Procedure.

Surface tension is the property of a liquid arising from unbalanced molecular forces at or near the surface. If it is higher than the surface energy of a material, the liquid tends to form droplets rather than spread out. Another name for an ink's surface tension properties is 'wettability'. Surface tension is normally measured in energy units called dynes/cm. A dyne is the amount of force required to produce an acceleration of 1 cm/sec2 on a mass of 1g.

The dyne level of a material is called its surface energy. If the liquid has a dyne level lower than the material's surface energy, then the liquid will spread out over its entire surface in a uniform wet layer. If the ink's dyne level is equal to or higher than a material's dyne level, the liquid will become cohesive and tend to remain in droplets.