Increased regulations, ranging from REACH and migration in food packaging, are impacting the ink industry and its customers. Ink manufacturers are working closely with printers and brand owners to solve these issues.
 
“Wikoff Color has taken the necessary steps to prepare for the increased regulations affecting the ink industry and our customers,” said Geoff Peters, Wikoff Color’s president and CEO. “We are here to help our customers navigate through some of the more complex subjects, such as food packaging safety. Our dedication to research, paired with our exceptional technical service, makes us a great partner when tackling these issues.”
 
“Our experience with REACH and migration issues has not impacted us or our customers significantly to my knowledge, with the exception of time spent educating ourselves and our customers,” said Jim La Rocca, COO of Superior Printing Ink. “Many questions still remain unanswered and the point of view of some adds to the confusion.”
 
“Ensuring food safety and hygiene has been a priority topic for food packaging converters and brand owners,” said Yu Adachi, corporate communication department, Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd. “At Toyo Ink, we understand the potential chemical migration risks in the packaging structure of consumer products and are committed to developing products that address the increasingly stringent demands of the industry.”
 
“These are two big subjects that INX is handling well,” said Rick Clendenning, president and CEO of INX International Ink Co. “We have a very strong and proactive Environmental, Health and Safety group within our company, keeping us up to date on REACH, GHS Labeling and other regulatory requirements. As far as Food Packaging is concerned, our R&D teams have already been developing products that meet all market migration specifications and requirements that will support our customers as they also grow in these specific areas.”
 
Felipe Mellado, chief marketing officer, Sun Chemical, said market awareness of the issues surrounding migration from packaging has been increasing over the past years, adding that Sun Chemical has been promoting the use of low migration offset printing technology for use on packaging for more than 25 years.
 
“Today Sun Chemical offers a full range of low migration solutions that meet both the strictest and most recent compliance measures worldwide, including REACH, and help prevent inks on packaging from migrating into food, pharmaceutical, and tobacco products,” Mellado said.
 
“Those activities have long become a regular piece of the business and they are not disturbing at all,” said Robert Doerffel, corporate communications, Europe for hubergroup. “In the end it is all about consumer protection and we are not only running a business, we are also consumers. Cost and effort is not wasted and it is equally impacting all companies in the market. Of course that may be more challenging to small companies, but there is no alternative.”