TAPPI T 830-2018: Ink Friction Test of Container Plates

Drill down to see ink spills. Assess smudges, taking into account ink spots here and there. what did you see? Maybe look a little darker. Will it evoke memories of long-forgotten childhood pets? Ink test error. TAPPI T 830-2018: Ink rub test of container boards is a standard completely unrelated to the famous Rorschach test. TAPPI T 830-2018 is another ink test, perhaps a more specific one, dedicated to ink rub Testers.

 The ink rub Tester itself is a motorized device that makes a certain stroke to see if the sample is worn or running. Again, a scratch is not some hidden memory to be analyzed. Instead, the ink rub Tester should simulate the possible wear and tear of any product of interest to the user. This is especially important during the transportation or distribution of products. TAPPI T 830-2018 was created to evaluate "the mar resistance of ink film or fiber surfaces on container board and corrugated board". 

Ink rub Testers are designed to evaluate different types of tests. For example, there are dry rub tests (amount of ink transferred from one dry surface to another), wet rub tests (amount of ink transferred from one wet surface to another), etc. These tests can be run against a particular employer for different reasons. It can be as simple as seeing if certain packaging materials bleed when in contact with different types of surfaces. Some users use this test to evaluate how well certain inks perform.

In addition to TAPPI T 830-2018, there are other forms of friction and scratch testing. These tests include: 

• Abrasion of Paper and Board (Taper Method), TAPPI T 476 om-16 

• BS-3110 Method of measurement of rub resistance of printed matter 

• BS-3900 test method or trousers 

• ASTM F1319-94(2011): Standard Test Method for Determination of Abrasion and Stain Resistance of Images Produced by Commercial Copy Products (Kerschner Method) 

So the next time a user sees an ink smear, instead of thinking about what the ink is, think about how it got there. 

TAPPI T 830-2018 was authored and published by TAPPI, an ANSI-accredited standards development organization and non-profit organization dedicated to pulp and paper. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, TAPPI (founded as the Association of the Pulp and Paper Industries) produces resources that support industry professionals in their day-to-day responsibilities and drive innovation in the paper and packaging industries.

 TAPPI T 830-2018: Ink rub test for container boards is available on ANSI Webstore.