The world is moving ever more closely to key themes like sustainability and the Circular Economy, and the ink industry plays a role in this. From recyclability and compostability to using best manufacturing processes, the printing ink industry is partnering up and down the supply chain to provide its own improvements.

That is the message from the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers’ (NAPIM) virtual Technical Conference, held as the first three days of Ink Week. This year’s conference theme was “Formulating for the Circular Economy.”

The conference, held virtually, featured experts from the entire printing and printing ink supply chain and offered key insights into the Circular Economy and sustainability.

“The NAPIM/NPIRI Technical Conference is a one-of-a-kind event for the printing ink industry,” said John Copeland, executive director of NAPIM. “This virtual event did not diminish this characteristic of the event, and in fact enhanced our program in new ways. All of our speakers and moderators have done a fantastic job.”

George Fuchs, director, regulatory affairs and technology for NAPIM, said that the virtual Technical Conference, the first segment of Ink Week, proved to be very successful.

“Tuesday’s Technical track and Wednesday’s Regulatory track were among the most informative I can remember,” Fuchs added. “Overall, this year’s Technical Conference wasn’t just successful for a virtual Technical Conference; it was successful as a NAPIM Technical Conference. My thanks and gratitude to all who contributed to the success of this event.”

NAPIM Technical Conference

Led by moderator Dr. Juanita Parris of Sun Chemical, the keynote session opened with Rue Patel of Rue-Works, LLC, the former supply chain director at General Mills.

During his talk, “Creating Value Through Supplier Partnerships,” Patel spoke about the importance of partnerships between suppliers and their customers, offering case studies of successes.

“You and your supplier negotiate rates, terms, delivery and product specs,” Patel noted. “It is a tough negotiation process, sometimes down to hundredths of a cent. When things go wrong, as a customer, I am going to blame the supplier, and am going to want to get reparation. The supplier’s response is always the opposite, that you aren’t using the equipment set-up right, not training your people right or you aren’t using the materials right.

“What if you and the supplier looked at value, make the process more efficient, eliminate waste and create a joint problem-solving team,” he added.

Katherine Berry, assistant director, sustainability and environment for the American Coatings Association, then discussed “ACA 2020 Sustainability Report and Sustainability Program.”

Marci Kinter, VP - government and regulatory affairs for PRINTING United Alliance, gave an excellent talk centered on “Circularity in the Printing Industry - Can It Be Achieved?”

“The concept of circular economy is replacing the linear economy,” Kinter began. “In order for a company to be truly sustainable, it needs to maintain its profitability.”

Kinter reported that she is seeing a lot of efforts in circular design and more public support for bans of certain types of packaging.

“Brands are making voluntary commitments,” added Kinter. “There’s a lot of movement away from plastic, such as canned water. We are seeing the advent of new flexible packaging materials. Sustainability is evolving and the circular economy is emerging and becoming a driving force. Sustainability is not a threat. It is becoming more mainstream for businesses. The sustainability movement is here to stay.”

John Jilek Jr., VP of sales and marketing, Inksolutions, LLC, presented NAPIM’s annual “State of the Industry Report.” Hunter Harris, who recently retired from Ingevity, followed with “Sustainability in the Chemical Supply Chain – Principles and Practices.” Harris noted that 77% of Ingevity’s revenue came from sustainable products in Q4 2019.

Harris said that one area where Ingevity is moving forward is in new polymers for the ink industry, such as the AltaPrint phenol- and formaldehyde-free polymers for printing inks. “These are not included on the Prop 65 list and are safer for skin and eyes. This is an innovation we have developed with our renewable chemistry team,” Harris concluded.

The first day’s session closed with Dr. Natasha Banke, analytical chemist, INX International Ink Company, who gave a talk on “Method Development for an Exposure Risk Assessment.” Dr. Banke was honored with the Lawter Lecture Series award for her talk, a look at how INX was able to assess and determine the risk of PI 369, enabling it to be reclassified.

The second day was moderated by Jerry Napiecek of Colorcon, No-Tox Products. It opened with a Graphic Arts Sustainability Panel, featuring panelists Pallavi Joyappa, COO, Emerald Packaging; Lena Zodda, marketing manager, Graphic Packaging International, Inc.; Mike Oberski, technical industry manager, pigments for ink applications, BASF Colors & Effects; and Dr. Nikola Juhasz, global technical director for sustainability, Sun Chemical.

“One of the highlights of this year’s technical conference was the Graphic Arts Sustainability Panel,” Copeland said. “We had a strong panel with Mike Oberski, Nikola Juhasz, Lena Zodda and Pallavi Joyappa, who gave their own separate presentations, each with its own distinct focus.”

Oberski started off by noting that BASF’s goal is to have pigments that are sustainable for a colorful world.

“Innovation drives sustainable solutions,” he reported. “We currently have 30 pigments in our pipeline, with particular focus on the development of pigments with high chemical purity, functional and effect pigments. We rely on ethically sourced material.”

Dr. Juhasz was up next and discussed global sustainability trends.

“We have seen pressure on single-use bans and microplastics in the oceans,” Dr. Juhasz said. “These trends are causing a shift from the linear to the circular economy. New ink solutions for paper straws could replace 83 billion units a year. Sustainability is only the first step, and big brands are already looking to the next step.”

Zodda and Joyappa then offered the printer’s perspective. Zodda gave her insights into folding carton printing, while Joyappa covered flexible packaging.

“Environmental concerns are on the rise,” Zodda said. “Climate change can no longer be ignored. Customers continue to inquire about recycling, and renewable materials are expected.” To that end, Graphic Packaging has undertaken a number of initiatives, including developing double-walled paper cups replacing foam for Dunkin’ Donuts.

Joyappa noted that Emerald Packaging is the largest manufacturer of flexible packaging for the produce industry in the US.

“Sustainability is a conscious and responsible approach,” Joyappa observed. “It is time that we embark on a cradle to cradle approach. Upgrades to the recycling system must be funded and end markets for recycled materials must be created. We need to get moving to build the necessary recycling systems.”

When asked about the impact of recycling inks, Joyappa said that Emerald Packaging uses solvent-based inks exclusively.

“We’ve seen solvent-based inks that can be recycled and can be taken off from the surface of the film,” Joyappa pointed out. “A lot of effort is being put into that. I haven’t seen compostable solvent-based inks.”

Next up was Dr. Mark Vincent, CEO of Chroma Specialty Chemicals, who discussed “PCB-11 in Pigments, Printing Inks and Environment.”

Dr. Vincent discussed the history of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, a class of aromatic chemical compounds that were produced up to 1.3 million tons from 1929 to the 1970s, but was banned in 1978.

“They have extremely good chemical properties, and were used in a wide range of industries, including coatings and inks,” Dr. Vincent said. “However, they were found to be persistent and bioaccumulative in humans and the environment and production ceased.”

PCBs can be inadvertently generated in manufacturing processes, and the government says that PCB concentration cannot be above 50 ppm at maximum and 25 ppm at an annual average.

Against this backdrop, PCB-11 is being detected in a wide range of areas in the US, including glaciers, Spokane River, the New York/New Jersey Harbor and the Delaware River, but it is not bioaccumulating in fish. These amounts are way below legal limits.

While authorities attribute the NY/NJ Harbor results to pigment manufacturing upstream and the presence of PCB-11 in consumer goods from pigments leaching into the waterways, the Spokane River has been attributed to cereal packaging, yellow foam, and yellow sidewalk chalk. Dr. Vincent noted that there are potentially other possibilities.

“There are other sources – incineration, inadvertent presence in motor oil, road dust suppressant, asphalt release agent,” he added. “PCBs are prevalent in the environment, but orders of magnitude below legal limits.”

Compostability is an important issue for brand owners and converters, and Paul Fowler, principal, Diligentia Consulting, followed with “The Whys, Whats and Hows of Compostability Testing.” David Darling, VP health, safety and environmental affairs, American Coatings Association, discussed “ACA Product Category Rules.” Joe Cichon, former VP of manufacturing technology/TPM, retired from INX International Ink Co., concluded Day 2 with “The JIPM Award for TPM Excellence.”

The Japanese Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM) award is the highest honor a plant can receive and measures Total Productive Management, or TPM. Sakata INX received the honor in 2004; INX’s Edwardsville, KS plant was honored in 2010.

Cichon spoke about the top three things to do to make TPM work for your company. It begins with management believing in the system.

“The top things to do is first, make sure you have the support of the top management team. If you get management to buy in, the operator will buy in real quick,” Cichon said. “Next, make sure you understand the criteria, and also make sure you have a resource you can count on if you have never done this process before. It is extremely stressful.”

Brogan Gust of Inksolutions LLC served as the moderator for the third day of Ink Week, which looked at regulatory issues. Hazel O’Keeffe, partner, Keller and Heckman LLP, opened the session with her informative talk, “Update on the Regulation of Printing Inks in Food Packaging in Europe.”

“Member state legislation on EU-wide measure on printed food contact materials was contemplated by the EC but was put on hold,” O’Keeffe added. “No EU member states maintain national legislation specifically on printing inks, although certain ones have purity requirements for colorants in printing inks.”

Fuchs then gave his comprehensive “Ink Industry Regulatory Update 2020.”

Classification of titanium dioxide, or TiO2, is a major topic in Europe. “TiO2 has no impact when it is in a viscous liquid, similar to carbon black,” Fuchs observed. “This only applies to the dry form of the substance. The issue is the handling of it in dry form, and not in an ink formulation.”

Fuchs also discussed OSHA compliance.

“Many OSHA inspections are the result of an employee’s complaint – I would address any complaints as quickly and completely as possible,” he noted. “The most frequently cited are the Hazardous Communication standard – you need a written program, SDSs for all of your hazardous chemicals, and up to date training records that show that you have trained all of your employees. Respiratory protection and machine guarding are also common issues. OSHA has increased its fines, which are pretty substantial.”

Kevin Bromberg, coordinator, Small Business Low-Risk Coalition, analyzed “EPA’s Proposed Industrial Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) and the Opportunity to Eliminate Low-Risk Facilities from Stormwater Monitoring Requirements.”

Chuck Chaitovitz, VP, environmental affairs and sustainability, US Chamber of Commerce, then gave a short “Update on Policy Activity on PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances).” Riaz Zaman, counsel, government affairs, American Coatings Association, gave the last talk of the virtual technical conference, “TSCA/LCSA and the Ink and Coatings Industry.”

“Just because EPA is evaluating these chemicals doesn’t mean it is going to restrict those chemicals,” Zaman said. “EPA is very open to having conversations with industry.”

The NAPIM Technical Conference closed with an Awards Presentation & Toast. NAPIM president Jim Leitch of Wikoff Color and NPIRI president Juanita Parris hosted the awards.

The Lawter Lecture Series Awards were presented by Gene Cassidy of Lawter. INX’s Banke took first place honors, with Reginald Stuckey of Ingevity being selected for second place and Richard Czarnecki of Micro Powders earning third place.

“All of the papers were of very high quality,’ said Cassidy.

Next up, Kacy Schultz, manager – paste offset applications lab for Sun Chemical, received the 2020 NAPIM Technical Achievement Award.

“This is very special to me,” Schultz said. “I’m very honored to be chosen for this award. This award has been given to so many great mentors.”