Toyo Ink Arets upgrades UV flexo ink range for label and packaging applications

Steraflex’s material design allows flexo printers to better leverage the capabilities of high-resolution anilox rolls that require inks of superior fluidity, stability and color intensity, and is said to offer enhanced ink transfer from high resolution aniloxes and excellent lay-down on a wide variety of substrates. High-speed curing and good adhesion characteristics make it suitable for a wide range of applications including self-adhesive labels and tags, shrink sleeves, flexible packaging and cartons.

Available in two grades – Steraflex and Steraflex Food, a low migration variant – the UV flexo ink range provides a complete range of process inks, opaque white and mixing bases to meet the growing global demand for UV flexo, Toyo Ink Arets said. Both ink formulations are designed to ‘excel on today’s high-speed flexo presses’, and to offer ‘spectacular speed, efficiency and economy to the flexo printing operation’.

Steraflex Food exhibits low migration and low odor properties, and has been specially formulated to support food label printers and packaging converters achieve desired print performance results while respecting EuPIA guidelines and materials migration limits listed in the Swiss Ordinance. Based on a low migration polymeric photoinitiator system with minimized use of small molecules, Steraflex Food is not only safe for food packaging but also exhibits excellent flow, stability and imaging capabilities, according to Toyo Ink Arets, so making it suitable for primary food packaging, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other sensitive applications where high quality print and low migration potential are imperative.

You Yabe, president of Toyo Ink Arets, said: ‘Recently, ensuring food safety and hygiene has been a priority topic as food packaging converters and brand owners are becoming increasingly aware of environmental health and food safety concerns.

‘At Toyo Ink Arets, we understand the industry’s need to address environmental and potential chemical migration risks in the packaging structure of consumer products. Steraflex Food has been developed to help address these challenges, allowing very low odor and migration levels while offering the highest print quality possible.’

Steraflex was launched last year, and featured as part of the company’s presence at Labelexpo Americas and Labelexpo India. The updated line-up will be on show at Labelexpo Europe 2015.