Toyo Ink Co., Ltd., Toyochem Co., Ltd. and Toyo Ink Europe, N.V., all member companies of the Toyo Ink Group, in cooperation with their sister subsidiaries (Toyo Ink Europe Specialty Chemicals S.A.S, Toyo-Morton, Ltd., Toyo ADL Corp., and Toyo Printing Inks Inc.), will be jointly exhibiting their latest innovations in package printing and converting at interpack 2017 from 4 to 10 May in Düsseldorf in Germany.

Food manufacturers and brand owners are increasingly expected to consider both the environmental and social impact of the production lines and supply chains used to manufacture and deliver their products. The Toyo Ink Group continues to focus on providing Ethical Packaging Solutions and has adopted this as its show theme and the core focus for its product portfolio. At the Toyo Ink Group booth in Hall 18, Stand D15, the companies will demonstrate how their unique printing ink and coating solutions can help manufacturers develop and distribute the ethical products required by today’s consumers. Solutions will be highlighted under the three key categories of Food Safety, Food Wastage and Sustainability.

Food and beverage safety
Low-migration ultraviolet (UV) and electron beam (EB)-curable inks feature non-petroleum solvents, leaving food packages free from residual compounds. Closely focused on the development of EB technology, Toyo Ink will spotlight the Elex-one series of EB flexo inks at interpack 2017. Elex-one inks are 100% solid—an industry first—and contain no VOCs or photoinitiators. Elex-one and other liquid ink products will be sold and distributed through Toyo Ink Europe’s sales offices.

What is more, interpack attendees are invited to attend a special seminar on new EB technologies for packaging that Toyo Ink will hold together with its development partners, Uteco Group and Energy Sciences Inc. The seminars will be held on 5 and 8 May at the CCD (Congress Center Düsseldorf). For more information, visit www.ebeam.com/interpack-eb-seminars.

Under the Food Safety banner, the Group will also showcase its total solution approach to metal package production, including its popular can coatings that are free of bisphenol A (BPA) and fully compliant with food contact regulations, and its low-temperature curing or UV-curing varnishes that deliver energy savings.

Food preservation and wastage
With one-third of the world’s food production currently being discarded, retort pouches offer a way to extend the shelf-life of items and effectively reduce waste. Toyo Ink, a pioneer in retort technology, will feature its TOMOFLEX series of high-performance laminating adhesives for retort. TOMOFLEX, an FDA §177.1390-compliant product, offers superior acid resistance, resulting in excellent stability in lamination strength after retort treatment. In addition, Toyo Ink will showcase its innovative LIOFLEX AQUA LIONA NF series of high-speed flexo inks for retort food packaging. This new series was designed to address the growing demand for EU-regulation compliant, water-based products for the global flexible packaging market.

Toyo Ink Europe Specialty Chemicals offers a wide range of color and functional masterbatch solutions for plastics. Featured at interpack 2017 will be its Lioplax series of masterbatch that exhibits high UV light shielding properties, helping to protect the quality of content, such as beer or milk, in PET bottles.

Sustainable packaging materials
As a manufacturer of chemical compounds, the Toyo Ink Group gives a high priority to the creation of new materials that do not require petroleum solvents. One such product that exemplifies this is the LABELMELT series of hot-melt adhesives by Toyo ADL. Comprised of plant-derived raw materials, LABELMELT is suitable for recycling because it is solvent-free. By using this product, CO2 emissions can be reduced by 96% over conventional steam-heated, shrink-sleeve labeling systems.

In the growing area of sustainable packaging solutions, the Toyo Ink Group will demonstrate how its vast expertise and experiences can help brand owners not only cut the use of VOCs, but also reduce waste, conserve energy while addressing regulatory concerns and the print quality demands of their customers.

Also on display at interpack will be a wide range of processing solutions that increase productivity and reduce operational costs. For in-line laminating systems, the FLASH DRY FL Kaleido series of UV flexo inks by Toyo Ink, when combined with the REXWIN UA-B2 series of UV adhesives by Toyochem, achieves ultra-high production efficiencies in the reverse printing of pouches for non-food applications, such as consumer goods.