Printing on Anodized Aluminium Surface

Abstract

Anodizing of aluminium is widely applied when a controllable morphology and properties of the surface are required. Anodic oxide films may be developed by appropriate selection of electrolyte and film-forming conditions for various applications in the fields of architecture, aerospace, electronics, packaging and printing. In the present study, the printability of aluminium with respect to anodizing conditions is discussed. In particular, AA1050 alloy specimens were anodized in either sulfuric acid or phosphoric acid at temperatures ranging from 10˚C to 40˚C, thereby affecting the porosity and anodic layer thickness. Both the porosity and oxide thickness increase with the temperature, whereas anodization in phosphoric acid produces thinner and more porous layer than that in sulfuric acid. After the anodization step, two different printing techniques were used (i.e. digital printing and screen printing). Printed specimens were characterized by means of colour parameters, microscopy, adhesion and light fastness test. Colour parameters and ink adhesion measurements indicate that both digital and screen printing techniques give a better print quality when the anodization step is conducted in the range of 20˚C-30˚C.