The Swiss producer offers application-specific, one-stop services for individual ink development and production to ink migration testing.
Since its inception back in 2014, the InPrint exhibition has provided a unique point of focus for industrial printing, bringing this sector of the industry to the attention of a wider audience. Hapa is a strong supporter of the event, and is looking forward to meeting the many visitors expected at the show.
Stand C41 will present a focus on low-migration inks for drop-on-demand ink jet production. Other Hapa printing products will be shown in video form, and a redcube inkjet unit will be on the stand for live demonstration and sample production.
Low-Migration Ink Products for DOD
Hapa Ink, a division of the Swiss specialists for printed packaging solutions, addresses a key concern for the packaging world: the unwanted transfer of ink substances and taint from packaging to product. Customer-specific low-migration ink is formulated by Hapa Ink to suit substrate, application, and production risk-levels. The company can also offer a complete service to ensure compliance and security.
In the packaging sector, public health and safety have to be at the forefront. It must be guaranteed that no ink substances in excess of quantities designated and regulated as harmful, transfer onto pharmaceuticals, foods, and cosmetics. To this end, Hapa Ink develops low-migration, solvent-free UV drop-on-demand inks that mitigate the risk of diffusion and set-off migration. The inks are specialised to each customer’s substrates, application, and production processes. Any ink-quantity levels can be supplied, no matter how large or how small.
The development and production of inks is done in a single lab, where a team of specialists put years of practical experience to work on low-migration inks.
Combining extensive know-how of printing systems and technologies, industry regulations, and sub-regulations, Hapa Ink can fulfil orders for inks that meet EU food safety standards. All low-migration inks from Hapa Ink contain materials on the Nestlé Positive List.
Problematic Migration and Set-off
Hapa Ink’s low-migration series of inks are ideal for printing on plastics, carton, paper, or label materials. The use of low-migration inks alone, however, is not all there is to meeting regulations. “The risk of ink migration or set-off remains even when using low-migration inks,” says Mathias Theiler, Head of Hapa Ink. “It is paramount that each application be carefully tested.”
Often, clients feel abandoned to the ink and material acceptance process, as the option of testing and making adjustments to the inks of low-volume orders is not offered by the larger ink producers. This simply never happens at Hapa Ink. Following the analysis, evaluation, and testing of each ink and application, comes the department’s forte: the carrying out any necessary adjustments that ensure the required values of the relevant regulations are met.
Comprehensive Testing Process from a Single Source
The interaction between packaging and product are both product and process dependent. To detect the risk of migration, realistic tests are necessary.
Migjen Rrahimi, Head of Ink Development, supports a wholly integrated approach: “We conduct migration tests in cooperation with certified institutes and under real conditions. This means the ink, substrate, product, printing system, and polymerisation process are all taken into account.” Hapa Ink tests each component in a continuous process until the optimal results are reached. Thanks to this meticulous attention to details, the customer can rely on individualised inks being in compliance with the regulatory limits.
Highest Print Quality and White Opacity
Whether CMYK, white, or spot-colours, inks from Hapa Ink deliver the highest printing quality for a virtually unlimited range of applications. The inks meet cover requirements in a single pass of printing.
The UV DOD, low-migration Hapa Ink “Enserra” is applicable for various print heads from Konica Minolta (KM 512, KM 1024, KM 1024i, KM 1800i), Xaar (1001, 1002), and Kyocera (KJ4). Hapa Ink 27, a UV flexo ink, is also to found in the low-migration portfolio. Hapa Ink provides customers with more than individually designed products: the team is prepared to develop new inks to meet particular demands.
Key Advantages of Hapa Ink
- Complete, single-source service
- Customer-specific development and production
- Inks produced in small volumes
- Migration tests conducted to optimal results
- Matching of ink to substrate, product and printing
- Inks for every printing system
- Solutions for market leading print heads, including Konica Minolta, Xaar, Kyocera
- Long-term availability of inks.
