Arcdeco TB 240 Dry-Offset Ink for Aluminium Collapsible Tubes
A concentrated oil-based dry-offset ink for soft annealed aluminium collapsible tubes. It is formulated to follow filling, folding and crimping of the tube end and repeated squeezing and rolling by the user without cracking at the folds or flaking.
Grade Arcdeco TB 240 | Range Metal Decorating Inks | Technology Concentrated oil-based dry-offset paste ink, cured together with the wet varnish in the drying oven over a base enamel already dried in its own pass
Technical Data Sheet
Arcdeco TB 240
Issue 2026.09
1. Product description
A concentrated oil-based dry-offset ink for soft annealed aluminium collapsible tubes used for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food and technical products. Once printed and varnished, the tube is filled, its end is folded and crimped, and the user squeezes and rolls it, so the ink has to follow repeated flexing of a very soft metal without cracking at the folds or flaking when rolled, and must not mark under splashes of the contents. The usual failure is cracking along the crimp or on a rolled tube. Tube basecoats and overvarnishes are in the Arctube range, not Arccan, and the ink is qualified on the enamel and varnish the customer actually runs.
2. Features
- Follows repeated flexing of annealed aluminium without cracking at the folds
- Resists flaking when the tube is rolled
- Does not mark under splashes of the contents
- Up to eight or nine colours, varnished wet and cured together with the varnish
- Qualified on the Arctube base enamel and overvarnish the customer actually runs
3. Recommended uses
External decoration of aluminium collapsible tubes for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food and technical products, over a base enamel, or on bare aluminium where the design allows.
Substrates. Annealed aluminium collapsible tubes after internal lacquering and base enamel, or bare aluminium where the design allows. The customer’s base enamel and varnish are stated at enquiry.
4. Typical properties
| Property | Typical value | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | Concentrated oil-based dry-offset paste ink, cured together with the wet varnish in the drying oven over a base enamel already dried in its own pass | Formulation |
| Form and colour range | Concentrated paste ink in colours matched to an approved standard | Visual |
| Composition | Oil-based vehicle, pigment-concentrated for thin films; formulated without PTFE wax | Supplier formulation record, declared not tested |
| Tack | Stated per colour on a named instrument, speed and roller temperature, set against the customer's decorator or printer | ISO 12634, rotary tackmeter; readings compared only on the same instrument type, roller temperature and speed |
| Viscosity at 25 degrees C | 20 to 120 Pa.s, with yield value reported; stated per colour on the Certificate of Analysis | ISO 12644, falling rod viscometer |
| Fineness of grind | 5 micrometres or finer | ISO 1524 |
| Formability of the printed stack | No cracking or loss of adhesion at 8 to 9 mm cupping indentation or over the mandrel agreed, as a comparative bench check; acceptance by crimp and roll tests on filled tubes | ISO 1520 cupping and ISO 1519 or ISO 6860 mandrel bend on flat soft aluminium panels carrying the customer's base enamel, the ink and the varnish, as comparative checks only; then crimp and roll tests on filled tubes to customer protocol |
| Adhesion on the full coating stack | Cross-cut classification 0 to 1 | ISO 2409 |
| Resistance to the contents | No marking or softening under splashes of the customer's own product | Customer or supplier protocol |
| Colour against the approved standard | ΔE00 1.0 to 2.0, agreed by colour and measured on the customer's own basecoat or metal | Measurement to ISO 13655, colour difference by CIEDE2000 to ISO/CIE 11664-6, against a signed standard on the production substrate |
Typical values, not a specification. Values for each batch are given on its Certificate of Analysis.
5. Application
| Parameter | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Application method | Dry offset on a tube printing machine with up to eight or nine colours onto a blanket, according to the machine. |
| Surface preparation | Print on annealed aluminium tubes after internal lacquering and base enamel, or on bare aluminium where the design allows. The customer's base enamel and varnish are stated at enquiry. |
| Dry ink film weight | About 0.5 to 2.0 g/m2 dry per colour, set by colour, coverage and press and confirmed at trial. |
| Overcoat | Tube overvarnish from the Arctube range, applied wet over the ink. |
| Cure schedule | Ink and varnish cured together in the drying oven at the schedule of the enamel and varnish, typically several minutes at about 150 to 200 degrees C. |
| Qualification | Crimp and roll tests on filled tubes are part of the trial. |
Process. Dry offset on a tube printing machine with up to eight or nine colours onto a blanket, according to the machine, varnish applied wet, and ink and varnish cured together in the drying oven at the schedule of the enamel and varnish, typically several minutes at about 150 to 200 degrees C. Crimp and roll tests on filled tubes are part of the trial.
6. Storage and handling
Store in the original closed containers in a cool, dry place away from direct sun and sources of heat, and keep lids closed between uses to limit skinning. Shelf life is stated on the label and Certificate of Analysis. Handle and use the product in line with its Safety Data Sheet.
7. Safety and regulatory information
Read the Safety Data Sheet before use. Safety Data Sheets and regulatory declarations are issued by our technical centre against the product and batch supplied, so they are sent on request rather than published. Request a Safety Data Sheet or declaration.
This Technical Data Sheet is published for on-screen reference. The information is given in good faith from laboratory and application experience and describes typical values; it is not a specification and does not replace a trial on your own substrate and line. Arctic Materials may revise this sheet without notice. Issue 2026.09.
Technical Data Sheets on this site are for on-screen viewing. For a controlled copy, write to tech@arcticmaterials.com.
Other grades in this range
Need a Safety Data Sheet, a regulatory declaration or a grade specified to your line? Contact our technical centre.