Inkjet Hybrid
Digital imprint enhancements and personalization are also possible inline and in register to the CI press. Embellishments are a growing opportunity for packaging printers/converters. The ability to produce embellishments on digital devices inline with analog flexography will offer additional opportunities. This operation will slow down the speed, so additional cost is justified.
Photo courtesy of KYMC America
Production of shrink sleeves, flexible packages, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals using UV LED inks for high-end gravure quality is possible. Shrink sleeve labels are increasing in popularity with higher production output with some consumer products. Digital print dominates the short-run market, however for longer runs UV LED flexography can be more profitable, at higher speed.
The versatility of today’s servo-driven flexographic press with sophisticated tension controls opens the way to a new approach to short-run package printing. Improved UV LED inks are coming on-stream every day to meet the demand to eliminate solvent inks and at the same time produce extremely high-quality flexographic printing. The ability to use EG colors becomes easier because of the stability of the ink on press throughout the run and consistency from one run to another.
Reduction of spot colors and color matching can also lead to a reduction in setup waste. A reduced environmental footprint using food packaging-compliant UV LED inks is possible if converters can overcome the fears associated with curing inks.
UV LED application has its advantage when it comes to temperature-sensitive substrates such as PET-shrink films. The characteristics of a UV LED print is high opacity with protruding effect and good resistance properties.
Among the options available to converters that prefer a CI press is KYMC’s Ultraflex with UV LED stations to provide high-quality printing with high opacity. Since UV LED ink application does not emit VOCs, the Ultraflex press is regarded as a high eco-friendly solution for client demands.
Photo courtesy of Giave
Also to be considered is KYMC’s Euroflex, a state-of-the-art gearless CI roll-to-roll printing machine equipped with the highest automation, precision, stability and cleaning technologies available. The press technologies, along with its structural design allow for maximum press speed, working on the widest range of substrates.
Equipped with both impression and registration automation controls, the press has the most advanced print and defect detection system to minimize waste and maximize efficiency. The mono block design and the technologies equipped allow for maximum press speed. Servo motor control guarantees excellent print registration.
The Euroflex is designed for operator comfort with user-friendly touchscreen controls and easy access to print stations, automated registration and impression systems. And speaking to Industry 4.0, it offers OPC UA Data Exchange Protocol for communication between devices, machines and enterprise systems (ERP, SCADA, CRM).
VOCs & Waste
In 2021, several states introduced legislation banning the sale of products in which per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), had been intentionally added, most notably food packaging and cosmetics. Some included an outright ban on all PFAS, while others focused on the most toxic compounds, like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS).
Many of the laws proposed also have more restrictive clauses that will kick in once a suitable replacement compound can be identified. Many restaurant chains have vowed to eliminate their use of PFAS over time, especially after the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an initiative to restrict their use last year.
Ask yourself what flexographic printing has to do with the Circular Economy. It is because the entire cycle from production and consumption to waste management must be considered. Some legislators want the producers of packaging and CPCs to pay for Circular Economy costs.
Photo courtesy of KYMC America
The battle is on to show which materials will best serve all aspects of food protection, preservation and cost, yet meet the demands of the Circular Economy:
- Monolayer materials with barrier coatings with functional additives are becoming part of the landscape for sustainable packaging because of the pressure to recycle and reuse plastics
- Multilayer materials will certainly see some changes
- Plastic recycling faces many challenges, ranging from mixed plastics to hard-to-remove residues to a cost-effective and efficient recycling of mixed plastics being perhaps the biggest challenge facing the recycling industry
With sustainability one driving force today, recyclable, reusable or biodegradable mono-layer plastics are being developed, along with more paper products being incorporated in today’s flexible packaging.
Forecasters note, “The global market for paper packaging materials, estimated at $230.4 billion in 2020, is projected to reach a size of $323 billion by 2026—a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9 percent. Paper bags and sacks, one of the segments analyzed, are projected to grow at a 5.9 percent CAGR to reach $109.1 billion in the identical time period.”
Flexographic presses need to be adaptable to changes and customized and configured to individual plants. Undoubtably, the pressure will be on the converter to apply these barrier coatings with functional additives inline with printing and at the same time reduce waste.
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