Siegwerk, one of the leading global providers of printing inks and coatings for packaging applications and labels, has introduced a new UV offset ink series for the EMEA market for non-food packaging applications made of paper, board and plastic substrates – Sicura Litho Pack.
The company claims that the new low-odor product range follows the latest Siegwerk Exclusion Policy guidelines (based on the EuPIA Exclusion Policy) and thus is formulated without CMR Cat. 1 substances like benzophenone. In addition, the new series is free of TMPTA (Carc. 2, not intentionally added) and PFAS/PTFE.
“With the launch of our new Sicura Litho Pack series, we now offer customers in the EMEA region the next generation of UV offset inks and varnishes especially formulated for the use on cardboard and various synthetic substrates,” says Jerome Fumex, EMEA customer service and product manager, business unit sheetfed at Siegwerk.
From coated and metalized paper and board to aluminum and plastics, the new low-odor UV series has great versatility of use with outstanding adhesion properties also suitable for the complex substrates of the luxury industry, according to the company. “Besides, Sicura Litho Pack has an excellent deinkability according to the INGEDE 11 method, and thus contributes to an easier recycling of UV-printed packaging,” adds Fumex. Therewith, Sicura Litho Pack offers the same good deinking properties as Sicura Litho Pack ECO, a recently launched sustainable UV offset ink series for non-food paper and board applications made of more than 40% of renewable and vegetable-based components.
First users confirm an excellent press run stability and a high color strength of Sicura Litho Pack. Next to a very good flowability and high ink transfer, Siegwerk’s new UV offset range showed a very stable ink/water balance even during long runs as well as good film flexibility for post-processing. The series requires low damp settings and impresses with very good and sharp print quality. The product range contains standard process colors according to ISO as well as a wide color set for mixing systems. In addition, the prints can be overprinted with UV varnishes or lamination, for example with the company’s newly developed range of TMPTA-free flexo and offset OPVs, which is also available now.
Due to increasing safety concerns of brand owners, leading to the strict exclusion of certain substances and raw materials used for their products and packaging, there is a need to also adjust related ink and coating formulations. With its new Sicura Litho Pack series, Siegwerk now offers its customers an enhanced UV solution based on state-of-the-art formulation technology, addressing the latest guidelines of brand owners worldwide. “The plan is that the new series will completely replace our previous UV offset series Sicura Plast SP by end of 2023 latest,” says Fumex. “Therefore, we paid attention to keeping the exact same colorimetry on mixing bases to avoid any reformulation work for the existing recipes of our customers.” For all necessary process setups and calibrations, the company’s technical experts are available as usual to support a smooth changeover to the latest generation of Siegwerk UV inks.
