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From the perspective of health and sustainable development, the importance of ink cannot be ignored.

"For many reasons, printing is an integral part of packaging sustainability decisions," sustainable packaging expert Robert Lilienfeld tells us. “First, for health and safety reasons, ink decisions will affect the overall “chemicals of concern” profile of packaging. Second, from the perspective of source reduction and recyclability, the ability of ink to be directly applied to packaging can reduce labeling and external packaging. Use of packaging."

Suppliers such as INX Intl. Inks that meet these requirements have been launched, including the new product INXhrc RC high-performance UV and LED curing inks. These products are formulated with clean, renewable and sustainable ingredients and are suitable for a range of plastic and other substrate surfaces. "Hrc" stands for highly renewable content, and "RC" stands for rigid container.

"Sustainability is the foundation of the packaging value chain," said Jim Wegemer, Director of National Accounts at INX. "Printers, packaging processors, and brand owners need to provide high-quality packaging that meets the guidelines and standards set by retailers, ensure compliance, and strike a balance between sustainability goals and safety assurance. Creating sustainable packaging The key is to ensure that inks and coatings have the least impact on the environment, and to support a circular economy model of packaging reduction, reuse and recycling."

These inks comply with Nestlé standards and are designed for printing on non-porous rigid plastics and most decorative plastics and foam packaging.

Wegemer explained that the standard “refers to Nestlé’s guidance, which outlines the requirements for the production of packaged goods acceptable to Nestlé. Any ink used on packaging must be formulated with materials that also meet the guidelines. Certain chemicals or compounds may only It is allowed to reach a certain level, while others may not be allowed at all."

“INXhrc RC is an important step in our plan to develop renewable technologies for brand owners and printers, minimizing environmental impact and reducing regulatory risks,” said marketing director Renee Schouten, noting that the ink formulation does not contain Volatile organic compound (VOC) solvent. "Natural ingredients do not come from food crops. They are non-allergenic and do not include nanomaterials, fluorinated compounds, fan-shaped pigments, heavy metals or polytetrafluoroethylene."

Wegemer said that the new ink system has been successfully used in rigid plastic and foam beverage cups. "This is a relatively new product, and we are also investigating whether the system is suitable for other packaging, such as yogurt, cream cheese, margarine, and other such uses. It is important to remember that by providing more renewable The content of the system, the solution must also provide excellent printing characteristics and final product performance, as well as great value for customers."

The test results of INXhrc RC are very satisfactory. Printers have experienced high strength, excellent gloss and true color consistency on all types of dry offset rigid packaging printers (including Kase, PolyType and VanDam). In addition to excellent adhesion and abrasion resistance, the single-color base facilitates precise and simplified PMS color matching. 13 kinds of mixed base materials, plus opaque white and intense black, can be used for printing on non-porous substrates, such as polyester (PET), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), hair Expanded polystyrene (EPS) and polylactic acid (PLA).

INXhrc RC is a new chapter of INXhrc natural inks launched in 2017. Earlier this year, INX and packaging innovator HAVI reached an agreement to use INXhrc as one of the components of food paper packaging; international fast food leader McDonald’s is one of HAVI’s largest customers.

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