Natural ink is an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic ink, particularly for printing applications. Tomato and carrot extracts contain lycopene and β-carotene, which have potential as natural colorants. However, the application of these pigments in ink formulations still requires appropriate additives to improve their characteristics and stability. This study aimed to analyze the effect of gum arabic and glycerol concentrations on the characteristics of natural ink based on combined tomato and carrot extracts for screen printing on kraft paper. Six formulations were prepared using gum arabic concentrations of 5%, 10%, and 15% and glycerol concentrations of 0% and 5%. The tested parameters included pH, solid content, CIE Lab*, density, and lightfastness. The results showed that pH ranged from 4.83–5.52, with glycerol significantly affecting pH, while gum arabic had no significant effect. Both gum arabic and glycerol significantly affected solid content, with 15% gum arabic producing the highest value (57.45%). Both factors also significantly affected ΔE, with 15% gum arabic producing the lowest value (14.58%). Density changes were not significantly affected by either factor. Overall, the formulation with 15% gum arabic and 5% glycerol showed the most suitable characteristics based on solid content and color stability.
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