David Savastano, Editor04.01.23
Sustainability is a topic of much interest worldwide, and the printing ink industry is heavily involved in this discussion. There are many aspects of sustainability, including conservation of materials, reducing the use of energy, eliminating waste and cutting down on pollution, and ink industry leaders are developing new bio-based products and working with customers to reduce packaging and, in the case of flexible packaging, reduce layers of materials.
There is a strong focus on Cradle to Cradle solutions, in which the inks can be recycled off of the substrate, so the substrate can be reused.
I spoke with many leading experts on sustainability in the ink industry, and in “Sustainability and the Ink Industry,” these leaders discuss what they are seeing among their customers. Every executive I spoke with noted that sustainability is coming up in conversations with converters. That reflects on what printers are hearing from brand owners, who are responding to what they see in the market. In turn, ink companies are reaching out to their suppliers, who are being asked to help meet these mandates.
There is more to sustainability, though: ink companies are looking to become more efficient to cut down on energy usage, all while reducing water usage and their carbon footprint, and they are taking steps to meet these goals.
Sustainability is also a topic in a variety of features in our April 2023 issue. Not surprisingly, in “The Packaging Ink Market in 2023,” sustainability is front and center in discussions with packaging ink executives, with deinking technologies of particular interest.
In “Energy-Curable Ink Market Continues to Grow,” the sustainability benefits of UV, UV LED and EB curing are topics of interest. It is interesting that sustainability is now a major reason for the growth of UV/EB curing in the graphic arts; years ago, it was performance characteristics that were driving growth. Now, the energy savings associated with energy curing are a key point of interest.
There is a strong focus on Cradle to Cradle solutions, in which the inks can be recycled off of the substrate, so the substrate can be reused.
I spoke with many leading experts on sustainability in the ink industry, and in “Sustainability and the Ink Industry,” these leaders discuss what they are seeing among their customers. Every executive I spoke with noted that sustainability is coming up in conversations with converters. That reflects on what printers are hearing from brand owners, who are responding to what they see in the market. In turn, ink companies are reaching out to their suppliers, who are being asked to help meet these mandates.
There is more to sustainability, though: ink companies are looking to become more efficient to cut down on energy usage, all while reducing water usage and their carbon footprint, and they are taking steps to meet these goals.
Sustainability is also a topic in a variety of features in our April 2023 issue. Not surprisingly, in “The Packaging Ink Market in 2023,” sustainability is front and center in discussions with packaging ink executives, with deinking technologies of particular interest.
In “Energy-Curable Ink Market Continues to Grow,” the sustainability benefits of UV, UV LED and EB curing are topics of interest. It is interesting that sustainability is now a major reason for the growth of UV/EB curing in the graphic arts; years ago, it was performance characteristics that were driving growth. Now, the energy savings associated with energy curing are a key point of interest.