Product Comparison

INK FOR MEDICAL GRADE SILICONE APPLICATIONS

The Natron SE-F Series is a 2-component medical-grade silicone ink formulated for marking silicone parts that operate in demanding healthcare and advanced science applications. These medical grade silicone inks meet and exceed the quality standards set by the healthcare, space, and electronics industries. To formulate the SE-F Series we use the highest-purity materials and standards possible. We document each and every raw material from start to finish. This makes it possible to trace every batch produced. Additionally, we produce certificate of compliance for each batch.

Once cured, these non-corrosive, non-toxic silicone inks retain their color and physical properties at low and elevated temperature environments. These inks are also stable and stick well to silicone rubber substrates for long-term use in medical devices and healthcare surfaces.

SE-F Series is formulated for pad printing, silk screen marking, and spray coating on silicone components and devices. Examples of these applications include silicone tubing, calendar sheeting, LSR-molded medical parts, etc. Like all Natron printing inks, the SE-F is also designed with ease of use and sustainability in mind. This ink uses less material during application due to its high opacity and lasts longer than any other ink on the market today due to the purity of the materials used.

Medical-grade silicone ink features

Our Natron SE-F ink line has twenty-two high-opacity colors, double any other medical ink available in the market today. In addition, we offer any custom color matching you can think of using all major color matching systems and standards in the world, including AMS-STD-595.

To dry this ink, use heat. This feature makes sure the ink bonds to the substrate, giving it a long service life.

This silicone ink has medical Class VI certification and meets the requirements of the GLP Class VI Test (USP). It also meets the current FDA 21 CFR, Part 58 GLP technical requirements.

PAD PRINTING INK FOR TEXTILES, EPDM, SOFT TOUCH, AND SYNTHETICS

ST pad printing ink is an easy-to-print, ultra-fast-drying, high-opacity, 1- or 2-component pad printing ink for soft touch materials, rubber, apparel, and natural and synthetic fibers. This ink is durable and flexbile. It can also withstand many industrial washing cycles. As a result, it is the best ink for t-shirt care label printing, shoes, industrial rubber marking, and rubberized soft-touch promotional products. Typical applications include Printing on Stress Balls, Sporting Goods, Skateboard Wheels, Soft Touch Surfaces, Soft PVC, ID Cards, Binders/Report Covers, and Textiles.

Also, with the hardener added, the ST Series ink film is much more resistant to mechanical wear. Even after hundreds of washings, this printing ink will not fade because we only use pigments with high fade resistance. The pot life of the ink-hardener-solvent mixture is 6–8 hours at room temperature (70°F and 40–65% RH). After adding the i-300x pad printing hardener, the ink-hardener mixture becomes chemically reactive and must be processed within 6–8 hours. Please see TDS for additional information.

Like all other Natron printing inks, the ST series is classified as non-toxic (NT)—the pigments are free from heavy metals. For more information, please see our safety data sheets, which are available in accordance with EU and US regulations. Additionally, the product label has the primary indications displayed.

The Natron ST pad printing ink is also available in six neon (fluorescent) colors, four metallic colors, and 23 high-opacity standard colors. All colors in this ink series are inter-mixable.

• Highly flexible ink film for maximum wear comfort
• Very good resistance to industrial washing
• High opacity makes it ideal for printing on dark substrates.

SILICONE INK FOR PRINTING SILICONE RUBBER

SE Series pad printing ink is the only ink used to print on silicone rubber parts—the only ink that can stick to silicone is a silicone-based ink. There are several ways to apply this ink series, which include screen color-filling, spray coating, or pad printing.

SE rubber printing ink for silicone is a two-part silicone ink for printing on parts made of silicone rubber. This ink is applied via pad printing, screen printing, or spray coating silicone rubber parts. Some of the key features include high opacity, high gloss, extreme flexibility, and exceptional resistance to abrasion. Additionally, this silicone ink is dishwasher safe. It will withstand alkali chemicals and gasoline.

Examples of silicone rubber products include custom silicone wristbands and swimming caps. Various industries utilize this silicone ink for printing on silicone rubber parts, including promotional, medical, toys, drinkware, aerospace, and industrial applications. Industrial application examples include silicone handles for tools, automotive hoses, silicone-coated fiberglass, etc. Other industries that use this ink include aerospace, automotive, promotional, medical, toys, drinkware, and custom silicone molding industries. Read about the top 5 ink applications for printing on silicone with silicone ink.

Silicone-based ink is the only ink that will stick to silicone. For this reason, the SE pad printing silicone ink is made of silicone. Once cured, this ink becomes part of the silicone. It will bend, stretch, and flex with silicone product. Additionally, it can withstand any high temperatures that silicone can.

The Natron SE ink is also designed for ease of use. It is available in 37 high-opacity colors, including three metallic and six neon hues—it is the only silicone ink line with these hues in the world.

Silicone Ink SE must be baked at 275°F – 400°F for 6 – 30 minutes depending on the density of the silicone substrates.

Product properties

• Ink system: silicone-based, 2-component
• Drying: Heat cure
• Degree of gloss: very high
• Opacity: high opacity
• Outdoor resistance: excellent
• Abrasion and chemical resistance: excellent

Ink mixing, printing & curing

To print your product, mix the silicone ink (A) with the LG catalyst (B), print, and cure the product. For every 10 parts of the ink (A), add 1 part of the catalyst (B). Mix the ink and the catalyst. Add 5–60% of the SE-TRM solvent to alter the viscosity. To dry and cure the printed product, use heat. Put the printed product in an oven for 5–10 minutes at 200–250°F (6 minutes at 250°F). (Safety caution! (Wait for the heated product to cool down before touching.)

After a full cure, try to bend, scratch, or stretch the printed product. We guarantee that the print (ink) will not crack or rub off—the print becomes part of the product. This is the reason the SE series silicone ink is perfect for printing on silicone rubber products.

Solvents: Use TRM, TXM, or SF solvents to alter the viscosity. This is if the mixed ink is too thick for a specific application. The SF silicone ink solvent is a fast-drying thinner, while the SE-TRM has slow evaporation. Both ink solvents are environmentally friendly.

Attention:

If you use any other solvents with the SE inks, it will affect the printing quality and adhesion of the ink.

Drying: Printed parts dry at 200–250 °F for 2–8 minutes.

Caution: Silicone rubber inks are compatible with many types of silicone rubber. However, contact with some substrates will inhibit the drying of silicone ink. We recommend that you always do a small-scale compatibility test before full production. Learn how to print on silicone rubber.

Multi color printing with silicone ink

The SE Series silicone inks are the only inks in the world capable of multi-color printing. Most people print one-color images onto silicone. The reason is that multicolor jobs are very cumbersome because you have to completely cure one color in the oven before printing another. This is not the case with Natron SE series inks. With Natron ink for printing silicone rubber, you can print up to four colors at a time. There is no need to print one color at a time. With pad printing, the Natron SE Series allows you to print multiple colors at a time.

The SE series ink line is the most advanced silicone ink series in the world. It offers decorators versatility and efficiency.

Call us for more information: +1 (781) 281 2558

Compliance

CPSIA stands for the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Boston Industrial Solutions, Inc. was awarded this certificate as a symbol of compliance for its inks. This, in turn, should give you printing confidence. We make the best silicone ink in the world. In addition, our goal is to make the best and safest inks for the industry, now and in the future. The purpose of this is twofold.

• to formulate an ink that is safe for printers.
• Make ink that is safe for recipients of the final product.

But first, let us discuss CPSIA certification. “CPSIA certification” means the issuance of a written Children’s Product Certificate (CPC) in which the manufacturer certifies that its children’s product complies with all applicable children’s product safety rules (or similar rules, bans, standards, or regulations under any law enforced by the Commission for that product.)

Third party testing is the basis of children’s product certification. Upon passing the test of third-party testing, the third-party testing laboratory provides the results and certification. However, it does not issue the children’s product certificate.

Click here to find Natron SE Silicone Ink Compliance Report for 2019.

USP MEM Elution Cytotoxicity certification

The Natron SE Pad printing ink has USP MEM Elution Cytotoxicity certification. This certification indicates that the silicone inks meets the requirements of the test and are not considered to have a cytotoxic effect. The study is conducted to determine Biological reactivity (cellular degeneration and malformation) on a scale from Grade 0 (No Reactivity) to Grade 4 (Severe Reactivity). The Natron™ SE Silicone inks got a grade of 0 – No Reactivity! Discrete intracytoplasmic granules; no cell lysis.

Silicone ink printing challenges

Today, there are many problems with silicone printing. This is because printing on silicone poses many challenges to professional printers. As a result, the printing experts have many questions. Boston Industrial Solutions, Inc. has come up with innovative solutions. First, let’s explore the challenges and finally offer solutions to these challenges.

The challenges

Some of the key challenges when printing on silicone are:

• Paste ink/pastry ink: These inks need to be heavily thinned for the customer to be able to use them. In essence, the customer is actually making the ink. This lowers productivity. Also, because the inks are a paste, mixing and color matching pose challenges for printers. Users of the silicone ink have to heavily rely on ink manufacturers for custom colors. This is time-consuming, not to mention the long lead time and customer color matching fees.
• Translucent or not-opaque ink: According to photoscreenprint, ink opacity affects the ability of colors to blend with each other as well as how much of the substrate shows through the print. The more opaque an ink is, the better it will cover a dark garment. When pad printing with transparent inks, it is not possible to obtain opaque prints. As a result, printers have to double hit a print. This not only slows down productivity but also increases ink usage.
• Lack of glossy printing ink—This impacts the final customer. Unhappy customers translate to bad reviews or lost revenue for printers.
• Consistent ink quality: the current inks in the industry vary in particle sizes and color consistency in every batch. This makes it hard for printers to use existing mixing ratios, printing speeds, color matching, etc.

All these silicone printing problems contribute to inefficiencies, wastage, and higher production costs. Labor and production material costs go up due to the silicone ink. At minimum, production costs for printing silicone are about 30% higher. Poorly formulated ink for silicone cause all these challenges and inefficiencies. Yet, decorating companies continue to use these inks. This is because they did not have an alternative until now.

The solutions

This is silicone printing, simplified. Introducing the Natron SE Series from Boston Industrial Solutions. This silicone ink for pad printing solves all customer pain points in the printing process.
We spend over 1,000 hours studying customer problems. Our approach was simple. To create an innovative and advanced silicone ink for screen and pad printing.
The SE series is a two-component ink that is easy to use. Because the ink is a real ink with flow (not a paste), it is very easy to mix and use. Simply add the catalyst to the ink, mix it, and print your product.

Customers do not need to add any solvent to the ink. In addition, the inks are made of pure silicone, giving you peace of mind that there are no strange materials in the ink. The Natron SE ink is very opaque. Only print the pad once! These features save time, labor, and the amount of ink used for printing.

Additional solutions

Our containers are uniquely designed to enable users to use all the ink in the can. This design prevents ink spillage or wastage.

• Mixing instructions are provided in English and Spanish. The mixing guide contains easy-to-understand mixing, printing, and drying instructions. The mixing guide provided to you is free. You can download the guide from our website, and it is included as part of every order.
• Mega SE silicone ink mixing system for mixing and matching your own colors.
• Because we know that customers face the challenge of determining if the product they have is real silicone, we offer a free testing lab. Send your product to us, and in less than 24 hours, we will provide you with a complete report on the product and a solution for your product.
• 24/7 access is free to our ink specialists. Call us today at +1 (781) 281-2558 or send us an email by clicking here.

PAD AND SCREEN PRINTING INK FOR GLASS, CERAMICS, METALS, CARBON FIBER AND HARD PLASTICS

Pad printing ink for glass—the Natron MG Series is a 2-componet pad and screen printing glass ink. Other materials to print with this ink include ceramics, tiles, metals, aluminum, chrome-plated parts, varnish-coated substrates, thermosetting plastics, and epoxy resins. Additionally, use this ink to print carbon fiber and composite substrates.

The MG series works as both pad and screen printing glass ink.

MG Series food safe glass ink for pad printing and screen printing also has very high opacity and gloss compared to other glass printing inks on the market today. This feature makes it the perfect ink for printing on promotional items made of glass, ceramics, or metal, such as pre-printed glass panes, bottles, and tiles. In addition, the MG series will print on carbon fiber materials. This series will not only print on rigid materials, but it will also print on flexible parts by altering the hardener ratio. Learn more about glass pad printing ink applications.

Printing ink hardeners

There are three hardeners available for this glass pad printing ink. These are the i-267x, i-260x, i-240x, and i-247x. The i-267x is the most popular printing hardener for the MG ink series. The i-247x speeds up the ink’s reaction and reduces the gloss effect of the ink film.

You might also be interested in G1 UV adhesion promoter for glass.

MG Series ink colors and compliance

MG Series pad printing ink for glass is available in 22 high-opacity color shades, 4 metallic colors, etch imitation, and 4 process colors. Like all other Natron inks, the shades within this series are intermixable to create new colors. Lastly, safety data sheets are available according to US and EU regulations. See the product label for primary indications.

Additionally, the MG Series ink for screen printing on glass is “non-toxic”, formulated with fade-resistant pigments that are free from heavy metals. As a result, this ink is safe to use on medical devices and healthcare surfaces.

In instances where a matte finish is required, by adding 2% matte powder to the ink, the gloss from the ink film is reduced. Before a production run, it is important to do preliminary adhesion tests when the matting powder is added.

Inks for printing on metal and glass adhesion tests

This metal printing ink is easy to use and very resistant to binding, shearing, creasing, and chemical agents. On metals, glass, ceramic, and hard plastics, it can stand up to detergents, hot water, alcohol, acids, and alkalis. This requires the ink film to be properly cured after printing at 140 °C (250 °F) for at least 20 minutes. Here are tips on how to print glass.

Dishwasher-resistant tests:

• Domestic dish washer: 600 cycles (65°C at 130 min for alkaline detergents)
• Commercial dishwashers, e.g. Winterhalter glass washer (85°C at 3 minutes): 700 washing cycles

Chemical Resistance:

• Perfume: G1-test after 24 hours;
• Ethanol and glass cleansing agent: 500 DRS;
• Aceton/MEK: 50 DRS.

Humidity resistance:

• Condensation water test (75 °C at 100% RH for 30 minutes; cold water immersion test for 24 hours). Learn more about printing applications for this food safe ink for pad printing.

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