3D printing technology is a processing technology in which 3D structures are formed by fabricating multiple 2D layers of materials based on 3D designed digital data and stacking them layer by layer. Although layers are stacked using inkjet printing to release various materials, it is still rare for research to successfully form a product as an additive manufacture of multi-materials. In this study, dispersion conditions are optimized by adding a dispersant to an acrylic monomer suitable for inkjet printing using Co3O4 and Al2O3. 3D structures having continuous composition composed of a different ceramic material are manufactured by printing using two UV curable ceramic inks whose optimization is advanced. After the heat treatment, the produced structure is checked for the formation and color of the desired crystals by comparing the crystalline analysis according to the characteristics of each part of the structure with ceramic pigments made by solid phase synthesis method.

Ceramic ink-jet printing has become a widespread technology in ceramic tile and ceramicware industries, due to its capability of manufacturing products on demand with various designs. Generally, thermally stable ceramic inks of digital primary colors(cyan, magenta, yellow, black) are required for ink-jet printing of full color image on ceramic tile. Here, we synthesized an aqueous glass-ceramic ink, which is free of Volatile organic compound(VOC) evolution, and investigated its inkjet printability. CoAl2O4 inorganic pigment and glass frit were dispersed in aqueous solution, and rheological behavior was optimized. The formulated glass-ceramic ink was suitably jetted as single sphere-shaped droplets without satellite drops. After ink-jet printing and firing processes, the printed glass-ceramic ink pattern on glazed ceramic tile was stably maintained without ink spreading phenomena and showed an improved scratch resistance.

Ink-jet printing techniques with ceramic ink, which contains ceramic pigments as colorant, are in increasingly use in the ceramic industry. Generally, ceramic pigments that are produced by conventional method show diameters of several micrometers; these micrometer sized particles in the ink-jet printing process can cause undesirable behavior such as print head nozzle clogging. To prevent this problem, a particle size reduction process is required. In this study, CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) pigments were synthesized via solid state method. Each pigment particle was milled to submicron size by an attrition mill. The effects of micronizing on the morphology, mechanical property, crystal structure and color property of the CMYK ceramic pigments were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), particle size analysis (PSA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and CIE L*a*b*.

Ink-jet printing technology has been widely attractive due to its facility for direct and fine printing on various substrates. Recent studies have focused on expanding the application of ink-jet printing technology from general consumer use and design companies to the prototype production of precision parts and parts manufacturing. The use of ink-jet printing technology in decorated tableware, tiles, and other ceramic products also has many advantages. The printing process is fast and can be adaptable to various kinds of objects because there is no direct contact point between the printer and the substrates to be printed. For application to ceramic product decoration, inks containing highly dispersed inorganic nano-pigments are required. Here we report the synthesis and characterization of blue CoAl2O4 nanopigment for ink-jet printing. Blue ceramic ink based on the obtained CoAl2O4 pigment was prepared by dissolving CoAl2O4 pigment in a mixed solution of ethylene glycol and ethanol with volume ratios of 7:3 and 8:2, respectively, to obtain the appropriate viscosity for ink-jet printing. The ink solution contained 15 wt% of CoAl2O4 pigment and Cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide(CTAB) and Sodium dodecyl sulfate(SDS) as dispersive agents. The prepared blue ceramic ink was stably jetted and formed a sphere-shaped droplet from an ink-jet printer.