An ink produced from acrylic polymers and used in various printing processes. Acrylic solution resins are used in paste inks for offset lithography and screen printing. They also produce excellent halftone dots because of their color fidelity and fast setting times. Acrylic paste inks are widely used in the printing of cartons used for packaging.
Acrylic substances are also widely used in solvent-based liquid inks for flexography, and their resistance to discoloration, heat and abrasion, as well as their strength, yields excellent results when printed on paper, paperboard, and a variety of plastic substrates. Often, the addition of nitrocellulose to acrylic-based liquid solvent inks improves heat resistance and compatibility with other laminating materials.
Acrylic polymers are also used in water-based liquid inks, which are largely replacing solvent-based inks in flexographic and gravure printing, primarily for environmental reasons.
Acrylic inks are also widely used for outdoor applications because of the weather resistance and durability of acrylic polymers.