Flexible packaging inks services in India are currently widely used across a wide range of industries, from consumer goods to industrial. When it comes to printing flexible packaging, both gravure, as well as flexographic printing techniques, are employed. Raw materials for both printing procedures are the same, hence criteria for their selection are also common.
Examine these instructions on how to select raw materials for flexible packaging ink in order to get the best results.
Flexible Packaging Inks
There are a variety of flexible packaging products that can be printed with gravure as well as flexographic printing technologies. Packaging for, but not limited to the following:
- Confectionary products
- Cookies/biscuits
- Coffee
- Juice
- Food
Flexible packaging inks can be separated into printing inks and laminating inks from an ink perspective. For this matrix, flexographic and gravure inks will be grouped together because they use the same raw materials.
This list of flexible packaging ink types manufactured by the most popular Flexible packaging inks manufacturer company in India, GLS Group is intended to serve as a guide.
1. Surface Printing Inks:
Inks for printing on the surface must be of a reasonable quality:
- High-gloss
- Rub resistance and resistance to water, solvents, and detergents.
Typically, these inks are coated with an overprint varnish to strengthen their surface resilience and to get the desired gloss and glossiness for the printed product.
2. Lamination Inks:
When two or more substrates are laminated together, a strong packaging structure is formed to hold and protect the contents.
There are two ways to laminate packaging films: using adhesives or with plastic melts (extrusion lamination).
Even though lamination inks are normally sealed inside the lamination structure to keep the ink surface hidden from view, the inks must nevertheless adhere well to the film they are printed on as well as they must not get stuck with the lamination films.
Surface printing inks differ slightly but significantly from laminating inks:
- In order to provide resistance to rubbing, scuffing, and other forms of wear, surface printing inks are sometimes designed with waxes that migrate to the ink film’s surface. If they aren’t going to be overprinted, they need to have a high gloss as well.
- If you’re going to use lamination ink, you’re going to have to make sure that the lamination structure isn’t going to be affected after production. Waxes and other surface-active chemicals can interfere with lamination bonding, hence they are normally left out of these formulations.
Flexible packaging substrates offered by an excellent as well as the most remarkable and trusted provider of Flexible packaging inks solutions in India that are commonly used include the following:
- Biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP)
- Cast polypropylene (CPP)
- Polyester (treated or coated)
- Nylon
- Cellophane
- Polyethylene (LLDPE/HDPE)
What is Cold Seal Packaging?
Cold seal adhesives are commonly used to package and seal temperature-sensitive confectionery (such as chocolate). A cold seal release lacquer (CSRL) prevents the printed ink from offsetting against the cold seal adhesive when it is in the printed roll in these surface printed constructions.
Using fatty amide (erucimide) or PFE waxes in cold seal package inks can “poison” the cold seal adhesive if they are left around the adhesive for any time span.
What is Heat Seal Packaging?
Both inks used for printing on the surface and those used for lamination can be heat-sealed. A heat-sealable film or coating is employed here to seal together two films with the use of a heat source. Because the sealing circumstances (such as temperature and pressure) can fluctuate, it’s critical to test and understand the inks before they are developed. As an example, 350 degrees Fahrenheit for a few seconds at 40 psi might be the standard sealing requirement.