Sustainability Trends for Printing Inks Industry

Companies now more than ever are conscious of the need to be environmentally sustainable.

The technology that a company chooses for its print output will help determine how eco-conscious the business will become. Digital inkjet printing technology is a prime example of a printing method that supports a reduction of environmental contamination. 

Yet, inks attract a great deal of discussion in terms of the overall sustainability of print. These discussions include:

• Sourcing the raw materials that make up the inks
• The environmental impact of those materials
• The ability to remove inks from printed materials and packaging for recycling (de-inkability)
• The impact they may have on the production work environment

UL ECOLOGO^® Certification is a robust way to commit to sustainable inks. Products achieving UL ECOLOGO Certification follow the evaluation of multiple criteria throughout a product’s life, including energy use, waste disposal, and toxic reductions, among other areas. Rigorous life cycle-based environmental performance criteria as defined in UL’s stringent ECOLOGO Standard, 2801–2012 Standard for Sustainability for Printing Inks.

Koenig & Bauer Durst GmbH, has recently achieved the ECOLOGO Certification for their Durst WT Food MP Ink and Durst WT Food SP Ink.

ECOLOGO Certification was based on the results of the product criteria and manufacturing facility audit. The main Desktop Audit points were Hazardous/Toxic Substances, packaging and labeling, Energy Management Policy and Social and Environmentally Responsible Manufacturing. For this project, the on-site audit of Durst’s manufacturing facility was performed by desktop analysis due to the coronavirus pandemic. Remote on-site Audit evaluation points were: manufacturing, quality system documentation, suppliers list and storage procedures.

An example of an ideal project experience with UL includes regular update meetings and management of multi-attribute requirements. This was done in real time so that any individual update was shared with the project team. These updates covered areas such as project scope, document requests, reviews, on-site audits and other background information.

Dr. Stefan Kappaun, a member of Durst Group’s executive team, who heads the ink business for all segments as executive vice president of Inks & Fluids, said: “The assessment involved months of rigorous discussions and formulation assessments. We’re extremely proud to have earned the ECOLOGO Certification for Durst WT Food MP Ink and Durst WT Food SP ink. Sustainability is very close to our heart, particularly beautiful Austria, with its mountains, is where things come full circle with the mountain habitat and the aim of focusing not just on the machines but also the people and how we can play our part in helping to protect the environment.”

UL ECOLOGO^® Certification is based on multi-attribute, life-cycle-based sustainability standards. All products certified to an ECOLOGO standard must meet or exceed each of the listed criteria before receiving the Mark. ECOLOGO Certification is classified as an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Type 1 ecolabel and has been successfully assessed by the Global Ecolabelling Network, further demonstrating its credibility.

The ECOLOGO program offers credible third-party certification of products and services to build and strengthen trust between buyers and suppliers, customers and manufacturers, and it helps to demonstrate a product’s compelling and sustainability value.

All sustainable inks, including inks with the ECOLOGO^® Certification, such as Durst WT Food MP Ink and Durst WT Food SP ink, are easily searchable in UL SPOT (Sustainable Products of Trust)  Product Database: spot.ul.com. 

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