Dyne Testing is another term for measuring surface energy which is a simple quality test that can be done in seconds and lets you know information about the surface including the cleanliness and the likelihood of adhesion for processes such as printing and bonding.
You may see the inks used to measure the energy of a surface referred to by various names including test inks, dyne pens, surface energy inks, quick test pens and jumbo test pens. All work on the technique of placing a known and controlled test fluid onto an unknown surface and observing the results. It helps us to determine the surface free energy – also known as the dyne level and is measured in millinewtons per meter or dynes per centimetre and is commonly referred to as dynes.
Why Use Dyne Testing?
Dyne tests are a great indicator of how your material will perform with adhesion processes like coating, printing or painting; for example, if you need 40 dynes for your process, and your normal 40 test ink results in a failure, you’ll know the print quality will be poor. All of the inks we make are made in accordance with ISO8296, ASTM D2578 and TAPPI T698 standards which are common in manufacturing plants globally.
While the standards focus on polymers being tested, it is very common for this method to be used on any material – especially metals and composite materials. The standards give a standard manufacturing method and a standard measuring technique which is suggested for polymer films. The same method can be applied to any material.
