Epson has published an Ink Chemistry Information sheet revealing that the water-based inks used in its SurePress L-4033A and L-4033AW digital label printers are free from a lengthy list of major toxic chemical substances. With the increased awareness on consumer safety within the label and packaging industry, Epson’s announcement about the ink formulations used in the SurePress L-4033A/AW ink cartridges speaks powerfully to the ink safety concerns of consumers, brand owners and label converters.

“As the industry takes a closer look at the possibly harmful chemicals used in label printing solutions, we want it to be known we are committed to providing our customers with ink technology that not only delivers excellent quality labels, but is also free from these toxic chemicals,” says Mike Pruitt, senior product manager, Industrial Markets, Epson America. “The SurePress L-4033A/AW leverages an advanced ink technology which helps prime label converters to respond to the safety concerns of consumers and brand owners alike.”

The ink cartridges used in the SurePress L-4033A/AW address industry concerns regarding the use of prohibited chemicals when creating labels for the food, beverage, health and beauty, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical industries. Epson reduces toxic chemical risks by keeping its inks free of the many chemicals identified on the information sheet, rather than relying on label barriers or ink migration properties. The SurePress L-4033 digital label press models use water-based inks that do not include numerous chemical substances, including PCBs, asbestos, ozone layer disrupters, and dioxins.

“Many of the labels we produce are for the food industry, and our customers are extremely concerned with what inks and adhesives we use. Each year we complete reporting for many of our fresh food customers to prove we operate with good manufacturing processes, so the reassurance that SurePress ink is free from these major toxic chemical substances is incredibly important to us,” comments Sandy Franzen, president and co-owner, Creative Labels, a California-based label converter that purchased a SurePress in 2013.

“This is just another of the many reasons purchasing the SurePress digital label press has proven to be one of the best decisions our company has made in regards to developing our digital capabilities,” adds Franzen.

Creative Labels was the subject of a Narrow Web Profile in L&NW in 2013.