PFFC - January 2009 - (Page 32)

INK TRENDS A Host of Options for Brand Security By Jörg Dähnhardt, Heidelberg USA Inc. In today’s converting and packaging environment, security needs are changing constantly. Security features traditionally used only on important documents such as checks or birth certificates now are being transferred to new markets—and the converting and packaging industries are part of this emerging brand security trend. Protection of the brand itself is only the beginning— repackaged or refilled products, alterations, or lookalikes may cause damage to consumer health that only compounds harm to a brand. Based on the potential for damage, converters may choose from a variety of covert and overt security technologies to mitigate the risk. Current security trends apply to all areas of the package: the substrate, design, inks or coatings employed, and specialized processes. u Special Materials | Unique substrates include special papers, plastics, or other nonpaper materials, some of which require a special printing process such as ultraviolet (UV). A given material also may allow for special designs, such as lenticular elements, directly on a box. u Design Options | Simple design techniques, such as using spot colors to set apart a brand, simply don’t cut it any longer. Today’s security environment demands special design effects such as those that change color based on the temperature or viewing angle. Micro-embossing is another method converters can use to protect a package. Converters also may add covert design elements such as hidden images that require a decoder to verify brand authenticity. u Inks and Coatings | The same holds true for inks or coatings that only can be seen under UV light, including use of metamerismic pairs. Overt techniques include pearlescent coatings that have an eye-catching effect—and provide added security—or scratch-off inks, which have the added benefit of encouraging interaction with the package. u Special Processes | Last but not least, the use of special processes such as a special die-cut shape or a foil application makes a package harder to copy. By employing these techniques or a combination thereof, converters can enhance package security greatly and protect their customers’ brands. The more unique the processes and the more elusive the material, design, or ink, the more difficult it becomes to tamper with or copy the package. However, even the highest levels of package printing security can be thwarted if the chain of custody prior to the end consumer is broken. Recent developments to help combat this include security features that are applied in the same line where the product is filled in the box, then sealed, creating a nearly airtight security experience for converters and their customers. Jörg Dänhardt is director of product management, Very Large Format, for Heidelberg USA. Contact him at 770-794-6196; joerg.daehnhardt@heidelberg.com. 32 | JANUARY 2009 C TE H N IQ U ES Ramos says Graphic Sciences also has looked at soy, corn oil, and even tree rosin-based inks as sustainable alternatives, “but there are limitations, unfortunately, when it comes to those sorts of things.” For example, he says, they don’t maintain certain performance characteristics of conventional acrylic inks. Notes Buystedt, “One of the downsides of soy technology is that it doesn’t have the best moisture-resistance properties, so you do require an overprint varnish for optimum moisture resistance.” Flint Group introduced HydroSoy water-based flexo inks at Labelexpo to provide printers with a “green option” that is “formulated with renewable resin technology and compliant with sustainable ideals.” The soy-based inks do provide the “essentials” of high print quality, color strength, and press stability, with the goal of improving sustainability “as best as possible in an incremental print process.” But Flint notes that while no ink currently is considered “biodegradable,” inks with low VOCs or made with renewable materials do assist in the sustainability effort. “The bottom line is to make products that do not diminish the earth’s natural resources and to dispose of those in a way that is not harmful to human life or the earth’s ecosystems,” explains Mike Impastato, VP business development, Flint Group North American Packaging. “If we move incrementally toward this goal, we are continuously improving the sustainability of our products and processes.” Sun Chemical’s WetFlex system and UniQure inks have been recognized for their low environmental impact with the “Award for Innovation– Environmental” at the Flexotech Intl. Print and Innovation Awards in London, UK. “We support our customers from a sustainability perspective,” says Hearn, “but they don’t have to give up on the high print fidelity at the same time. The wet-on-wet system allows for that. One of the advantages of water-based inks is that they are manufactured with low VOCs, so you reduce the emissions from the ink systems into the atmosphere.” Mel Weinzimer, director of marketing sales for Polytex Environmental Inks, notes “there was a time when all you had to worry about was functionality: Is the product scrubbable, washable, abrasion resistant? Everything new we develop is focused on health, environmental, and regulatory issues.” After all, he says, “It’s a part of our name.” And for more and more ink suppliers, supporting sustainability has become a part of their culture as well. uSupplier Infot uSun Chemical | www.sunchemical.com PFFC-ASAP 301 uFlint Group | www.flintgrp.com PFFC-ASAP 302 uBASF Corp. | www.basf.com PFFC-ASAP 303 uBCM Inks USA Inc. | www.bcminks.com PFFC-ASAP 304 uGraphic Sciences | www.graphicsciences.com PFFC-ASAP 305 uUVitec Printing Ink | www.uvitec.com PFFC-ASAP 306 uPolytex Environmental Inks | www.polytexinks.com PFFC-ASAP 307 Contributing Editor Edward Boyle, based in Reading, PA, has covered the converting industry for more than 24 years. Contact him at EJB Communications; 610-6704680; ejbcomm@aol.com. WWW.PFFC-ONLINE.COM http://www.sunchemical.com http://www.flintgrp.com http://www.basf.com http://www.bcminks.com http://www.graphicsciences.com http://www.uvitec.com http://www.polytexinks.com http://WWW.PFFC-ONLINE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of PFFC - January 2009

PFFC - January 2009 Contents First Glance Calendar of Events From the Editor Web Lines Process Management News Clips Narrow Web & Label Reporter Narrow Web & Label What’s New Products In-Mold Labels Cover: Ink Trends Economic Outlook Brand Security Show Preview What’s New Products Services Directory Classified Marketplace Equipment Buyers & Sellers Advertisers Index Experience Speaks

PFFC - January 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.