A Breif Introduction On Glow In The Dark Ink

Glow in the dark ink is also known as photoluminescent ink and luminous ink, it is made by  mixing photoluminescent pigment, transparent ink and additives. As its name suggest, is a kind of ink that has a novel luminous effect in the dark.

MINHUI has glow in the dark pigment that is specially designed for making luminous ink. Compared to the glow powder you may get from the market, our pigment has multiple colors, long afterglow time(>12 hours) and high luminosity. Glow in the dark ink made with our pigment has many advantages including strong adhesion, high heat resistance and abrasive resistance. It is suitable for silk-screen printing, gravure printing and spray painting on different materials like paper, textile, wood, plastic, metal, pottery, etc.

Below is our general guide on how to make glow in the dark ink and how to use it to achieve the best and brightest result. Please note that these guidelines can only be referred to when using Zhejiang Minhui Luminous Technology Co., Ltd (MINHUI)’s photoluminescent pigments, and you might need to adjust certain parameters during actual production.

Glow In The Dark Pigment For Ink

How to Make Glow In The Dark Ink

1. Please choose neutral transparent resin (transparent ink) as the medium.

2. Glow pigment with smaller particle size works better for making luminous ink, so we recommend out pigment with grain size C and D. For more details, please take a look at our Photoluminescent Pigment For Ink.

3. The amount of luminescent pigment should be adjusted according to your desired level of luminosity. When the content of the glow pigment in the glow ink is higher, the pattern printed with this ink also has higher luminosity and longer glow time. Generally speaking, the amount of glow in the dark pigment should be around 30-60% of the total amount.

4. When the glow ink is precipitated, a container with a glass or enamel lining can be used to disperse the photoluminescent pigment with high-speed stirring.

5. To reduce sedimentation, use high-viscosity resin or anti-settling agent, stir well before use.

6. Heavy metal compounds cannot be used as additives.

7. Choose different types of transparent ink according to different substrates. For example, if the substrate is made of metal, ink for metal should be selected. If the substrate is made of PVC, then PVC ink should be used.

Glow In The Dark Ink Application: Bed Sheet 

How To Use Glow In The Dark Ink

1. The ink viscosity is recommended to be about 3000-5000 poise. When printing, adjust the ink viscosity with diluent according to the printing speed.

2. For silk-screen printing, in order to obtain a printing pattern with better luminous effect, screens with 200 mesh and below can be used. The ink layer printed by lower mesh screen is thicker, and therefore the pattern also has a higher luminosity. 80-120 mesh screen usually can help you to reach an optimal result.

3. To increase the glow intensity and glow time of the patterns, print a white layer under the photoluminescent layer or print directly on a white substrate.

4. In order to obtain a pattern with ideal brightness, the minimum film thickness of the glow in the dark ink layer should not be less than 100um. Generally, when the thickness is around 150-200um, the highest and most cost-effective luminosity can be obtained.

5. More eye-catching patterns can be obtained by register color method.

Application Example

Transparent ink 60%

MHG-4C 40%

Use a 100-mesh silk screen to print three times on the self-adhesive art paper.

MINHUI’s photoluminescent pigment can also be used for making ink, resin, glass, ceramics, plastics, sign, watches, fabrics and many more. To get more specific and tailored recommendations, please contact our specialist at sales@mphotoluminescent.com or by clicking CONTACT US.