Weedon PSC Ltd, UK’s manufacturer of retail ready packaging (RRP) and point of sale (POS) display units, has begun using predominantly natural printing inks on corrugated packaging.
The company has been awarded exclusive rights to print RRP and POS displays using a new range of environmentally friendly, water-based flexographic and screen printing inks, Earthinks, which are made from up to 80% natural materials.
The company says color and quality are as good with Earthinks – and in some cases better than synthetic and oil-based inks – and prices are comparable, but these inks significantly reduce the impact on the environment.
Weedon PSC and its sister companies in the Weedon Group, Weedon Corrugated Products and i2i europe, prioritize the use of post-consumer recycled material (PCR), materials made from renewable resources, and recycled, recyclable and compostable materials.
Earthinks have been developed by Solar Inks from sustainable and non-polluting resources including soy, starch, sugars, dextrin, tree resin, cellulose and other polysaccharides.
Natural waxes are used to replace standard petroleum-based synthetics, and natural oils are used to defoam instead of mineral oils.
The inks are glycol and silicone-free, contain no heavy metals and have near-zero volatile organic compounds.
Earthinks reportedly have a low viscosity and low foaming levels to deliver sharp images with lower dot gain than standard inks.
They offer stability over long runs due to their unique pH-independent technology.
In-house color mixing is also an option for special color production on demand, and an ink recycling program saves waste.
While Weedon PSC has exclusivity in corrugated, Earthinks can be used on other substrates to enable brand owners to carry their environmental credentials across their entire range of packaging.
Weedon PSC will now work with Solar Inks to further develop the inks.
Together the two companies have set up an ink laboratory at Weedon’s site in Hednesford, Staffordshire, where they will look at issues including enhancing color and coverage and usage for different products such as on packaging to be used in wet, cold and dry environments.
