Six of hubergroup’s ink series for flexo printing have been awarded the “OK Compost Home” Vincotte certificate
Expert in printing inks for flexible packaging printing, hubergroup has long been recommending flexographic printing inks with the “OK Compost Home” Vincotte certificate. Six flexo ink series suitable for different applications now carry this seal.
Printing inks are not fully biodegradable, but they can comply with the EU standard EN 13432 for biodegradable packaging if they are appropriately formulated. The standard states that the entire product is considered to be fully biodegradable and compostable if at least 90% of the material is degraded to water, carbon dioxide and biomass within a maximum of six months.
The basic prerequisite for compliance with the standard is that printing inks do not account for more than 1% of the packaging per colour; and for all colours together, not more than 5%. In addition, they must not exceed the prescribed limits for heavy metals, which in the case of packaging printing inks primarily entails a restriction of the copper-containing pigments blue PB 15:3 and green PG 7. The “OK Compost Home” certification guarantees that these prerequisites have been met, providing a green choice for brand manufacturers seeking environmentally friendly product packaging.
