Disclaimer:
We have been pouring ink here at Ryonet since the very beginning. As our company has grown and as we have gone through a Wilflex ink transition, we have changed our ink pouring facilities four times. We have also changed and increased our container size three times. Through these changes, we have made some mistakes that we know have affected a number of you significantly. Some customers have received ink containers that have not been filled up all the way. We are extremely sorry for those that have been inconvenienced and we are working to fix the situation. If you have received ink that has been under-poured, please call us at 1-800-314-6390 or send pictures of the ink to success@ryonet.com. We will gladly refund or credit you for the missing ink. We’ve set new expectations to help avoid these mistakes; below is an explanation of our ink pouring process.
Our Ink Pouring Process:
The USA measures ink a little different than everywhere else in the world. In other regions, ink is sold by weight. In the US, however, ink is measured by volume. Typical measurements include gallons, quarts, and pints. Pouring by volume is easy to understand, but can be a bit more difficult to execute. Every type of ink has a different density, viscosity, and relative weight. Take for example black and white ink. When both are poured at two quarts, they weigh completely different weights because the white ink is heavier. If this were Europe, where they measure by weight, you would receive a lesser volume of white ink than black, but the same weight of each. Pouring to volume sounds like it would be simple right because you would just pour to the fill line? However, it isn’t that easy. There are a few difficulties that come with pouring to volume.
The first issue comes with the thickness of the ink. Because the ink is thick, it is hard to get a smooth and even line. The second issue comes from the fact that the ink needs room to expand. When you fill a one-quart container with one quart of ink, the ink expands and explodes out of the container. In order to make sure the ink doesn’t explode during transport, we have bought larger containers to put the ink in.
At Ryonet, we measure a gallon of ink’s volume by its weight. We rely on our manufacturer, Wilflex and Green Galaxy to provide us with the exact weight each ink should weigh according to its volume. This helps us make sure we don’t under pour and put the right weight on the container. In order to avoid confusion, we print the weights on our build of materials, work orders, and on the label.
Receiving the Incorrect Amount of Ink
If you receive ink from a supplier that you think may not be the correct amount, take a look at the container because the ink may be in a larger container. If you are still concerned, weigh the ink to make sure that it matches its marked weight. If it doesn’t match, contact the distributor and ask for a credit for the missing ink. Because this is a very manual process, and humans are involved, mistakes can happen from time to time, but here at Ryonet, we are always striving to make the situation right.
If you want to learn more about screen printing inks check out The Evolution of High Solids Acrylic Ink and Wilflex ROI – Return on Ink.
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