Customised inkjet solutions: Siegwerk goes into digital inks

Siegwerk, the international printing ink manufacturer, is set to expand its product portfolio by initially offering UV inkjet inks for labels and for packaging applications in the future. The company has extended its research and development capabilities and has built a dedicated inkjet laboratory at its Technical Center in Annemasse (France). Siegwerk’s expert team is driving the development of inkjet inks that meet printing process requirements and address the specific challenges of the labels and packaging segments.

Sixteen percent annual growth in digital printing of labels and packaging

Given its unique capability of coping with short print runs and lead times, digital printing takes label and packaging printing to the next level. Short print runs enable brand owners to adjust and customise print designs easily and, thereby, differentiate their brands from competitors. Shorter lead times allow printers to react fast to the market and customer requirements. There is an increasing interest in regionalisation and personalisation of product packaging, which will drive the growth of digital printing technologies, delivering an estimated 16% growth rate in digitally printed labels and packaging (Smithers Pira estimates in "The future of digital print for packaging to 2020” by Dr Sean Smyth). Siegwerk sees growing demand for application-driven ink systems and inkjet ink customisation in particular. In this respect, digital printing does not necessarily compete with the analog printing technologies, instead it offers printers further opportunities that would not be feasible using any of the conventional printing methods.

"Siegwerk now combines its formulation knowledge and its application expertise with digital printing process requirements to deliver customised inkjet ink solutions for demanding food, pharma and hygiene applications,” said Matthieu Carni, Business Development Manager at Siegwerk. "Furthermore, we are involved in the respective markets and have insights into local regulations as well as an outstanding track record of meeting global brand owner requirements.”

Siegwerk’s specialists already started working on inkjet inks a few years ago. With Sicura Jet and Sicura NutriJet the company now offers UV inkjet inks for labels. Sicura NutriJet is formulated to meet the specific requirements of the food and pharmaceutical packaging segments. "Ink solutions will be adapted and fully customised to users’ needs. This goes beyond classical colour matching but also covers optimisation of adhesion, mechanical and chemical resistance properties, as well as assessment of migration risk,” Matthieu Carni added. Water-based inkjet inks for packaging applications are to follow at a later stage.