The Printing Ink Manual

The first edition of the Printing Ink Manual was published by the Society of British Printing Ink Manufacturers in 1961 to fill the need for an authorative textbook on printing technology, which would serve both as a training manual and a reliable reference book for everyday use. The book soon became established as a standard source of information on printing inks and reached its fourth edition by 1988. This, the fifth edition, is being published only five years later, so rapid has been the development in technology. The objective of the Printing Ink Manual remains unchanged. It is a practical handbook designed for use by everyone engaged in the printing ink industry and the associated industries. It provides all the information required by the ink technical for the day-to-day formulation of printing inks. It supplies the factory manager with details of the latest equipment and manufacturing methods, including large-scale production, and gives guidance on achieving quality assessment and total quality management specifications. Care has been taken to maintain the value of the Manual for training both technical personnel and others who requiresome kn- ledge of inks. Readers with little scientific knowledge will not find dif- culty in using the Manual, but sufficient chemistry and physics have been included to provide an explanation of the underlying principles and theories governing the behaviour of inks for use by the advanced te- nologist. Suppliers of raw materials, substrate manufacturers, printers and print users will find the book a valuable source of information.

Dr Robert Leach worked for almost 40 years for Fishburn Printing Ink Company (now BASF) as Research Chemist, Head of Laboratories and then as Technical Director. He has edited the Printing Ink Manual since its first edition in 1961.
Ray Pierce has worked for many years in printing ink developments, initially at Fishburn Ink Company (now BASF) as Chief Chemist and then as Technical Director. He was then European Technical Director of Inmont Corporation before becoming European Technical Director of BASF Packaging Ink Division. He was a lecturer and examiner in ink science for City and Guilds. He currently works as a consultant to the industry.

The nature of printing ink.- Printing processes.- Colour and colour matching.- Raw materials.- Letterpress inks.- Lithographic inks.- Dry offset inks.- Gravure inks.- Flexographic inks.- Screen inks.- Ultra-violet and electron-beam curing systems.- Ink-jet inks.- Manufacture of inks and varnishes.- Rheology of printing inks.- Testing, control and quality assurance.- Analysis of printing inks.- Health, safety and the environment.