Ink Jetting Inks for Food Application

1 . An ink comprising a non-aqueous based carrier, a surfactant and at least, one active ingredient selected from the group consisting of a colorant, a flavor, a perfume, sugar, amino acid, protein and mixtures thereof, wherein the ink is printed onto a substrate on a high speed processing line via one or more piezo-electric drop-on-demand printers.

2 . The ink of claim 1 wherein the surfactant is selected from the group consisting of polysorbate based surfactants, lecithin based surfactants, sorbitan based surfactants and mixtures thereof.

3 . The ink of claim 1 wherein the surfactant comprises less than about 50% by weight oil.

4 . The ink of claim 3 wherein the surfactant comprises less than about 30% by weight oil.

5 . The ink of claim 4 wherein the surfactant comprises less than about 10% by weight oil.

6 . The ink of claim 6 wherein the surfactant comprises less than about 5% by weight oil.

7 . The ink of claim 1 further comprising a viscosity modifier.

8 . The ink of claim 7 wherein the viscosity modifier is glycerin.

9 . The ink of claim 1 comprising less than about 50% by weight, water.

10 . The ink of claim 9 comprising less than about 30% by weight water.

11 . The ink of claim 10 comprising less than about 10% by weight water.

12 . The ink of claim 11 comprising less than about 5% by weight water.

13 . The ink of claim 1 wherein the ink is edible.

14 . The ink of claim 13 wherein the substrate is edible.

15 . The ink of claim 13 wherein the surfactant is lecithin based.

16 . The ink of claim 1 wherein the non-aqueous based carrier comprises a glycol based liquid.

17 . The ink of claim 1 further comprising a humectant.

18 . The ink of claim 1 further comprising an anti-foamer.

19 . The ink of claim 1 wherein the ink has a pH, and the pH of the ink is controlled to a range of 4 to 10.

20 . The ink of claim 1 wherein the ink has a surface tension from about 24 to about 50 dyn/cm.