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ASHLAND INC. INTRODUCES ULTRA LOW-ODOR, HIGH-PERFORMANCE RESINS TO COATINGS AND GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRY
FlexCure resins are based on an innovative platform technology that uses a proprietary, energy-curable acrylic resin chemistry developed by Ashland. With exposure to typical commercial UV energy dosages, optimum cure can be achieved with little or no photoinitiator. Additional benefits include low odor, reduced amount of harmful monomers, and improved depth of cure. 'FlexCure resins are capable of dispersing a wide variety of fillers and pigments and adhere to the most challenging substrates, while offering unsurpassed curing performance due to inherent photoreactivity built into the resin architecture,' says Dr. Luca P. Fontana, vice president of Global Technology, Ashland Specialty Chemical. 'They provide new opportunities in several market segments that cannot be achieved with existing technologies.' A major advancement is the development of third generation OPV resins that provide full cure at commercial printing speeds and dosages without conventional photoinitiators. 'We have test printed commercial products, both with conventional inks and FlexCure UV inks, and third-generation gloss and matte OPVs applied,' says Harold D. Moffat, vice president of marketing, Drew Industrial, a business group of Ashland Specialty Chemical. 'FlexCure self-initiating resins are groundbreaking in terms of being able to provide excellent speed and productivity with little or no photoinitiator and, therefore, no odor.' FlexCure products have been performance tested in a wide variety of applications ranging from wood coatings and wood fillers, rigid plastic and metal coatings, to graphic arts systems and offer solutions to the most challenging obstacles. Superior adhesion to very low surface energy materials can be designed into resin architecture. Elongation has also been significantly improved for selected packaging applications where storage or temperature changes have previously caused shrinkage or other difficulties.
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