The industrial market for Larch Arabinogalactan revolves around its function as a rheology control agent, as a dispersing aid for organic and inorganic particulate suspensions (including precious metal nanoparticles in colloidal suspension) and its broad functional use in water–based, flexographic inks.
Rheology Modification
Grade 100 is a powdered arabinogalactan product offering system modification in a diversity of industrial applications. Grade 100 provides stearic stabilization, allowing more efficient packing of organic or inorganic particles without increasing system viscosity, allowing increased system efficiency.
Features/Benefits
Grade 100 provides increased dispersion and stabilization of pigments and slurries without negatively impacting the system viscosity.
As depicted in the graph below, by adding Grade 100 (LAG), viscosity decreases even at very low shear rates. In addition, the change in viscosity is minimized as the shear rate increases. In a manufacturing setting, the variation in system viscosity is minimized and therefore the application of medium to substrate is not impacted by fluctuating machine speeds.
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LaraPrint® B50 |
 | A water soluble ink additive for water-based flexographic inks.
LaraPrint® B50 is a new ink additive for water-based ink systems made from the water soluble polymer, arabinogalactan (LAG). LaraPrint® is used to increase color transfer and stabilize ink formulas without raising system viscosity.
LaraPrint®'s Newtonian behavior provides a new dimension of product latitude compared to current ink additives. LaraPrint®'s synergistic functionality provides value at a lower cost.
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Feature
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Benefits
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Reduced system viscosity, Newtonian rheology
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• More solids can be added to create an even higher quality of ink • Ease of use
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Equivalent or increased color density
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• Cost savings from pigment reduction
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Improved ink formula stability
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• Extended shelf life • Ease of use
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Higher resin solids
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• Improved gloss
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Increased smoothness and transparency in film
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• Higher quality ink
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Reduced pseudoplasticity
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• Higher print speeds without loss of color density
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Comparison Summary of Control Ink vs. LaraPrint-containing Ink |
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LaraPrint Use Level
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Viscosity Change (60 RPM)
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Color Density Change
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Pigment Reduction
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Initial Ink
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12%
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-35.2%
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no change
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12%
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Aged Ink
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12%
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-40.6%
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+2.6%
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12%
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LaraPrint® B50 Research: “From printability Benefits Obtained from Arabinogalactan in water-based Inks” (Ink World, Lisa Hahn, Flexo Tech) |
| A cooperative effort between LAREX Inc., Flexo Tech, Inc., and the National Printing Ink Research Institute at Lehigh University to investigate the attributes of LAG in water-based printing inks was undertaken. LAREX provided the LAG in the form of LaraPrint® B50, a 50% no-VOC solution of arabinogalactan in water.
Flexo Tech prepared and optimized the inks and performed initial printability testing on LAG-containing inks; NPIRI provided printability test data on several substrates as well as rheological data to supplement the understanding of LAG behavior in inks.
Overall, the initial indications of the LAG solution's effect on ink systems was that of a viscosity-lowering phenomenon with very small amounts of LAG added to a finished ink. This viscosity depression was independent of the initial viscosity of the ink and LAG solution; both components were more viscous than the resulting viscosity.
Early work showed that many inks not only experienced a viscosity reduction effect and corresponding pigment reduction when diluted with higher amounts of LAG (for example, a 5-10% reduction of the ink), but they also printed as strong as the control ink.
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