Water, Ink and Tack.

The amount of water absorbed by offset inks through emulsification has been found to be an interaction between the vehicle type, the chemical and physical properties of the pigment present, and the volume fraction of pigment contained in the ink. In several cases it is shown that the pigment properties are the dominant influence determining the behavior of ink in contact with water. One of the instruments used in this study is the TACK-O-SCOPE. This instrument has been found to yield very reproducible data, from run to run and instrument to instrument.