Micronizing ceramic pigments for inkjet printing: Part I. Grindability and particle size distribution

Inkjet printing is increasingly used to decorate ceramic tiles, with pigmented inks in most cases. These inks are manufactured by micronizing conventional ceramic pigments down to median diameters of 0.2–0.6 µm. Although such a size reduction theoretically offers significant advantages in terms of the optical and fluid mechanical properties of the pigment particles, still unanswered questions concern color strength and the efficiency of the milling process. The present study aimed to elucidate how micronizing influences the pigments’ particle size and shape, and the specific surface area. For this purpose, industrial pigments were selected to represent crystal structures of different density, hardness, cleavage and fracture toughness, i.e. rutile, spinel and zircon. The pigments were micronized in a pilot plant, controlling carrier, solid load, dispersant type and concentration, rotation speed, amount and size of grinding media, temperature and milling time. The pigments were characterized by particle size distribution (laser diffraction and dynamic light scattering) and morphology (SEM). The results revealed a different behavior of the pigments during micronization, with changes in particle size and shape partially consistent with the literature. The pigments’ grindability differed: zircon>rutile≥spinel.