate than that of the general blowing method, and the production efficiency is also improved a lot. Due to the above-mentioned advantages of silk screen in the decoration of ceramic ware, its application range is becoming wider and wider day by day

development of ceramic screen printing

since the industrialization of ceramic utensils, there have been three major changes in decoration technology. In the 1920s, the decoration process of combining lithographic patterns with manual dusting was realized, which replaced hand engraving. The products are fine and the quality is greatly improved. However, the production efficiency is still very low. Only 600 ~ 800 pieces are produced per person per hour, and there is dust pollution. In the late 1950s, automatic dusting machines appeared, producing 4000 ~ 5000 pieces per hour, improving the dusting efficiency. The new contradiction is that the printing and powdering speed do not match. After several improvements, by the mid-1960s, offset printing was finally used to replace lithographic printing decal paper, which improved the degree of automation and made the two processes of printing and powdering complete, thus realizing the new mechanized production process based on offset printing, which is another major change in the production of ceramic decal paper

silk printing ceramic decal paper has the advantages of simple operation, strong adaptability and thick ink layer. Therefore, it has developed rapidly. Automation began in the 1950s. At the same time, process technology and silk screen printing materials have also made amazing development. According to statistics, in the 1960s, silk screen decals accounted for about 20% of the total amount of decals. In the 1970s, it increased to more than 85%, and almost 100% of glass decals were printed with silk. At the same time, various special silk printing machines were used. Printing decoration directly on utensils has reached a very high level in both quality and scale. At present, silk screen ceramic decals have basically replaced offset ceramic decals and become the main decorative means of ceramic vessels with large output, high efficiency, low cost and strong artistic appeal

next, let's introduce the latest progress of silk screen Ceramic Decal technology

① capillary adsorption photosensitive film. This photosensitive film is a new plate making material developed in the 1970s. Using this photosensitive film for plate making, just wet the film surface with water, and it can be firmly pasted on the surface, and then exposed and solidified on the surface. The main components of this photosensitive film are polyvinyl alcohol and diazonium salt, and the printing capacity is 30000 prints. Due to the fine printing and simple plate making operation, higher-grade products can be printed

② thermal printing ink respectively. Traditional inks are divided into two categories: one is volatile dry inks; One is oxidation drying ink, which is often referred to as cold printing ink. Oxidation drying ink drying time is long; Volatile drying ink drying requires heating, wastes energy, and has safety problems such as solvent volatilization, environmental pollution and ignition. The thermal printing ink developed in recent years is prepared from ceramic pigments or precious metal preparations and thermoplastic resin. The main raw materials are methacrylate polymers or waxes, which do not contain free monomers and have low softening temperature. Generally, the ink has good fluidity at about 50 ℃. Decal paper can be printed by using heat-resistant silk plate, but it is usually used for direct decoration of ceramics. The printing performance and transfer performance of this kind of ink are better than that of cold printing ink. Because there is no solvent, the pigment ratio in the ink is relatively increased, and the covering power of the ink layer is strong. It is very suitable for glass decoration, and light pigments that were not commonly used in the past can also be used. After printing, the imprint will dissipate heat and solidify and dry quickly, which is convenient for overprint and not easy to be polluted and rubbed. In the 1970s, the main reason for the realization of fast, multi-color, eye tone ceramic wire printing was the development and utilization of thermal printing ink

③ ceramic pigments printed in three primary colors. Using yellow, magenta and cyan primary colors to print color art works is a very mature technology in offset printing. However, for a long time, it has been difficult to use the principle of three primary colors to print silk screen ceramic decals. The main reason is that ceramic pigments should be colored at high temperature, and some pigments will react at high temperature to change the color. In recent years, based on the research on the serialization, specialization and increasing the stability of ceramic pigments, three kinds of mixed pigments, namely cyan, magenta and yellow, have been developed, and their color basically meets the chromatographic requirements. The transfer decal paper printed with these three basic colors can show multi-color effect after firing. The disadvantages are that the red is not bright enough, and the chromaticity of black is insufficient. It is necessary to print black and red to strengthen the firing effect. At present, although the three primary colors of ceramic pigments are not ideal, they completely break through the traditional concept and further improve this subject, which will have a great impact on ceramic decoration

④ ultra detailed modulation technology. For a long time, the production of offset ceramic decal paper can reproduce art works with rich levels, while silk printing can only print lines or ink blocks, which is difficult to reflect the level of works. In recent years, due to the development of photographic technology, the continuous improvement of silk plate making technology and its theory, especially the development and utilization of high-quality and fine silk, high-resolution photosensitive materials, and ultra-fine ceramic pigments, provide favorable conditions for the preparation of silk plate. The silked version of direct ceramic decoration can directly print exquisite eye-catching pictures on ceramics and glassware; On the basis of 133 lines and 155 lines of plate making, some manufacturers have adopted ultra-fine screen and plate making, and their exquisite copies are almost the same as continuous adjustment work @2 and power on for 30 seconds

⑤ heat transfer decal technology. The earliest transfer decal paper needs to be attached to the ceramic surface with adhesive during transfer. In the 1930s, it was changed to water paste flower transfer method, also known as cold transfer method. The structure of cold transfer decal paper is to apply water-soluble glue on the paper base, print the pattern on the glue surface, and then print a layer of non water-soluble resin film as the transfer carrier. When decaling, immerse the decal paper in water. After 30 seconds, with the help of water-soluble glue, the picture can slide down from the paper base, and then paste the picture on the porcelain surface by its adhesion. In the early 1970s, heat transfer decal paper was successfully studied. Its structure is that wax or hot-melt resin is used instead of water-soluble glue between the paper base and the picture. When applying decals, first preheat the vessel to 120 ~ 150 ℃, use mechanical transmission and automatic positioning, and then use the decal machine to fix the picture on the heat transfer ceramic decal paper to the decal position. The temperature on the surface of the vessel softens the flower carrying film, and firmly attach the picture to the ceramic surface. At the same time, it can melt the wax on the paper base and separate the paper base from the picture. Using the hot Decal technology, you can directly decorate plain porcelain and white porcelain (porcelain after glaze burning). After decal, you can directly enter the kiln for color burning, and the porcelain surface is clean. The success of hot sticker research is a major breakthrough in the transition from manual decals to mechanical decals. At present, in developed countries, except for a small number of manual decals, mechanical decals are mainly used, while in developing countries, manual decals are still the main way

source: silk printing process · silk printing of ceramics

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