AMPS Ltd., a UK-based manufacturer and distributor of magnetic pigments and inks, has begun manufacturing its own line of ferric grade audio tape, while it continues to build its specialty lines of magnetic formulations. The company’s products feature an extensive range of coercivity precisely targeted for an assortment of applications including transit, bank note, aircraft black-box, secure printing and recordable media.
“We’re very happy to be finally coating and producing our Soundwaves ferric, AT-11 pancake,” said Alan Montgomery, who heads the company. “We’re very happy with the quality of the tape and hope our customers will be, too.” Introduced in November, the pancake is wound onto 3-inch hubs used by broadcasters and recording studios and comes 2900m in length. It can be used for duplication or winding into blank cassettes.
Meanwhile, the company’s line of magnetic pigments, magnetic inks and other specialty chemicals for the printing and coating industries continues to expand. With nearly 20 years of experience in micron scale iron and iron oxide powder technology, AMPS now offers a range of very fine, very high purity iron powders with particle size in the range of 0.5 to 20μm. Its magnetic inks are formulated using the magnetic pigments that it produces.
In water or solvent mediums, the selection of inks and slurries range in coercivity from 300 Oerstedt to 3600 Oerstedt and can also be produced to customer specification. Specialty dispersions include water based magnetic ink for inkjet cartridges that are part of its Maginkjet range of inks. Others are dispersed high-coercivity magnetic particle concentrate, a formulation intended to be added to existing solvent or solventless inks and UV drying inks with the purpose of imparting magnetic properties; and silver scratch-off ink for lottery and game cards. There is also an array of magnetic slurries which are water-based or solvent-based, some biodegradable.
Barium and strontium ferrites, magnetic iron oxide and magnetite for security inks and toner manufacture as well as calcined alumina are also among the portfolio. The magnetic pigments cover a broad coercivity range from 60 Oerstedt for toner magnetite up to 4000 Oerstedt strontium ferrite,. Barium ferrites in 2750 Oe and 3600 Oe are produced for use in the high security credit and debit card markets. Except the barium and strontium ferrites, all the magnetic pigments are acicular in particle shape and sub-micron in size.
Established in 1999, AMPS is located in the village of Llanymynech, northwest of Shrewsbury. For more info, see www.amp-ltd.co.uk.
