Technical

With a shared commitment to advancing sustainable packaging solutions, KYMC, a leading flexo printing machine manufacturer, and Toyo Ink Co., Ltd., an artience group company and a prominent provider of ink and coating solutions, are poised to make a significant impact at drupa 2024. Embracing innovation, Toyo Ink has developed a range of functional inks and coatings tailored specifically for sustainable packaging applications. Complementing this initiative, KYMC has engineered printing machines capable of simultaneously printing and coating with these functional inks and coatings. Together, the two firms are gearing up to showcase their collaborative efforts in sustainable packaging solutions at the drupa 2024 exhibition.

An upgrade to an ergonomic press design can turn into a more efficient production process. This is critical in a fast-paced world of printing and converting, where productivity and flexibility make all the difference. A digital kanban system for monitoring and managing the operation can contribute greatly to an ergonomics process. To be able to centrally monitor the real-time production status at the different press locations prevents unnecessary waste caused by walking back and forth around the machine. Walking back and forth to obtain status info at the different stations can be prevented.  As a result, an improved ergonomic friendliness for the operator and at the same time reduced unnecessary time spent on gathering data.

Keeping it fresh, containing the grease, controlling gas exchange, and preventing light penetration and aromas leaking are the main functional aspects of coating in food packaging. From an aesthetic perspective, coating helps the food to look as attractive as possible to the consumer. With the growing demand for convenient food due to the busy urban lifestyle, the need for preserving the food and marketing it to the consumers is also growing. According to Vantage Market Research, the food coating market is valued at USD 3.3 billion in 2022. It is projected that the food coating market will reach a value of USD 4.99 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 6.12% between 2023 and 2030.  So how does coating work, and what are the mainstream coatings on today’s market?

Flexo printing or flexographic printing is a printing process that can be applied to many substrates, including porous materials (paperboards, corrugated boards, paper) and non-porous materials (plastic films). The process can also accommodate various ink types (water-based ink, solvent-based ink, UV inks and EB-curable inks). It is one of the most common printing methods for flexible packaging, corrugated board printing, paper cup printing, paper bag and plastic bag printing, and sanitary product(diaper/pads) printing.

The route to a more eco friendly packaging is to switch from plastic materials over to paper materials. Is this really the case? Paper is a more recyclable material on its own. However, it is another story when paper is coated with plastic. If the recycling ecosystem for plastic coated paper is not set up in the neighborhood, plastic coated paper may be harder to recycle than plastic alone. Furthermore, the process of producing paper is more water intensive than plastics. Using paper also means taking the risk of over deforestation if paper is not sourced sustainably. So, is paper really more eco-friendly than plastic? In this article we will look at the bigger picture to explore the pros and cons for both paper packaging and plastic packaging.

If you are on a water-based printing operation or thinking about switching to a water-based printing operation, then you must understand the common water-based printing issues which include 1. Ink foaming 2. gelation 3. light ink color 4. and poor drying.