Which type of services does your company “Inks for Toys” provide?

“Inks for Toys” deals in complete solutions for the toys printing industry. We have inks and paints in vibrant colors with brilliant luster. These inks are toxin-free with great adhesion, specially prepared for the toy industry keeping in mind the International Regulations. Apart from standard inks & paints, we have an experienced team and a lab for tailor-made inks/paints for special purposes such as conductive inks, high-temperature inks, mirror inks, etc. We have separate department dedicated to specific color matching requirements. Apart from inks, paints, coatings, textile & flexible inks solutions, we provide laser-etched plates, printing machines (such as pad printing, screen printing and spray printing machine), Jigs & Fixtures, adhesion testing, training & consulting. We specialize in crafting doll eyes which happen to be quite tricky. We make brushed/custom-matched colors that can be screen-printed, pad printed or even spray coated. We provide technical assistance, set-up help and even get your products tested for safety.

Are your inks/paints toxin-free and compliant with the International Regulations?

Yes, our inks/paints are compliant with various International Regulations such as American, European Union, Japan, Australian & New Zealand, etc. Our Inks/paints are tested for various non-toxic chemical compounds, which have hazardous impact on the health of children. Our inks/paints are tested by accredited laboratories (such as SGS and TUV etc.) and toxic substances such as heavy metals, phthalates, cadmium, lead, PFOS, PFOA, organotin & tin, BPA, DMF were either not found or were found under the permissible limits.

How safe is the use of printing inks inside the food container that comes in direct contact with food?

Special inks are used for printing food container/packaging that involves indirect food contact. These inks are manufactured to be fast-drying, non-toxic, and odourless.

What health risks are the consumers facing?

The health risks posed by printing inks depend on the individual properties and concentration of the chemical substances. Due to this reason, the regulatory bodies across the globe put limits on the concentration of hazardous substances in inks for specific purposes. For example: PAA (Primary Aromatic Amines): Several PAAs have carcinogenic and mutagenic properties. Phthalates: Six listed phthalates (Directive 2005/84/EC) have endocrine, carcinogenic, mutagenic and reproduction hazardous properties. PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons): Some PAHs listed in REACH (SVHC list) have carcinogens posing increased risk of lungs, skin, bladder, and gastrointestinal diseases in humans. Ethyl benzene: Carcinogenic and affects children when their organs are developing. Cyclohexanone (used in solvents, nylon): Extreme exposure to this chemical causes irritation in eyes, nose, throat and kidney damage, narcosis (drowsiness due to drug-dust angel). Bisphenol A (BPA): BPA is known to causing reproductive, immunity, and neurological problems, as well as an increased likelihood of Alzheimer, childhood asthma, metabolic disease, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in humans. Our inks/paints were tested by accredited laboratories and found no traces of such toxic substances.

What is pre and post treatment?

Pre-treatment: All plastics have a natural dyne level or surface tension that will determine how easy or how difficult it will be to achieve good adhesion. For the ink to stick well, the surface tension of the substrate needs to be higher than that of the ink. Normally, Polycarbonate, ABS and Styrene have surface tensions higher than the ink while polypropylene (PP), nylon (PA) and polyethylene (PE) have lower surface tensions than the ink. These substrates need to be pre-treated before printing. It is a good idea to wipe the surface with isopropyl alcohol to remove oils or residues, prior to pad printing any parts. Following are the pre-treatment techniques to raise the surface tension - Flamers: Low flame is passed over the printing surface. Corona & Plasma: Passes an electric discharge over the surface. Post-treatment: The main purpose of treating components after the printing process is to reduce the curing time. Post-treatment, or curing, is usually used in the applications, where components will undergo additional processing within a relatively short time. The methods used to cure a printed part are: Flame treatment Hot air treatment Infrared dryer U.V dryer Note: The selection of the best-suited Pre/Post-treatment method will depend upon the chemical composition of the ink, surface dyne level, and other factors.

How do jigs & fixtures manufactured by us meet the high tolerance requirements?

We have 3-axis and 5-axis CNC machines from the world’s best manufacturers such as Deckel Maho and DMG Mori. These machines assure machining up to 5 microns. Jigs and fixtures made by additive manufacturing have their own advantages. Additive manufacturing saves a lot of time. We can manufacture complex design jigs & fixtures with a lot of customization. In additive manufacturing we customize material density, impart honeycomb & netted structure (so as to save material without compromising strength).

How can I print on dark substrate?

We can print on dark substrate by using highly opaque inks and sometimes, we even under-print white for opacity.

How can one do elastic printing?

Printing can be made elastic by selecting right elastic ink as well as substrate. In fact, we even provide inks for fabrics containing elastone, which can stretch up-to 200 percent.

What are the reasons for poor adhesion of INKS?

Following are the possible reasons of poor adhesion of INKS: Thick layer of Inks: For proper adhesion of inks, the ink deposition should not be too thick. For pad printing process, the etched plate should be of appropriate depth and for UV screen-printing; energy of UV lamp should be proportional to ink thickness for proper curing. Chemical nature of the substrate: Check the chemical nature of substrate and select the suitable inks thereafter. Pre-treatment of the substrate: Some substrates like polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), Polyamide (PA, Nylon) have dyne level lesser than that of inks and thus these substrates require pre-treatment to increase the dyne level of the surface for better adhesion of the inks.

How can I print two, four, six or more than six colors with proper registration of each color?

For printing two, four and six colors we have world’s best printing solutions from KAMMANN. We have an expert & experienced team in automation & machine building. We have successfully delivered dozens of project in toy industry where registration/accuracy/repeatability is the major concern in case of multiple color printing.

How do we ensure the quality of pad printing?

We at Spinks World are having 30 years of experience in printing solutions. We monitor each component of pad printing and ensure best quality in the market. To ensure best quality of pad printing, we very carefully monitor the following aspects: Depth of Etched Plate: Generally, the depth of plate is around 18-25 microns but it also depends on the nature of inks (such as viscosity)and pad's material (such as hardness). Hardness of pad Surface of pad Roll angle of pad (generally between 15-60 degrees) Pressure exerted on the pad by machine Mixture of inks & solvents Tip & vertex of the pad

Are your inks/paints suitable for all substrates used in toys industries?

Substrates generally used in the toys industry include wood (maple, walnut, poplar, ash, beech, birch etc.), textiles (polyester, acrylic, cotton, poly-cotton etc.), plastics (PP, PE, PA, special PVC, PET, PU etc.), metals, ceramics and glass. We have inks/paints for all kinds of substrates listed above.