As the UV flexo market grows, so do the demands on printers and ink manufacturers. There is more and more demand for UV flexo inks for safe food packaging and sophisticated non-food packaging, as well as labels.

To meet this development, hubergroup Print Solutions is now relaunching its UV flexo portfolio. In the course of the relaunch under the iray brand, the international printing ink specialist says it has not only further improved the performance of its products but has also added primers, adhesives and low-migration printing inks, as well as varnishes for food packaging to its portfolio.

“When revising our UV flexo portfolio, we focused on the question of how we can simplify printers’ work,” says Alexander Blasek, global project manager UV Flexo at hubergroup. “Our answer: we offer all the products necessary for UV flexo printing from a single source. For this reason, we have set up our portfolio very broadly with printing inks, varnishes, adhesives, as well as primers, and made sure that the products perfectly harmonise with each other. Our native service staff around the world are on hand for customers to ensure a smooth implementation of the new UV flexo system and are also always available for on-site support afterwards.”

The iray products cover a wide range of applications and are characterized by high scratch resistance, good adhesion, low odor values and high-yield inks. In addition, they are designed for fast printing and rapid finishing. UV-curable flexographic inks and varnishes for food packaging are brand new in the portfolio of the printing ink specialist. Thanks to intensive research and carefully selected raw materials, they meet the hubergroup’s high MGA (low migration and low odor) guidelines, which have stood for safe application on food packaging for many years.

“Sustainability is meanwhile, of course, also a requirement of printers and brand owners,” explains Blasek. “With the help of numerous laboratory tests, we have therefore ensured that our inks and varnishes are deinkable on film and paper.”

In addition, the PMV department of the Technical University of Darmstadt certified that the products can be deinked very well on paper using INGEDE Method 11. Blasek adds: “At hubergroup, we take a holistic view of sustainability and want to drive the circular economy forward. We are thus continuously working to further improve the eco-balance of our products and look forward to working with customers, as well as organizations, who want to shape a sustainable future together with us.”