At LOUPE India 2026, Siegwerk showcased a range of ink and coating solutions addressing the changing requirements of the narrow-web label and packaging industry. From inks designed for deep-freeze applications and UV flexo lamination to circular economy coatings, the company’s focus reflected a market moving beyond conventional pressure-sensitive labels towards more specialised applications.
Speaking to The Packman, Ajit Singh, CFO-ASIA & BU head-narrow web, Siegwerk, outlined the company’s latest developments and explained how it is working with converters to introduce new technologies without requiring major changes to their existing production infrastructure.
One of the key highlights was the improved Dual Core ink series, including the DCDF (Dual Core Deep Freeze) range. The formulation is designed for labels used in deep-freeze conditions, where maintaining ink integrity and label performance is particularly important.
Another development addresses the growing movement of short-run flexible packaging jobs from gravure to flexographic printing. While flexo offers advantages for shorter production runs, achieving the required bond strength during lamination can be challenging, particularly with UV flexo inks.
“Some of the shorter-run pouch jobs that were earlier printed through gravure are now shifting to flexo because of cost considerations. However, maintaining the same kind of lamination strength through flexo is a challenge. We have therefore developed a dedicated ink series for lamination applications to help converters achieve the required performance,” Singh said.
Sustainability was another important area of focus at the Siegwerk stand. The company showcased circular economy coatings designed to support the transition from plastic to paper-based packaging while retaining the functional properties required for packaging applications. The solutions also address emerging requirements in in-mould labelling (IML), an application area that is expanding the scope of the conventional label market.
“Labels are no longer limited to conventional pressure-sensitive applications. The requirements are changing, and we are seeing new applications emerge. Our circular economy coatings are part of our effort to support this transition, particularly where packaging manufacturers are looking at alternatives to plastic,” Singh explained.
Making LED technology more accessible
Siegwerk has also been advancing its LED ink portfolio through its Dual Core technology. The approach is intended to give converters greater flexibility when transitioning from conventional UV curing to LED curing, without requiring them to replace all their printing stations at once.
With Dual Core inks, converters can operate selected printing units with LED curing while retaining UV curing on the remaining stations. This allows them to adopt the technology progressively, based on their requirements and investment capacity.
Singh pointed out that the sustainability benefits of LED curing extend beyond power consumption. Lower energy requirements can also reduce the cooling load associated with printing operations. In addition, the Dual Core approach helps converters avoid maintaining separate UV and LED ink inventories.
“Not every machine in the market has been converted to LED. With Dual Core, converters do not need to maintain two separate ink inventories, one for UV and another for LED. They can use the same ink series across both technologies. It also gives them the flexibility to convert two printing units to LED while continuing to use UV on the others,” he said.
Working around existing production infrastructure
Introducing new ink technologies into an established converting environment requires more than developing the right formulation. Compatibility with existing presses, curing systems and production processes is equally important, particularly when converters are reluctant to make substantial capital investments.
Singh said Siegwerk’s approach is to develop solutions around the converter’s existing infrastructure rather than expecting customers to change their machines to accommodate a new ink. “Changing machines completely is not easy because it involves significant capital investment. Our objective is to give converters flexibility. We work on the ink formulation so that they can adopt new technologies without having to change their entire production setup,” he said.
He cited the adoption of LED technology as an example. When Siegwerk introduced LED inks around three years ago, converters initially questioned the investment, particularly whether the power savings would justify the additional expenditure. There were also concerns about depending on a relatively new technology and the availability of compatible inks.
Rather than pushing the technology across the market, Siegwerk worked with two to three converters as pilot partners to demonstrate its benefits. According to Singh, the response has since changed considerably.
“Initially, there was resistance because converters wanted to understand the return on investment. We worked with a few converters, demonstrated the benefits and built confidence in the technology. Today, it is no longer something we have to push. There is demand coming from converters themselves. Even those with older machines are exploring the possibility of changing their lamps to LED,” he said. He added that the cost of LED lamps has also reduced significantly over the past four years, making the technology more accessible to converters.