Aerospace Industry Benefits From Alcohol-Resistant Ink

Linx Printing Technologies believes that the benefits of its Black alcohol-resistant ink 1075 will prove invaluable to manufacturers who mark parts for aerospace and military applications.

Linx Black alcohol-resistant ink 1075 has been designed to be resistant to many chemicals commonly used in the aerospace industry, throughout the production process or during the aircraft’s life, such as fuel, defluxing agents and alcohol-based de-icers.

The ink features fast drying properties, whilst its strong light-fastness delivers long-term code clarity without fading. Linx Black alcohol-resistant ink 1075 adheres strongly to a number of materials, including aluminium, glass and most plastics, ensuring a clear, legible code even on difficult-to-code materials.

This is a real benefit to industries such as aerospace where there are concerns over code longevity, as Simon Powell, Marketing Manager at Linx, explains,

“Parts marking for the aerospace industry and the military is governed by a number of very stringent guidelines, ranging from industry regulations such as SAE standards, to conditions demanded by major aerospace companies of their suppliers.  The rationale for these guidelines is to ensure full ‘cradle to grave’ traceability in the event of an accident or incident, in order to identify the root cause.”

Many guidelines require that codes undergo tests to ensure they will remain visible under the harsh conditions that parts may be exposed to: typically these include resistance to alcohol and other chemicals. 

The availability of Linx Black alcohol-resistant ink 1075 now makes it possible for parts manufacturers to use Continuous Ink Jet (CIJ) printing in place of more permanent methods such as laser coding or dot preening.

For example, a manufacturer in Japan is currently using Black alcohol-resistant ink 1075 for the coding of processed aluminium parts for a major aerospace customer.  The ink runs in conjunction with the Linx 4900 CIJ printer to place a single line alphanumeric code onto each part.  The printer operates at a line speed of 5m per minute, well within its capabilities, and codes approximately 5000 products per week.

Simon Powell believes that the proven success of Linx Black alcohol-resistant ink 1075 will encourage further use within aerospace applications.

“The key criteria for the aerospace industry are a high degree of legibility, longevity, and effective, reliable operation,” he confirms.  “Linx Black alcohol-resistant ink 1075, used in conjunction with Linx’s range of CIJ printers, can deliver all of these benefits.”