Impact of Leveling Agents on the Film-Forming Performance of Water-Based Inks

In this contribution, the three leveling agents with different chemical structures were applied in a water-based polyacrylic ink to investigate the effect of leveling agents on the film-forming performance of the ink. The results showed that polyether-modified dimethylpolysiloxane leveling agent has advantages in reducing the surface tension of the ink and increasing the smoothness of the ink film. The polydimethylsiloxane-based leveling agent with high molecular weight is more suitable for defoaming the ink and increasing the smoothness of the ink film, while polyacrylate-based leveling agent has more distinct advantages in improving the flow property and wetting effect of the ink on substrate than the other two leveling agents.