Recent development on preparation of ceramic inks in ink-jet printing

The ink-jet printing has been widely applied in the decoration of ceramic tiles in last ten years since its excited characteristics provide the possibility to produce the customized ceramic tiles with higher image definition at a lower cost in a shorter duration. The number of ink-jet printers in operation worldwide increased rapidly in recent years. Besides the printer, one of the critical factors for an effective printing is inks. This paper focuses on the ceramic ink and reviews recent development on the preparation of ceramic inks by various methods, such as sol–gel, reverse microemulsion, polyol, hydrothermal and mechanical grinding. Some aspects for future development are proposed based on the application of ceramic inks in industries.