Formulating and Processing Pigmented UV Coatings - Latest Investigation
This paper provides an overview of several ideas for producing pigmented, UV-polymerized films with both good through-curing properties and excellent hiding power. The presentation discusses the right choice of pigments as well as different methods of processing a pigmented UV coating.
The ideal way to cure colored UV coatings would be to find pigments that absorb in the visible light range (400 nm - 700 nm), thus providing good hiding power. At the same time, the coating should be transparent for the UV light to initiate the polymerization at the bottom of the film. In this case, the curing mechanism of radical polymerization induced by UV light is sufficient to change the liquid coating to a solid film.