According to a statement from DuPont Artistri business, the attractiveness of digital printing over analogue print (offset, gravure and flexographic) is growing year after year with inks playing a strategic role in this process. “Today digital printing is delivering unique benefits to brands and end consumers with customisation, personalisation, and, to converters with short runs (normally unachievable cost-effectively with other printing processes), design flexibility, colour brilliance, and doing it sustainably.”

The flexible packaging market needs to deliver more short-run orders with increasingly shorter production times, making the combination of digital printing with traditional systems an attractive solution. But bringing digital inkjet to this segment is not without major challenges. “Converters look for high-speed solutions on a wide range of substrates (PE, PET, and OPP) with the appropriate drying rate critical to the quality and durability of the print. In addition, considerations of direct and reverse printing, the use of white ink, the application of very different finishing methods such as lamination and cold seal, and primer considerations, all factor into the challenges of a water-based inkjet solution,” Bernd Daiber, global business leader, commercial inks, DuPont Artistri, said.

DuPont Artistri believes that by combining their print technology experience (inks, dispersions, polymers, primers) with that of their industry partners, solutions will be developed and that the digital transition in flexible packaging will increase in the coming years.

DuPont has been delivering Cyrel solutions to support customers in tag and label, corrugated board, and flexible packaging. The digital ink solutions, from DuPont will support its customers transition from analogue to digital printing, and help achieve sustainable growth of the packaging industry. “The range includes food compliance ink products for various market segments of packaging,” Daiber adds.

Another dimension that water-based inkjet inks bring to the packaging printing world is sustainability, and DuPont said, its aqueous pigment inks, such as the Artistri line of ink products, are a key asset for digital printing manufacturers to address the sustainability demand of the industry. “All of us, packaged goods buyers, along with brand owners and retailers are sensitive to the environmental impact of packaging. Brand owners and printers are focused on lowering the environmental footprint and improving the sustainability of their packaging solutions while keeping a high level of printing quality and printing consistency,” Daiber concludes.