Evaluation of viscosity and printing quality of chitosan-based flexographic inks: The effect of chitosan molecular weight

Inks composed of renewable resources are important for the environment protection. We report preparation of a new type of edible chitosan-based flexographic ink. The performance of three inks, containing three different molecular weight (MW) chitosan, was analyzed by the different experimental techniques. The Ink viscosity was investigated from the parameters shear rate, time, temperature, and flexographic printing simulation. The printing quality on coated paper was studied by the scratch resistance, contact angle, print fastness, chromatic aberration, and dot gain. Viscosity recovery rate reached 69% after 6 s, and the print fastness was up to 91%. The experimental Δ E is 0.97, the dot gain is 23%, and contact angle is 69° for the best ink. Experimental results indicate that the developed ink is suitable for the flexographic printing with good application prospects. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133 , 43997.