The work aims to develop an invisible ink system that combines printability, color development triggering, and multicolor display capabilities, and to evaluate its application performance. Leuco-Red, Leuco-Yellow, and Leuco-Blue were used as dyes, and a polyurethane resin/ethanol system was used to prepare the invisible ink. Combined with Zn2+ color-developing agents, tests were conducted on rheological properties, chromatic characteristics, multicolor printing, color-developing mechanisms, and environmental stability. The three leuco dyes were colorless or lightly colored in their initial state and underwent ring-opening color development under the action of Zn2+. The prepared inks exhibited significant shear-thinning properties, suitable for inkjet printing. After color development, the three inks displayed red, yellow, and blue tones respectively, with good color distinction and multicolor display capability. Stability tests showed that the system maintained minimal color difference changes under high humidity, high temperature, and UV conditions, demonstrating good environmental stability. The constructed invisible ink system possesses good inkjet printing compatibility, color response ability, multicolor display performance, and environmental stability, showing potential for applications in functional printing, anti-counterfeiting labeling, and information display.
Key words
invisible ink /
inkjet printing /
multicolor display /
environmental stability /
functional printing
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