04.19.23
Sustainability is a crucial driver for printers, and energy-curable ink manufacturers point out that UV and EB inks have a good story to tell when it comes to the environment. Niklas Olsson, global director product & commercial excellence, Narrow Web at Flint Group, noted that year after year, additional benefits from energy curing technologies are recognized.
“While there are still perceptions that newer technology, such as UV LED for food packaging applications, must continue to be tested and proven, we believe that the consistency and longevity of cure performance on labels and packaging printed under UV LED lamps is a major benefit for these markets,” Olsson continued. “And, the fact remains that reduced costs and energy consumption drive the UV LED market forward.”
“In the context of climate change and emergency measures to mitigate its effects, environmentally friendly energy-curing technology has a strong sustainability message,” said Hideyuki Hinataya, GM of the Overseas Ink Sales Division at T&K Toka.
Jonathan Graunke, VP - UV/EB technology and assistant R&D director for INX International Ink Co., observed that as sustainability evolves beyond the ‘greenwashing’ claims, one can make strong arguments of how UV/EB technologies align with models like the UN SDGs.
“It is really more than ink; it’s about the ability for printers to reduce waste, control energy usage, and develop packaging that can be lightweighted due to the natural resistance properties UV/EB offers,” Graunke said. “Of course, all ink technologies can also be aligned and providing measurable data will become the new norm.”
Knowing that energy curing offers energy savings on the manufacturing end is always a good start in discussing sustainability.
Dr. Nikola Juhasz, technical director of sustainability for Sun Chemical, observed that energy curable ink technologies have several sustainability attributes which have been long recognized in the market.
“They are 100% solids (no volatiles or emissions potential) and are instantly curable to achieve the full properties of the product without needing high-energy/high heat drying,” Dr. Juhasz said. “The development of UV-LED lamp technology, which has become increasingly efficient, contributes several additional elements of sustainability, including lower energy, more consistent output, and longer shelf life. In addition, energy curable inks continue to evolve from a formulation side, incorporating renewable and/or recycled binder content. These changes reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and virgin-derived raw materials.”
That there are no solvents being used in another key benefit. Alexander Blasek, global project manager UV flexo at hubergroup, reported that energy-curable technologies allow an environmentally friendly as well as energy-saving production process, for example, because no solvents are involved, and UV curing requires significantly less energy than thermal curing.
“This is especially true for LED UV technology, but also the mercury UV systems currently on the market require up to 40 % less energy than the systems that were on the market 15-20 years ago,” Blasek noted. “Consequently, CO² emissions are now also significantly lower. Additionally, UV products have a higher resistance compared to water-based products. Thus, it is often possible to eliminate a lamination of the outer layer of a package.”
“UV-produced print products can also be fed into the cycle of disposal and processing after deinking, and, thus, support a sustainable circular economy,” Roland Schröder, product manager UV Europe at hubergroup, said. “However, there is still a great need for education and information among commercial printers and their end customers.”
Ed Dedman, flexo technical support/product manager for Zeller+Gmelin Corp., said that energy curable technologies are sustainable, adding that the benefits are somewhat different depending upon which other printing method to which they’re being compared.
“Switching from wide web solvent inks to UV/LED has tremendous advantages in reduced VOC output, much less energy used to cure them than to dry the solvent inks, and a much less volatile waste stream,” Dedman said. “If the switch is from water-based to UV/LED the environmental factors aren’t as big, but the comparable efficiency and throughput per press hour are much better with UV/LED.”
Fabian Köhn, global head of narrow web product management at Siegwerk, reported that energy curable technologies are considered sustainable and especially UV LED, which uses less energy to cure inks compared to traditional UV mercury systems.
“Besides, UV LED systems are safer since it is not reliant on mercury and doesn’t emit ozone during the curing process,” Köhn continued. “There are many advantages to LED curing that not only converters, but also more and more brand owners, take notice of. Furthermore, energy curable systems are being developed and used for circular economy solutions such as deinking and floatable technologies to enhance packaging recyclability.
“With our new UV Offset SICURA Litho Pack ECO we now offer for example an ink series with more than 40% of renewable and vegetable-based components showing a four times higher share of bio-renewable content (BRC) than the average standard UV offset ink,” Köhn added. “Besides, Ingede has certified dedicated UV offset systems as easily deinkable from paper, so that printers can continue to benefit from the advantages of UV ink technology without impacting the recyclability, thus supporting the common target to implement a circular economy.”
Recycling and the UV/EB Industry
Another key area of sustainability is circularity, including the need to reuse or recyclable goods. Recyclability is one of the key topics that come up, and ink industry experts say that UV and EB can indeed be recycled.
Graunke noted that it has been demonstrated that UV/EB products can meet the specific recycling needs for the materials being utilized.
“For example, INX has scored a 99/100 for paper de-inking by Ingede, utilizing their Method 11,” Graunke said. “Also, Radtech Europe commissioned a FOGRA study in 2008 that concluded UV offset inks are deinkable on paper. We realize that the substrate for paper plays a major role in the recycling properties of the paper, so it would be inaccurate to make a complete claim of paper recycling.
“INX also has solutions for the recycling of plastics, such as PET-G, where APR methods demonstrate successful de-inking of the substrate,” Graunke added. “We have solutions where the inks are designed to purposely stay on the substrate, allowing the printed article to be separated from the main body plastic during the recycling process without contaminating the caustic wash solution.”
Juhasz noted that Sun Chemical develops energy curable inks designed to be recycle-friendly and/or compost-compliant.
“Our SolarFlex CRCL inks meet the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) requirements for washability and retention, depending on the specific sleeve or label of application,” she reported. “They also have been designed to work without requiring a primer, meaning there are additional lightweighting benefits. For compost compliance, various Sun Chemical energy-curable inks have successfully passed the requisite for ecotoxicity, heavy metals testing, and are eligible for OK Compost certification.”
Schröder observed that UV inks and varnishes usually have to be deinked before the recycling process.
“If the inks are suitable for deinking, the printed products can be recycled after this process without negatively affecting the recyclate quality,” Schröder added.
“Although this question requires a lengthy explanation, we believe labels and packaging printed using UV LED or UV mercury lamps can be recycled,” said Olsson. “The ink itself will not be recycled; however, if correctly selected and applied, it will not impair the recyclability of labels and packaging. Importantly, Flint Group develops and manufactures ink systems which can be washed off substrates, or strategically remain adhered, depending on the recycling requirement.”
Hinataya noted that the recycling infrastructure plays a role in the success of deinking.
“Although it is technically possible to improve deinking in UV printing, there is an aspect of dependence on the development of recycling infrastructure, which varies from country to country and region to region,” Hinataya said.
Köhn noted that Siegwerk is committed to develop sustainable packaging solutions for all printing technologies including energy curing that either increase the recyclability of the packaging or reduce the overall material consumption.
“Inks constitute only a small portion of the entire packaging and are a complex chemical mixture,” Köhn continued. “That’s why the actual ink development work rather focuses on the enablement of recycling and composting of packaging, ensuring that the ink does not hamper the recycling process, than on the direct recycling and composting of inks.”
“While there are still perceptions that newer technology, such as UV LED for food packaging applications, must continue to be tested and proven, we believe that the consistency and longevity of cure performance on labels and packaging printed under UV LED lamps is a major benefit for these markets,” Olsson continued. “And, the fact remains that reduced costs and energy consumption drive the UV LED market forward.”
“In the context of climate change and emergency measures to mitigate its effects, environmentally friendly energy-curing technology has a strong sustainability message,” said Hideyuki Hinataya, GM of the Overseas Ink Sales Division at T&K Toka.
Jonathan Graunke, VP - UV/EB technology and assistant R&D director for INX International Ink Co., observed that as sustainability evolves beyond the ‘greenwashing’ claims, one can make strong arguments of how UV/EB technologies align with models like the UN SDGs.
“It is really more than ink; it’s about the ability for printers to reduce waste, control energy usage, and develop packaging that can be lightweighted due to the natural resistance properties UV/EB offers,” Graunke said. “Of course, all ink technologies can also be aligned and providing measurable data will become the new norm.”
Knowing that energy curing offers energy savings on the manufacturing end is always a good start in discussing sustainability.
Dr. Nikola Juhasz, technical director of sustainability for Sun Chemical, observed that energy curable ink technologies have several sustainability attributes which have been long recognized in the market.
“They are 100% solids (no volatiles or emissions potential) and are instantly curable to achieve the full properties of the product without needing high-energy/high heat drying,” Dr. Juhasz said. “The development of UV-LED lamp technology, which has become increasingly efficient, contributes several additional elements of sustainability, including lower energy, more consistent output, and longer shelf life. In addition, energy curable inks continue to evolve from a formulation side, incorporating renewable and/or recycled binder content. These changes reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and virgin-derived raw materials.”
That there are no solvents being used in another key benefit. Alexander Blasek, global project manager UV flexo at hubergroup, reported that energy-curable technologies allow an environmentally friendly as well as energy-saving production process, for example, because no solvents are involved, and UV curing requires significantly less energy than thermal curing.
“This is especially true for LED UV technology, but also the mercury UV systems currently on the market require up to 40 % less energy than the systems that were on the market 15-20 years ago,” Blasek noted. “Consequently, CO² emissions are now also significantly lower. Additionally, UV products have a higher resistance compared to water-based products. Thus, it is often possible to eliminate a lamination of the outer layer of a package.”
“UV-produced print products can also be fed into the cycle of disposal and processing after deinking, and, thus, support a sustainable circular economy,” Roland Schröder, product manager UV Europe at hubergroup, said. “However, there is still a great need for education and information among commercial printers and their end customers.”
Ed Dedman, flexo technical support/product manager for Zeller+Gmelin Corp., said that energy curable technologies are sustainable, adding that the benefits are somewhat different depending upon which other printing method to which they’re being compared.
“Switching from wide web solvent inks to UV/LED has tremendous advantages in reduced VOC output, much less energy used to cure them than to dry the solvent inks, and a much less volatile waste stream,” Dedman said. “If the switch is from water-based to UV/LED the environmental factors aren’t as big, but the comparable efficiency and throughput per press hour are much better with UV/LED.”
Fabian Köhn, global head of narrow web product management at Siegwerk, reported that energy curable technologies are considered sustainable and especially UV LED, which uses less energy to cure inks compared to traditional UV mercury systems.
“Besides, UV LED systems are safer since it is not reliant on mercury and doesn’t emit ozone during the curing process,” Köhn continued. “There are many advantages to LED curing that not only converters, but also more and more brand owners, take notice of. Furthermore, energy curable systems are being developed and used for circular economy solutions such as deinking and floatable technologies to enhance packaging recyclability.
“With our new UV Offset SICURA Litho Pack ECO we now offer for example an ink series with more than 40% of renewable and vegetable-based components showing a four times higher share of bio-renewable content (BRC) than the average standard UV offset ink,” Köhn added. “Besides, Ingede has certified dedicated UV offset systems as easily deinkable from paper, so that printers can continue to benefit from the advantages of UV ink technology without impacting the recyclability, thus supporting the common target to implement a circular economy.”
Recycling and the UV/EB Industry
Another key area of sustainability is circularity, including the need to reuse or recyclable goods. Recyclability is one of the key topics that come up, and ink industry experts say that UV and EB can indeed be recycled.
Graunke noted that it has been demonstrated that UV/EB products can meet the specific recycling needs for the materials being utilized.
“For example, INX has scored a 99/100 for paper de-inking by Ingede, utilizing their Method 11,” Graunke said. “Also, Radtech Europe commissioned a FOGRA study in 2008 that concluded UV offset inks are deinkable on paper. We realize that the substrate for paper plays a major role in the recycling properties of the paper, so it would be inaccurate to make a complete claim of paper recycling.
“INX also has solutions for the recycling of plastics, such as PET-G, where APR methods demonstrate successful de-inking of the substrate,” Graunke added. “We have solutions where the inks are designed to purposely stay on the substrate, allowing the printed article to be separated from the main body plastic during the recycling process without contaminating the caustic wash solution.”
Juhasz noted that Sun Chemical develops energy curable inks designed to be recycle-friendly and/or compost-compliant.
“Our SolarFlex CRCL inks meet the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) requirements for washability and retention, depending on the specific sleeve or label of application,” she reported. “They also have been designed to work without requiring a primer, meaning there are additional lightweighting benefits. For compost compliance, various Sun Chemical energy-curable inks have successfully passed the requisite for ecotoxicity, heavy metals testing, and are eligible for OK Compost certification.”
Schröder observed that UV inks and varnishes usually have to be deinked before the recycling process.
“If the inks are suitable for deinking, the printed products can be recycled after this process without negatively affecting the recyclate quality,” Schröder added.
“Although this question requires a lengthy explanation, we believe labels and packaging printed using UV LED or UV mercury lamps can be recycled,” said Olsson. “The ink itself will not be recycled; however, if correctly selected and applied, it will not impair the recyclability of labels and packaging. Importantly, Flint Group develops and manufactures ink systems which can be washed off substrates, or strategically remain adhered, depending on the recycling requirement.”
Hinataya noted that the recycling infrastructure plays a role in the success of deinking.
“Although it is technically possible to improve deinking in UV printing, there is an aspect of dependence on the development of recycling infrastructure, which varies from country to country and region to region,” Hinataya said.
Köhn noted that Siegwerk is committed to develop sustainable packaging solutions for all printing technologies including energy curing that either increase the recyclability of the packaging or reduce the overall material consumption.
“Inks constitute only a small portion of the entire packaging and are a complex chemical mixture,” Köhn continued. “That’s why the actual ink development work rather focuses on the enablement of recycling and composting of packaging, ensuring that the ink does not hamper the recycling process, than on the direct recycling and composting of inks.”