Sustainability, regulatory and technical issues and new technologies are at the forefront of concerns for the ink industry and its suppliers, and the 63rd Annual National Printing Ink Research Institute’s (NPIRI) Technical Conference, hosted by the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers (NAPIM), offered attendees a comprehensive look at these and many other issues.

“The conference went really well,” NAPIM president John Copeland said. “The presentations were very informative and futuristic and gave a clear look at what is happening in our industry. I find this fascinating.”

“We were really pleased with the 2019 Technical Conference on every level, including attendance, quality of the speakers, session topics, evening events and the venue,” added George Fuchs, NAPIM’s director of regulatory affairs and technology. “Particularly exciting this year was the participation of Ryerson University attendees throughout the event. Introducing students to the ink and graphic arts spaces is critically important to sustaining our industry.

“Also of note this year was the presence of Sherwin Williams representative Rachel Schwen, who spoke on color measurement,” he added. “Collaboration with related areas like the paint and coatings industry allows NPIRI to draw upon this market space’s experience and technical expertise to the benefit of the NAPIM membership. NAPIM and NPIRI are also excited about our continuing cooperation and collaboration with Printed Electronics Now and Ink World to produce the Electronic and Conductive Ink Conference in conjunction with the NPIRI Technical Conference. It is essential to the current and future success of our industry to understand new and exciting technologies that can be adopted and integrated into our markets. The challenges before our industry must be addressed with high quality training and technical education.”

Before the conference started on Oct. 15 at The Drake Hotel in Oak Brook, IL, NAPIM held its “Intro to Ink Formulation and Manufacturing,” a three-and-a-half-hour short course on ink basics led by ink industry experts Les Watkins, Lisa Fine, Jerry Napiecek, James Ford and Joe Cichon.

The NPIRI Conference formally began in the afternoon. NPIRI President Dr. Juanita Parris of Sun Chemical served as the moderation of the session. The Keynote Speaker, David Sullivan of Sappi, covered “A Communicator’s Guide to the Neuroscience of Touch,” a look at the benefits of the haptic feel of printing.

“Our senses are activated by print - sound, touch, smell, vision. People understand and remember what they read on paper better than what they see on the screen,” he said.

Sullivan cited Dr. David Eagleman, who created videos for Sappi.

“There were 9 billion paper catalogs mailed last year,”

Dr. Eagleman said in a video. “Online sales decreased when a number of catalogs were cut; for example, 75% of Land’s End online sales are driven by catalogs.”

Laura Rowell of Sonoco and Lee Marcoe of Lake City Press then gave their thoughts on sustainability in “Sustainability from a Printer’s Perspective.”

Rowell took a look at the goal and the challenges of reaching the circular economy.

“The Circular Economy is a commitment to 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic packaging by 2025,” Rowell said. “There is a new goal of everything having to be recyclable, yet there is no clear definition of recyclability. How do you design for recyclability in an environment where even cereal box recyclability is being questioned?”

In terms of ink, Rowell said that the inks need to be recyclable, and there are concerns about polymer fillers.

“There is a lot of interesting research on nano plastics,” Rowell reported. “Polymer fillers can get into a water stream. You may need to develop a solution for this. There is a lot of interest in watermarking and deinking. Ink is no longer a small part of the problem, but it can be a large part of the solution.”

Marco of Lake County Press was up next and said that the 50-year-old commercial printing firm is seeing growth in the litho market as well as targeted mailing with data mining. He said that compliance is critical for ink companies.

Martin Habekost of Ryerson University Graphics Communications Management (GCM) followed with his talk on “Material Science at Ryerson University.” Headquartered in Toronto, Ryerson University has 47,000 students. Habekost said that unlike many university graphics art programs in North America, Ryerson University’s GCM program is growing, with 670 students.

“We have more students than ever,” he added.

“State of the Industry Report” was discussed by John Jilek, Jr. of Inksolutions and Bill Giczkowski of INX International Ink Co.

“Print has recovered,” Giczkowski reported. “Printers have adjusted their business models, while most of the digital printing that has displaced conventional printing is behind us.”

Charlie Hsu of BASF then covered “A Sustainable Solution for Lamination Packages – Raw Material Selections for Water-Borne Inks,” which earned the prestigious Lawter Series Award for
best paper.

“Dry food products use standard performance products. Liquid products require medium performance lamination, and retortable food packaging requires high performance, including high-temperature sterilization,” Hsu said. “The material is cooked with the packaging. The ink has to have very good bond strength and survive the heat and humidity.”

Jerry Napiecek of Colorcon, No-Tox Products hosted the speaker showcases, which featured Dhara Metla of BYK; Dr. Ingrid Meier of Evonik; Dr. Saif Ansari of Keim Additec Surface USA; Dave Hamel of Fluid Imaging Technologies; Charles Douglas of Lubrizol; Markus Webber of EMD; Jake Dagen of Netzsch; and Jennifer Rigney of BASF.

Second Day

NPIRI featured two sessions on Wednesday, Oct. 16. Moderated by Napiecek, the morning session centered on technology, starting with Darren Gapen of WestRock.

Sanjay Monie and Mahesh Panta of Orion Engineered Carbons offered “Carbon Black Update.”

“The biggest challenge we are facing is feedstocks supply; we compete with other markets like fuel oils,” said Monie. “Demand is strong and supply is tight.”

Barry Cullens of Hockmeyer Equipment then discussed “Dispersion Technology Update.” Schwen, Sherwin-Williams Performance Coatings Group – Color, followed with “Color Communication Do’s and Don’ts.” Schwen observed that color measurement improves color matching. She then compared the merits of densitometers, spectrophotometers and colorimeters.

“Densitometers don’t measure color,” Schwen said. “45/0 instruments are very sensitive to differences in gloss. Spheres are the most widely applicable. Multi-angles are very useful for foil, metallic or mica. Small handheld colorimeters are good for replacing fan decks or finding the closest possible color.”

Schwen said communicating color properly is essential. “When designers say ‘Make it pop’ and ‘It looks great on my computer but why didn’t it print out like on my computer,’ it isn’t very precise,” she noted.

“UV LED Curing Insights,” given by Jennifer Heathcote of Eminence UV, closed the Technical Session.

“The power of LED technology is that we can control elements of curing like irradiance that we could never do with mercury lamp technology,” said Heathcote. “LED technology has all this great potential that has yet to be tapped. People who use LED are not going back.”

After lunch, Duane Ness of INX International Ink moderated the Regulatory session, which began with CPMA’s David Wawer’s talk on “TSCA Risk Evaluation Method.” Wawer went through the process in which Pigment Violet 29 was put through as one of the first 10 TSCA risk evaluations.

“We had to discuss with the EPA on how PV29 was used in commerce,” said Wawer. “They concluded that PV29 is used as an intermediate in making inks and was not on the shelves of stores. EPA concluded PV29 does not present an unreasonable risk to injury to human health and the environment under its conditions of use. In a short period of time the final risk evaluation will be published.”

Eric Hobbs of Ogletree Deakins then discussed “OSHA Compliance Update.” Jonathon Graunke of INX International Ink Co. covered “Understanding Today’s Supply Chain Requirements/Expectations,” offering advice on innovation as well as interesting case studies testing for BPA and other substances.

“Everything we do is regulatory these days,” Graunke said. “Innovation is difficult, and you have to decide what to work on and how to communicate it. Most innovation seems to stall as people easily accept no for an answer.”

James Bailen, also of INX, offered his insights on Smart Manufacturing in his presentation on “Industry 4.0: A Connected Digital Factory.”

“Food-Contact Printing Inks: Comparing the U.S. and EU Regulatory Framework,” by Rachel Bond of Keller and Heckman, LLP closed the Regulatory Session.

“There are different legal requirements for printing inks in food packaging in the US and Europe,” Bond said. “Brand owners and their products are under tremendous scrutiny of chemicals, and customers may impose additional requirements.”