U.S. Patent Printing Ink Cleaner

(Graphic Ink Remover Solution)
Inventor: Ronnie E. Bayless, Plant City, Fla.

Agency: Dotolo Research Corporation, Largo, Fla.

Application number: 322,026

Date of submission: October 12, 1994

Abstract This is a liquid, non-aqueous, one-step printing ink cleaner mixture suitable for removing printing inks. The components include d-limonene, ethyl lactate, NMP, and surfactants.

Printing Ink Cleaners Field of Invention The current product is used for the removal of layers, the components of which are suitable for various purposes of cleaning, and are particularly suitable for the cleaning of one-step printing inks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Traditional solutions or mixtures of printing ink cleaners have a number of disadvantages. At the end of the color change and printing, the screen and printing equipment are not always effectively removed. Cleaning materials such as acetone, ethane alkyl acetate, and alcohol often emit unpleasant odors, irritating the eyes, causing flammability, and causing damage to users.

The short-term goal of the invention of the invention is to provide an easy-to-manufacture, easy-to-use, efficient, one-step printing ink cleaner mixture, and to provide a method of using such a mixture.

The long-term goal of the invention is to develop an efficient, non-toxic, printing ink cleaning agent free of methylene chloride, acetone, ethane alkyl acetate and alcohol components, the composition of which contains d-limonene, ethyl lactate , NMP (n-methylpyruvate), and surfactants.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a non-aqueous liquid cleaning mixture that is specifically designed to remove printing ink from a screen. The composition of the mixture is approximately as follows:

Ingredient weight percentage
1. D-limonene 30-80
2. Ethyl lactate 10-50
3. NMP5-30
4. Surfactant 0.5-5

These ingredients and other substances will be described in the following description.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention results provide a non-aqueous liquid mixture containing the following ingredients:
1. D-limonene;
2. Ethyl lactate
3. NMP;
4. Surfactant; and 5. The gamma lactate is optionally added instead of 5 or 10, or up to 50% of NMP to obtain a lower odor and a faster evaporation rate.

The current invention product can provide a highly efficient, non-toxic, non-aqueous liquid printing ink transfer agent, cleaning agent or cleaning mixture, usually containing the following ingredients, the preferred weight percentage range being as follows:

Weight percentage
———————————————————————————————
The ingredients are usually better and better
1. D-limonene 30-80 50-68 59
2. Ethyl lactate 10-50 17-32 25
3. NMP 5-30 10-20 15
4. Surfactant 0.5-5 0.8-2 1

Optionally added gamma lactate and glycol ethers can be used as surfactants, like hydroxyethyl undecanol, or more suitable aniline sulfonates. The content of these ingredients is approximately as follows:

The most ideal composition is usually
1. D-limonene 59 30-80
2. Ethyl lactate 20 15-45
3. Gamma Ester 55-25
4. NMP 155-30
5. Surfactant 1 such as hydroxyethyl undecanol 1 0.5-5

The details of the invention The current research results are very suitable for screen printing ink transfer agent, can also be used as a full-effect cleaning agent, in particular hard surface cleaning agent, used in the printing industry for roller lining cleaning, brake lining bushing , screen and copier cleaning agents.

The cleaning mixture is easy to use and produce, usually mixed with three liquid ingredients (d-limonene, ethyl lactate and NMP), plus a surfactant to create a uniform, stable, enhanced removal Agent mixture. Ethyl lactate helps increase cleaning speed. The mixture of d-limonene, ethyl lactate and NMP is necessary to remove any visible printing ink. D-limonene is a solvent or diluent that helps permeate, strip, and transfer inks that coat the surface of the screen.

D-limonene can help relax or solubilize fats, fats, or organic materials and is commonly used as an adjunct to cleaning agents in US Pat. Nos. 4,790,951 and 5,031,648.

When N-methylpyruvate (NMP) is used as the solvent in the mixture, NMP is generally contained in less than d-limonene and ethyl lactate. US Pat. No. 4,605,670 inks describe an epidermal (drug) absorption component including NMP and other esters such as alcohol or cetyl acetate. US Pat. No. 5,011,621 is a direct paint-removal mixture and describes the use of NMP, one of the oils commonly used in latent solvents containing terpenes. US Pat. No. 5,098,591 (Stevens) describes paint cleaner mixtures containing NMP, d-limonene, and a surfactant, but does not describe the use of ethyl lactate for better results.

It is said that a larger amount of ethyl lactate may be used, and the weight percentage may be from 10-20 to 50-60%. A weight percentage of 25-35% is suitable for obtaining a faster drying speed. Ethyl lactate is also a solvent that can coexist with d-limonene, NMP, and surfactants. Ethyl lactate improves liquid compatibility, efficacy, miscibility and stability, accelerates the drying of non-aqueous d-limonene and NMP blends, and enhances the removal of difficult-to-grind surfaces. The best results are achieved when the weight percentage reaches 25-32%. As shown in the table, the total content of d-limonene in the mixture is at least 25% or 30-35%, and the mass percentage is preferably 45-55%. Sometimes, methyl lactate can be used in combination with ethyl lactate, and the mass percentage of methyl lactate in the mixture of methyl lactate and ethyl lactate can reach 3-5% to 50. -55%.

The cleaning agent mixture has outstanding balance characteristics, can easily remove the ink on the screen and the hard surface, and is not irritating, the working condition is good, the drying speed is quick, the components are relatively easy to mix, and the cleaned surface is suitable for film surface. This cleaning agent produces less than two-thirds of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) compared to currently used products, allowing for cleaning operations.

The preferred surfactant is an alkyl sulfonic acid aniline surfactant (Stepan Ninate 411TM). The alkyl groups usually contain 1 to 16 carbon atoms, preferably 4 to 6 or 8 to 10 carbon atoms. Suitable surfactants are ethyl sulfates, phosphate esters, and other surfactants mentioned in column 8 of US Pat. No. 5,098,591 (Stevens).

Stevens' patented product describes a terpene (d-limonene); NMP, a surfactant and a carbonate or glycol ether. Carbonates such as ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate are essential ingredients and are one of the advantages of Stevens patented products. However, the use of ethyl lactate and printing ink cleaners has not been shown in the Stevens patent.

Need to declare is:

An ink cleaner comprising:

D-limonene with a mass percentage of approximately 30 to 80

A mass percentage of about 10 to 50 ethyl lactate;

N-methylpyruvate with a mass percentage of about 5 to 30

The mass percentage is approximately 0.5 to 5 surfactants;

The mass percentage is about 0 to 25 gamma lactate.

2. The print ink cleaner of Statement 1 has a mass percentage of d-limonene of approximately 59%.

3. The printing ink cleaner in Statement 1 has an ethyl lactate mass percentage of about 20% to 25%.

4. The printing ink cleaner of Statement 1 has a mass percentage of N-methylpyruvate of about 15%.

5. The printing ink cleaner in Statement 1 has a surfactant mass percentage of about 1%.

6. The print ink cleaner in Statement 1 has a mass percentage of gamma lactate of about 5%.

7. An ink cleaner comprising:

The mass percentage is approximately 59% of d-limonene;

The mass percentage is approximately 25% ethyl lactate;

A mass percentage of approximately 15% of N-methylpyruvate; and

The mass percentage is approximately 1% of the surfactant.

An ink cleaner comprising:

The mass percentage of approximately 59% of d-limonene

The mass percentage is approximately 20% ethyl lactate;

Mass percentage of approximately 15% of N-methylpyruvate

The mass percentage is approximately 1% of the surfactant; and,

The mass percentage is approximately 5% of gamma lactate.
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Printing ink cleaning agents containing dibasic acid esters and their ink transfer methods Current invention products are related to the printing ink cleaning agent mixture for removing the ink on the surface of the screen, and the mixture consists of dibasic acid ester and the double acrylic anhydride methyl ether vinegar. Composition of acid salts.

Background of the Invention Ink is used in conjunction with a screen mesh in printing. The cleaning operation and the process of removing the printing ink are all difficult, especially in the case that the clarity of the printed surface or the silkscreen surface film is not damaged after the water washing, these processes become more difficult.

One of the goals of the invention of the invention is to produce a fast, clean and efficient printing ink transfer agent that can fully remove the ink on the surface of the screen without damaging the film.

Another object of the invention is to produce a printing ink cleaner having the following composition: (A) dibasic acid ester, (B) double acrylic anhydride methyl ether acetate (?) and (C) mass percent 2- 21/2 or 10-12% of cocamide DEA/Dihexyl Sodium Sulfosuccinate (CDDSS) surfactant, Monamulse DL-1273TM.

These goals will be shown in the following description.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a printing ink cleaner mixture consisting essentially of (A) a dibasic ester and (B) an amount of bis-anhydride alcohol methyl ether acetate (?), (A) & (B) The composition of 88% to 98% of the total mass of the mixture, plus 2% to 12% of the (nonionic and anionic) surfactant, CDDSS (Monamulse DL-1273).

The preferred and optimal mass percentage of the composition of the product mixture of the invention is approximately as follows:

Preferred Ingredients Content Best Content Diester 60-80 68-78
Double acrylic anhydride methyl ether acetate 18-38 21-29
Surfactants: (nonionic and anionic) (Monamulse DL-1273TM) 2-12 3-6