Siegwerk India launches UniNature in India
UniNature was launched during IndiaCorr on 10 October. The ink aims to reduce the microplastics which can be found in inks. But more importantly, it meets the needs of brand owners and packaging converters by providing sustainable water-based inks and coatings for paper and board applications.
13 Oct 2022 | By Disha Chakraborty
Siegwerk team during the UniNature launch at IndiaCorr in Mumbai
Siegwerk India announced the launch of its new generation of sustainable inks - UniNature for the Indian market during the IndiaCorr show in Mumbai.
As per the Siegwerk press note "The UniNature product range is formulated with renewable and natural components providing an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional inks without impacting the recyclability of paper and board packaging. This is a step towards reducing the microplastics which can be found in inks."
The new inks and coatings series is applicable for many paper and board applications including corrugated board boxes, trays and displays, fast food packaging, sacks and bags, as well as cups and wraps. It supports various printing applications whilst meeting the market and regulatory standards.
Designed for use with Siegwerk’s Unibase coloured bases, UniNature inks can be supplied as ready to use inks directly from Siegwerk. However, UniNature extenders and Unibase colorbases are more frequently supplied to customers to be mixed on demand to dispense equipment directly to the customer.
While announcing the launch of the UniNature ink series, Ramakrishna Karanth, the CEO of Siegwerk India sub-continent said, "As we’re venturing into a resource-preservative future, our vision at Siegwerk India is to work towards sustainable development. Siegwerk’s consistent efforts for a better tomorrow resulted in the formulation of the UniNature ink series made from renewable and natural sources, for a greener future keeping in mind the 3S’s– safety, sustainability and satisfaction of the consumer."
UniNature at a glance
The WhatPackaging? team met with Raja Ranga Bupathi K and Benito Paul of Siegwerk who said, "The UniNature inks contribute to defossilisation by partially replacing fossil carbon with biorenewable carbon." he added, "Natural and conventional resins, from bio-sourced monomers, are combined so customers can use UniNature inks without process adjustments. UniNature inks also benefit from improved ink stability and lower VOC content.
Raja Ranga Bupathi of Siegwerk
When asked about the ease of implementation of the product, the Siegwerk team shared that "No required adjustment of existing processes (e.g. speed and colour matching) or use of additional products such as OPV’s allow customers to quickly and simply change to this more sustainable ink system."
Presently, the range incorporates up to 50% renewable carbon content – up to nine times more compared to standard water-based inks. The range provides an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional inks without impacting the recyclability of paper and board packaging, and also contributes to reducing microplastics in inks.
The new sustainable water-based ink range comes along with ink performance and colour strengths, offering similar levels of performance and properties as current water-based technologies. User tests have shown improved dot shape, comparable dot gain, high resolubility, and easy cleaning on press, meaning it can be easily exchanged with current products without the need to change equipment, processes or colour matches. Furthermore, high printing speeds on presses, on both coated and uncoated papers, can be achieved with the UniNature.
Paper is being explored by brand owners as a viable alternative to plastic for many packaging applications. UniNature meets the needs of brand owners and packaging converters by providing sustainable water-based inks and coatings for paper and board applications.