LithoTrol is a high-performance additive used to reduce excessive water pickup in any type of lithographic or web offset ink. Typically, 0.5 to 1.0% of LithoTrol added to any ink with a "Duke" water pickup of 100% or more will see a reduction to 35-55% water pickup. Results vary by the type of fountain solution used.

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How do you know you need LithoTrol? The simplest way is to perform an ink/water emulsification test prior to running a new formula on an actual printing press. To perform an official "Duke" test, you'll need a Duke™ Ink/Water Emulsification tester. A Duke water pickup of more than 80% in 5 minutes is an indicator that you will need to use a water pickup control agent like LithoTrol. Another way to determine if you need LithoTrol is when your client complains of your ink "piling" or building up a gummy gel on the press's rollers, especially during a long run.

This many times means that the ink is emulsifying excessively and that the ink is full of water, which makes the ink very short in flow and gummy in texture. Less often, the water will "wash out" the ink due to the ink not having enough viscosity and tack to counter the fountain solution effectively. Inks with low tack & viscosity will especially benefit if it can be proven that they have too much water pickup. Inks treated with LithoTrol resist changes in viscosity and flow much better than an ink without LithoTrol.

LithoTrol contains the highest concentration of active water-fighting ingredient currently available. LithoTrol comes in the form of a medium viscosity clear paste that can be easily stirred in to any offset paste ink.

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SPECIFICATIONS:

Active ingredient: Hydrophobic Polyoxyalkane compounds

Active Content: 25%

Solvent/VOC Content: 44%

Vehicle type: Quickset/Heatset Multipurpose

Appearance: Soft, long-flow amber gel