Elasticity effect on the ink transfer process in gravure printing

Abstract

Non-Newtonian fluid effect was investigated in the ink transfer process of gravure printing applications. It was assumed that the elasticity of the ink can be represented by the constitutive equation of the Oldroyd B model. Continuity, momentum and constitutive equations were integrated in time using a fractional step procedure combined with an immersed boundary technique. Preliminary results show that the velocity and pressure distributions are modified significantly when the elasticity effect is included in the analysis. The fact that the non-Newtonian flow field is different from the counterpart of the Newtonian field would suggest that the analysis of the ink transfer mechanism without considering the elasticity can introduce a sizable error. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.