Is flexographic ink or offset ink used for food packaging?
Date: Jul 30 2024 From: Star Color
Flexographic ink is mainly used in the flexographic printing process. It is usually a water-based ink composed of pigments, binders (such as water-based or alcohol based resins), solvents (mainly water), and additives. This ink has excellent environmental performance, low VOC (volatile organic compound) content, non-toxic and odorless, and is friendly to operators and the environment. Flexographic ink has good fluidity and fast drying, which can meet the printing needs of various packaging materials such as paper, plastic film, aluminum foil, etc.
Offset printing ink is mainly used in the offset printing process. It is usually an oily ink composed of pigments, binders (such as petroleum based resins), solvents, and additives. Traditional offset printing ink contains harmful substances such as VOCs, which can cause some pollution to the environment. However, with the increasing awareness of environmental protection, environmentally friendly offset printing inks such as soy ink and plant-based ink are gradually being applied. Offset printing ink has the characteristics of high precision and high color reproduction, making it suitable for printing high-quality graphic and textual content. Offset printing ink is widely used in the publishing and printing fields of books, magazines, posters, and high-end packaging printing.
When printing food packaging, flexographic ink is usually more suitable than offset ink, mainly based on the following considerations:
1、 Environmental friendliness
Flexographic ink: Water based ink is commonly used, which does not contain heavy metals, has low VOC (volatile organic compound) content, is odorless, and is more environmentally friendly. Water based ink is considered a representative of green printing and meets the strict requirements for environmental protection and food safety currently.
Offset printing ink: Although there are also environmentally friendly offset printing inks such as soy ink and plant-based ink, traditional offset printing inks are mostly oil-based and contain VOCs, which have a certain degree of pollution to the environment. Although environmentally friendly offset printing inks are constantly developing, they may still be less environmentally friendly than water-based inks in some aspects.
2、 Security
Flexographic ink: Due to its main components being water and resin, it does not contain harmful substances, making printed food packaging safer and less likely to contaminate food, ensuring consumer health.
Offset printing ink: Even when using environmentally friendly ink, it is necessary to ensure that its ingredients fully comply with food safety standards to avoid potential harm to food.
3、 Printing effect and cost
Flexographic ink: suitable for printing large areas of color blocks and patterns, with bright and stable colors. The production cost of flexographic printing plates is relatively low, suitable for small and medium-sized printing needs, and the cost per sheet is relatively low. In addition, flexographic printing also has good printability and can adapt to food packaging materials of different materials.
Offset ink: Although it can achieve high-precision and high-quality image printing, it requires a lot of preparation work in the early stage and is suitable for large-scale printing. For small-scale food packaging printing, the cost may be relatively high.
4、 Industry Applications
Flexographic printing: It has a wide range of applications in the field of food packaging, especially on packaging materials that require direct contact with food, such as plastic bags, paper boxes, etc. Its environmental friendliness and safety have been widely recognized by the industry.
Offset printing: Although it is also used for printing food packaging, it is more commonly used in occasions that require extremely high printing quality, such as high-end gift boxes, hardcover books, etc.
In summary, from the aspects of environmental protection, safety, printing effect and cost, and industry application, flexographic ink is more suitable for printing food packaging. Of course, when choosing ink, it is necessary to consider the specific printing needs and food safety standards comprehensively.
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