David Savastano, Editor10.02.14
The Asia-Pacific region has grown to become the largest geographic region for the printing ink industry. In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis on the environment in the region. Countries throughout the region are looking to remove ingredients that impact food packaging, as well as ingredients such as toluene that are concerns in terms of health.
Toshihiko Fukunaga, International Operations Division general manager of Sakata INX Corp., said that environmental regulations have become even stricter, not only in Japan but in other Asian countries as well.
“We intend to acquire ISO 14001 and build plants that comply with environmental regulations and are on the same level as the developed country’s standards,” Fukunaga noted. “We plan to emphasize deploying environmentally-friendly ink. Recently, the demand for inkjet and UV inks has become stronger. We will focus on developing new products and expand sales for these inks.”
Ashwani Bhardwaj, management, Asia and North America for hubergroup, said that environmental issues are now becoming very critical in the Asian region.
“Government regulations are getting more stringent and ink companies are gradually upgrading their own manufacturing processes and standards,” Bhardwaj said. “Awareness among the printers and end users is growing and they are now demanding the ink manufacturers to follow the latest global product safety norms. The hubergroup is well placed to meet all these challenges. We have developed new UV products within our NewV product family, which have been launched worldwide. The NewV range of products meets the highest standards in terms of product safety. NewV products are highly appreciated by the customers.”
Yu Adachi, corporate communication department, Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., said that interest in toluene- and MEK-free inks has grown in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Sales of our Multistar SW series line of eco-friendly toluene-free and MEK-free lamination gravure inks for packaging increased in China and Southeast Asia,” said Adachi. “Also, the Toyo Ink Group launched the high-grade LIOALPHA SW series of toluene-free and MEK-free lamination gravure inks in last year May. Multistar SW and LIOALPHA SW series are compliant with European regulations (Swiss Ordinance).”
Atsushi Egashira, general manager, corporate communications department for DIC Corporation, said that DIC’s regional technical center in Thailand is developing new formulations for the region, with an emphasis on environmentally friendly products.
“Our regional technical center in Thailand will facilitate our business by accelerating adjustments of products developed in other regions to needs in the region as well as enhancing our technical service to customers,” said Egashira. “This technical center is supposed to work on challenging technical themes, including refining gravure inks for high-speed printing machines and introducing environment friendly products.”
LED UV curing is one approach to reducing energy consumption. Hideyuki Hinataya, president of Toka Ink International (Hong Kong) Ltd., said that LED UV and Hybrid presses decrease the amount of energy used in the printing process.
“Raising awareness as regards to the environment, we aggressively introduced low energy curable inks for LED UV and Hybrid presses,” Hinataya said. “At this moment, the number of installation of those presses in the Asia-Pacific region is lower than in the United States, Europe and Japan. However, we will keep paying attention to the market as a potential market.”
China is placing major emphasis on the environment as it tries to clean up its environment. Bauhinia Variegata Ink and Chemicals Limited, a subsidiary of Yip’s Chemical and the largest domestic ink supplier in China, emphasizes environmentally friendly ink systems.
According to a company spokesperson, R&D of every new product is based on protecting the environment, such as developing benzene- and ketone-free gravure ink products and soybean oil-based litho inks. For example, Bauhinia Variegata Ink recently launched its GDZ All-Weather Benzene-Free Gravure Surface Printing Ink and its Non-VOC Vegetable Oil Offset Printing Ink.
Toshihiko Fukunaga, International Operations Division general manager of Sakata INX Corp., said that environmental regulations have become even stricter, not only in Japan but in other Asian countries as well.
“We intend to acquire ISO 14001 and build plants that comply with environmental regulations and are on the same level as the developed country’s standards,” Fukunaga noted. “We plan to emphasize deploying environmentally-friendly ink. Recently, the demand for inkjet and UV inks has become stronger. We will focus on developing new products and expand sales for these inks.”
Ashwani Bhardwaj, management, Asia and North America for hubergroup, said that environmental issues are now becoming very critical in the Asian region.
“Government regulations are getting more stringent and ink companies are gradually upgrading their own manufacturing processes and standards,” Bhardwaj said. “Awareness among the printers and end users is growing and they are now demanding the ink manufacturers to follow the latest global product safety norms. The hubergroup is well placed to meet all these challenges. We have developed new UV products within our NewV product family, which have been launched worldwide. The NewV range of products meets the highest standards in terms of product safety. NewV products are highly appreciated by the customers.”
Yu Adachi, corporate communication department, Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., said that interest in toluene- and MEK-free inks has grown in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Sales of our Multistar SW series line of eco-friendly toluene-free and MEK-free lamination gravure inks for packaging increased in China and Southeast Asia,” said Adachi. “Also, the Toyo Ink Group launched the high-grade LIOALPHA SW series of toluene-free and MEK-free lamination gravure inks in last year May. Multistar SW and LIOALPHA SW series are compliant with European regulations (Swiss Ordinance).”
Atsushi Egashira, general manager, corporate communications department for DIC Corporation, said that DIC’s regional technical center in Thailand is developing new formulations for the region, with an emphasis on environmentally friendly products.
“Our regional technical center in Thailand will facilitate our business by accelerating adjustments of products developed in other regions to needs in the region as well as enhancing our technical service to customers,” said Egashira. “This technical center is supposed to work on challenging technical themes, including refining gravure inks for high-speed printing machines and introducing environment friendly products.”
LED UV curing is one approach to reducing energy consumption. Hideyuki Hinataya, president of Toka Ink International (Hong Kong) Ltd., said that LED UV and Hybrid presses decrease the amount of energy used in the printing process.
“Raising awareness as regards to the environment, we aggressively introduced low energy curable inks for LED UV and Hybrid presses,” Hinataya said. “At this moment, the number of installation of those presses in the Asia-Pacific region is lower than in the United States, Europe and Japan. However, we will keep paying attention to the market as a potential market.”
China is placing major emphasis on the environment as it tries to clean up its environment. Bauhinia Variegata Ink and Chemicals Limited, a subsidiary of Yip’s Chemical and the largest domestic ink supplier in China, emphasizes environmentally friendly ink systems.
According to a company spokesperson, R&D of every new product is based on protecting the environment, such as developing benzene- and ketone-free gravure ink products and soybean oil-based litho inks. For example, Bauhinia Variegata Ink recently launched its GDZ All-Weather Benzene-Free Gravure Surface Printing Ink and its Non-VOC Vegetable Oil Offset Printing Ink.