Package Design - January/February 2013 - 12

SUSTAINABLY SPEAKING

By Marc Levine

Bio-inks’ Bright Potential
A vibrant, eco future might just be at brands’
and designers’ fingertips.

I

t’s uncanny how advances in sustainability often
require more than technological breakthroughs:
They also require breaking down assumptions and
habits. Case in point: ink. If package designers and
brand owners broaden their horizons about ink
media and font specifics, the results can be both
beautiful and sustainable—in ways that are very
marketable to shoppers who care about the
environment.
When it comes to eco-friendly ink for product
packaging, the discussion usually centers on the
medium itself: vegetable oil, usually soy. For nearly
two decades, ink manufacturers and printers have
been collaborating to perfect vibrant, colorfast inks
in which the pigment’s “carrier” is soy oil, a highly
refined, biodegradable product that’s easily sourced
in most world regions.
In fact, the main question remaining about soybased ink is how long before every major consumer
packaged goods producer or pharmaceutical company is using it in most of its packaging. Walmart
and SC Johnson are two brands that use it extensively today, and many boutique brands make it
central to their marketing.
For instance, the Organic Essence line offers
products in compostable vessels made of 100%
recycled paper, organic glue and soy ink. The Danish Natursutten line of baby products uses packaging with soy ink, in lovely muted colors.
One-quarter of U.S. printers employ soy ink.
And there’s even a soy-based computer-printer ink,
from SoyPrint, that brand owners can use when
printing labels and packaging in-house.
So the trend is clear. And those not working
with soy ink today need to be reminded of its tremendous benefits:

12

january/february 2013

• It’s as vibrant as petroleum-based inks and
actually more color-intense, allowing printers to
use less for the same effect.
• It has a lower rub-off yet is easily removed
during recycling, preserving energy and better protecting the integrity of the substrate.
• It maintains its stability during the printing
process, doesn’t need energy-intensive drying
methods (unlike UV-cured inks) and it’s
price-competitive.
• Importantly, it gives off no volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), so its sustainability extends
beyond the ink itself and the landfill space it saves
to the very air we breathe.
That’s why the use of soy-based ink is growing
around the world, especially in the Pacific Rim,
Europe and Australia. Worldwide growth is projected at nearly 5% annually through 2014. Arguably, only a unwillingness to change is preventing
any manufacturer or printer from coming on board,
and there’s no compelling reason not to, especially
because its sustainability credentials are airtight.
No one would accuse a brand or agency of “greenwashing” if it touted its use of soy-based ink.
With consumers in the U.S. alone going through an
estimated 300 lbs of packaging a year, that’s a lot of
opportunities for a brand to flash the “Printed with
Soy Ink” logo.
Consumer brands can even build fun and funky
social media campaigns designed around the humble, hard-working soybean. With 350,000 farms
growing soy in the U.S. alone, a promotion that
encourages consumers to pose with a soy-printed
product in front of a lush bean field could have a
quirky, down-home appeal.
Not all changes need to be done at the package
printing specification stage, though. With a little
out-of-the-box thinking, you can make changes
from your keyboard that make an immediate
impact on the final package’s eco credentials. And
it all starts with the typography, itself.
How could fonts, which carry so much of the
ink used on packaging, contribute to sustainability?
Basic research by Printer.com examined 10 fonts
used in office printers and determined that Century



Package Design - January/February 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Package Design - January/February 2013

Package Design - January/February 2013
Contents
Editor's Letter
Front Panel
Snapshots
Sustainably Speaking
Converters Corner
Tracking Authenticity
Anti-Conterfeiting, Track-and-Trace Products
Great Expectations
Instant Gratification
In-House Printing Equipment and Supplies
Product Focus: Special Effects for Packaging
Datebook
Index of Advertisers
Field Notes
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Intro
Package Design - January/February 2013 - BB1
Package Design - January/February 2013 - BB2
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Package Design - January/February 2013
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Cover2
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 1
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Contents
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 3
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Editor's Letter
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 5
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Front Panel
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 7
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Snapshots
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 9
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 10
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 10a
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 10b
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 11
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Sustainably Speaking
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 13
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Converters Corner
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 14a
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 14b
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 15
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Tracking Authenticity
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 17
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 18
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 19
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Anti-Conterfeiting, Track-and-Trace Products
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 21
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Great Expectations
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 23
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Instant Gratification
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 25
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 26
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 27
Package Design - January/February 2013 - In-House Printing Equipment and Supplies
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 29
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Product Focus: Special Effects for Packaging
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 31
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 32
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 33
Package Design - January/February 2013 - 34
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Index of Advertisers
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Field Notes
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Cover3
Package Design - January/February 2013 - Cover4
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