Radiation Curable Ink Compositions

Abstract

The radiation curable ink compositions exhibit fasting curing, high flexibility and good adhesion to a broad range of substrates. The ink compositions include a dendritic or hyperbranched polyester acrylate component, which is present in an amount of 10-45% by weight and has a functionality of greater than 5. The compositions further include an oligomer component, a monomer component, a photoinitiator component, a colorant component, and an additive component. The compositions have a viscosity of not greater than 40 cP at 25° C. The radiation curable compositions are suitable for inkjet printing on a variety of substrates.

1 . A radiation curable ink composition comprising:
 (a) at least one of a dendritic and a hyperbranched polyester acrylate component, a total amount of the dendritic and hyperbranched polyester acrylate consisting of 10-45% by weight of the ink composition;   (b) an oligomer component;   (c) a monomer component; and   (d) a photoinitiator component.   
     
     
         2 . The ink composition of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one dendritic and hyperbranched polyester acrylate has a functionality of greater than 5 in the ink composition. 
     
     
         3 . The ink composition of  claim 1 , wherein the ink viscosity is not greater than 40 cP at 25° Celsius. 
     
     
         4 . The ink composition of  claim 1 , wherein the ink viscosity is not greater than 30 cP at 25° Celsius. 
     
     
         5 . The ink composition of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one dendritic and hyperbranched polyester acrylate component consists of 10-30% by weight of the ink composition. 
     
     
         6 . The ink composition of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one dendritic and hyperbranched polyester acrylate component consists of 15-20% by weight of the ink composition. 
     
     
         7 . The ink composition of  claim 1 , wherein the oligomer consists of 1-15% by weight of the ink composition. 
     
     
         8 . The ink composition of  claim 1 , wherein the oligomer consists of 5-10% by weight of the ink composition. 
     
     
         9 . The ink composition of  claim 1 , wherein the oligomer is at least one of an acrylic oligomer, a urethane (meth)acrylate oligomer, a polyester based (meth)acrylate oligomer, a polyether based (meth)acrylate oligomer, and an epoxy (meth)acrylate oligomer. 
     
     
         10 . The ink composition of  claim 1 , wherein the monomer component consists of 30-80% by weight of the ink composition. 
     
     
         11 . The ink composition of  claim 1 , wherein the monomer component consists of 30-60% by weight of the ink composition. 
     
     
         12 . The ink composition of  claim 1 , wherein the oligomer has a functionality of not greater than three. 
     
     
         13 . The ink composition of  claim 1 , wherein the monomer has a functionality of not greater than two. 
     
     
         14 . The ink composition of  claim 1 , wherein the photoinitiator component consists of 1-20% by weight of the ink composition. 
     
     
         15 . The ink composition of  claim 1 , wherein the photoinitiator component consists of 5-15% by weight of the ink composition. 
     
     
         16 . The ink composition of  claim 1 , further comprising a colorant component. 
     
     
         17 . The ink composition of  claim 16 , wherein the colorant component consists of 0-20% by weight of the ink composition. 
     
     
         18 . The ink composition of  claim 1 , further comprising an additive component. 
     
     
         19 . The ink composition of  claim 18 , wherein the additive component consists 0.01% -2% by weight of the ink composition. 
     
     
         20 . A method of ink jet printing comprising:
 jetting from an ink jet printer an ink composition onto a substrate, the ink composition comprising:
 a) at least one of a dendritic and a hyperbranched polyester acrylate component, a total amount of the dendritic and hyperbranched polyester acrylate consisting of 10-45% by weight of the ink composition; 
 (b) an oligomer component; 
 (c) a monomer component; and 
 (d) a photoinitiator component; and 
   curing the ink through exposure to radiation.