Objective
The use of aqueous printing inks is being encouraged in the printing industry for a variety of reasons. The move away from traditional solvent based inks is a direct result of the need to lessen the impact on the environment made by the printing industry. The use of solvents is both detrimental to the environment and costly in terms of the problems associated with solvent handling and disposal. There is a problem associated with the employment of aqueous inks however, which is due to their tendency to deteriorate during use. One area of particular concern is where the ink suffers from a loss of adhesive properties and a tendency to emulsify as it becomes increasingly acidic in use. It is possible to counter this deterioration in ink characteristics by the addition of liquid amines for example, which has the effect of extending the useful operating life of the ink. Clearly there are further cost and environmental concerns regarding the dosing of ink with liquid amines and it is important that only the minimum required amount be added. In order to achieve optimum dosing of the ink an accurate measure of ink pH is required. This has traditionally been achieved via the use of glass bulb pH probes, which tend to be expensive, bulky and fragile. In addition the ink tends to clog the sensors quickly rendering them inoperative. These limitations to the use of traditional pH probes have meant that the printing industry has not been able to easily control aqueous ink pH during use and hence the adoption of these more environmentally friendly inks has not been as extensive and rapid as might have been hoped. This project proposal aims to address the problems of aqueous ink pH monitoring and control by developing low cost, rugged and miniature solid state pH probes which can be fitted to ink viscosity control equipment without the need for prior calibration. Thus it will become possible for automatic pH dosing of aqueous inks to be carried out by the ink control system such that high performance printing can be achieved with these new solvent free inks. Although aimed primarily at aqueous inks, the potential use of the pH sensors for ink control in other areas will also be investigated. The monitoring and control of fountain fluid pH in printing processes is one obvious example. If this approach is successful it is also expected to pave the way to an increased usage of solid state chemical sensors in a variety of other industrial applications.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering control systems
- engineering and technology materials engineering
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors
- social sciences economics and business business and management employment
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry amines
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
RG28 7BB Whitchurch
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.