Toyo Ink India’s theme at the Printpack India 2022 exhibition was green and sustainable print solutions. “We received an amazing response at the exhibition. We have received serious inquiries, and customers were talking about sustainability. This is an interesting development in that customers are curious to understand sustainability. They were also trying to understand if there is any solution and how as a company or converter, they should move towards a sustainable direction,” said KS Murthy, deputy managing director of Toyo Ink India.
The company showcased several products at the event, including low migration to cobalt- and mineral-free inks, barrier coatings, UV inks and coatings, solvent-free lamination, and pressure-sensitive adhesives.
Moving towards sustainability
“At Toyo, we understand that sustainability is a complex term to explain. We also understand that when it comes to sustainability, it is not just the ink that plays a part – the manufacturing philosophy, as well as the solution that we offer to our customers, plays an equal role. At our company, we consider both ends. On the manufacturing front, we are following the go green concept. By 2025, we will be an eco-friendly manufacturing center in India. By the end of this year, 70% of the energy consumed in the Gujarat plant will be green energy. Eco-friendly initiatives like water harvesting are also in place. We also use dedicated controls to ensure regulatory compliance and increased safety.
“Sustainable solutions for our customers include mineral oil-free inks for offset – which has already been implemented – and low migration inks that are much needed in the current scenario. Non-toluene inks are already there in our product basket. We are also moving in the direction of water-base flexo and gravure inks which we will be manufacturing in India very soon. In addition, we have developed various barrier coatings that enhance packaging performance by providing oxygen barrier (OTR) and reduced water vapor transmission rate (WVTR),” said Murthy.
New gravure ink factory
Toyo Ink India recently inaugurated its brand new gravure ink factory at its Gujarat site with a production capacity of more than 5,000 metric tons per annum. The new Gujarat factory is expected to boost the company’s competitive advantage in India’s rapidly growing flexible packaging market while further strengthening the company’s regional and global supply infrastructure. In response to the rising global demand for safer printing inks, particularly for food and beverage, pharma, personal care and other sensitive applications, the company decided to adopt toluene-free operations, thus upholding its strong commitment to product safety and environmental protection.
“In India, we are trying to extend our entire product basket including inks and innovative solutions like pressure-sensitive adhesives, lamination adhesives, wide-gamut inks, etc.,” concluded Murthy.
Emerging technologies
Prashant Atre, managing director, Toyo Ink Arets India, said, “Ink has come a long way in helping print and packaging. When UV first came to India, it changed the course for carton packaging – from a normal paperboard carton to metalized polyester to plastic-based cartons. As far as emerging technologies are concerned, I would like to highlight two technologies – one is water-based technology, which can help reduce the carbon emission almost by 55% compared to the solvent base. The other is Electron Beam (EB) curing technology that can change the game in flexible packaging. I believe these two technologies might replace solvent-based solutions in the future while the industry marches towards sustainability.”
