Toyo Printing Inks, Inc. – a member of Japan-based Toyo Ink Group, one of the world’s largest ink manufacturers – has launched a new series of sheet-fed, offset inks with low odour and low migration characteristics.

Engineered and manufactured in accordance with EuPIA (European Printing Ink Association) guidelines and the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices), the new LP-9000 Toyo Life Premium Food LO/LM series is suitable for use in printed packages for the food industry, as well as for cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and other sensitive applications. The low-migration offset series has been specially formulated for printing on the non-food contact surface of paper and cardboard media.

The LP-9000 LO/LM ink series is composed of raw materials from plant and renewable sources, which do not contain any drying agents. Instead, drying is achieved purely by substrate penetration without releasing any hexanal while drying, resulting in reduced odour intensity.

The new inks have passed migration testing based on EU Regulation No 10/2011 and have been certified by the Germany-based ISEGA Institute. In addition, they adhere to the regulatory requirements of EC 1935/2004, EC No 2023/2006 and all national and international regulations within the scope of the Swiss Ordinance (Nestlé Guidance Note on Packaging Inks) and the EuPIA Exclusion Policy for Printing Inks and Related Products. 

“We are extremely pleased to announce our latest food packaging innovation that complies with all applicable packaging material legislation in Europe,” enthused Rukiye Kiter, Offset R&D Manager of Toyo Printing Inks, who said the LP-9000 Toyo Life Premium Food LO/LM series was “designed and produced with food safety in mind” at the firm’s R&D Centre in Manisa – the first ink R&D centre in Turkey. “We worked with Turkey’s national science and technological research agency TUBITAK on R&D projects that focus on our common vision of delivering innovative food packaging solutions through advanced science,” he continued. “TUBITAK was influential in facilitating the practical application of Toyo Printing Inks’ new ink systems to the global market, in particular the EU. This is important as we look to make greater inroads in strategic markets in Europe.”

The LP-9000 Toyo Life Premium Food LO/LM ink range consists of process colours designed according to the ISO-2846 and ISO-12647 printing standards for CMYK print-and proof-works. Toyo Printing Inks has also developed the colour pastes for colour matching, and a database software system that allow designers to accurately match Pantone and spot colours. The new formulations exhibit excellent ink transfer and very low misting even at high press speeds. The inks are available as a four-process colour set, highly pigmented 12-base colour, transparent and white.