Flint Group Presents Narrow Web Ink Milestone Innovations at Labelexpo Americas

Flint Group Narrow Web will showcase the widest range of products for label printers at Labelexpo Americas, Sept. 11-13 at stand 840. Visitors will be inspired by milestone developments and the in-depth guidance only the experts at Flint Group Narrow Web can provide.

Introducing EkoCure, high performance Flexo and Rotary Screen inks for UV LED curing. In response to the increasing need for improved sustainable print solutions, Flint Group Narrow Web introduces a series of ink technologies for UV LED curing under the EkoCure brand.

These high performance flexo and rotary screen inks formulated specifically for UV LED curing are the first commercially available inks designed for combination print. The benefits with this technology are both economical (lower energy consumption), and ecological as the inks offer a viable and fully functional technology with less impact on the environment – lower energy consumption, no ozone development, and mercury-free lamps.

“As a true innovator, we are pleased to present what may be the next generation UV ink technology,” said Niklas Olsson, Global brand manager for Flint Group Narrow Web. “While UV LED lamps have been used in other industries for some time, these are the first-ever UV flexo and screen inks that are cured using UV LED and can be printed in perfect combination. Not only are we introducing this ink concept at Labelexpo 2012, we are proud to partner with Mark Andy and Phoseon in showing it in a live press run on the Mark Andy stand.”

EkoCure is developed using specially selected photo initiators that match the narrow and targeted wavelength area that is typical for UV LED,“ Mr. Olsson continued. “The ink series is based on bio-renewable resin technology as an added effort to address sustainability. Bio-renewable resins for UV products are a new development that will increase in use in the future; by combining this aspect with lower energy consuming UV LED lamps, it was a natural fit to brand this technology as EkoCure. Flint Group has a strong history of product leadership; with the launch of EkoCure we continue to make history in narrow web ink innovations.”

In addition to the EkoCure launch, Flint Group Narrow Web will also showcase CombiScreen, a silicone-free UV rotary screen ink with stunning color strength, and excellent printability; these inks are perfected for combination printing.

Also showcased will be Flint Group’s “Flexo-to-Screen” concept. For those printers who run both UV flexo and UV rotary screen, Flint Group Narrow Web will introduce, to the North American market, the “Flexo-to-Screen” concept, taking a UV flexo ink and converting this to a UV rotary screen ink, providing a robust screen ink which allows printers to reduce inventories.

Last, but not least, is the North American introduction of Flexocure ANCORA, a true low migration UV flexo ink designed specifically for food packaging applications. ANCORA provides exactly what label printers have been looking for – an ink that ensures that the final packaging construction passes the most stringent migration tests with absolutely no compromise in performance.

“Flint Group Narrow Web is launching true innovations at Labelexpo 2012 – inks that will direct the future of narrow web printing. With these new innovations we prove our focus on continuous improvement and our value added approach,” concluded Mr. Olsson.