Domino Digital Printing Solutions is to introduce a new seven-colour UV-curable inkset, UV95, as an option for use with its N610i inkjet press that’s said to be safe to use with food packaging.
This inkset is non-CMR, meaning that it does not contain any carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic substances and therefore complies with the European Union plastic materials and articles intended to be in contact with food regulation. Typically, UV inks contain CMRs in the photo initiators.
The ink is also said to be “migration-compliant” under the right circumstances. Philip Easton, director of digital printing solutions for Domino, says that low migration can be a misleading term, noting: “Ink jet low migration ink is quite different in terms of chemistry to flexo low migration ink where much larger particle sizes can be deployed with higher viscosity formulations. Hence the performance of an ink jet low migration ink will normally not compare to the equivalent flexo ink and we do not want our customers to treat these as the same.”
He adds: “The real question is whether the ink migrates above the required thresholds and not whether it is low migration.” This of course depends on the barrier material that is used, as Easton explains: “Absolute barrier materials made of glass and metal will not allow migration and are safe for use; other materials such as PET normally represent an effective functional barrier. This represents a large part of the food packaging market, but when you consider other categories of food packaging, including polypropylene and paper, there is much higher risk of migration, even with claimed low migration ink jet inks, and it is essential migration testing is undertaken.”
That said, the UV95 inkset is compliant with EuPIA Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), with all materials used listed on the Swiss Ordinance for Food Packaging Inks. Domino says that UV95 has been developed in line with Nestlé’s guidance on food packaging inks and is fully compliant with the EuPIA exclusion policy.
Louise Adcock, N-Series product manager, adds: “Domino is one of the few digital ink jet printer manufacturers with the capabilities to design, develop and manufacture their own range of inks. The release of UV95 demonstrates our ability to provide customers with a reliable, robust and compliant ink set.”
This new inkset is also available to all the OEMs using the N610i as part of a hybrid solution, including the new MPS Symjet, which uses a highly-integrated 430mm wide version of the N610i. You can find more details from domino-printing.com.
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