German inks and chemicals specialist hubergroup Print Solutions has introduced the first coldset and heatset mineral, oil-free and low-migration ink series for food-compliant paper packaging, responding to the increased popularity of paper packaging in the food sector.
The company said that until now, low-migration offset inks were only used in sheetfed printing, and a new binder developed by hubergroup has paved the way for this innovation in web offset printing.
“With the help of a special binder and the careful selection of raw materials as well as production methods, we have succeeded in developing the first low-migration and low-odour web offset inks,’ said Thomas Stumpf, director of web offset at hubergroup. “As safety and sustainability are our top priorities, we worked closely with our sheetfed offset experts who have been developing inks for food packaging for many years.”
hubergroup has conducted extensive practical tests with brand owners, printers, and the special paper manufacturer Drewsen.
The newly launched products enable the production of food-compliant paper packaging in large quantities using four-colour printing in web offset for the first time, opening a range of opportunities for food manufacturers to enhance their packaging designs.
The coldset series MGA Food News and the heatset series MGA Evolution are suitable for packaged baked goods, fast food, products from the deli counter and other packaging.
Printers can use the new ink series on all common coldset or heatset machines and rely on the hubergroup service team’s assistance during implementation. The new inks will be initially available in Europe and Asia with progressive product expansion globally.
