On 12 March 2015, the Chicago-head quartered Videojet which is active in the Indian inkjet marking engine market, has released its new V418 enhanced adhesion ink. As the topic of food labelling regulations continues to lead discussions within the food manufacturing and packaging industry, it has never been more important to ensure that merchandize is coded accurately with readable use-by dates that last the entire intended lifecycle of a product. In response to this increasing concern among food manufacturers, Videojet invests in ink chemistry research to develop new, improved performance inks. The company is active in the continuous inkjet, thermal inkjet, laser marking, thermal transfer overprinting, case
coding and labelling, and wide array printing segments.
V418, the latest addition to Videojet’s successful 1000 Line ink range, has been formulated specifically to improve adhesion and abrasion resistance on flexible film packaging commonly used in meat and poultry, and fish and seafood manufacturing facilities. The
environmental conditions of the packaging area and the product being packaged can present unique challenges for printing use-by dates. Heidi Wright, business unit manager for ink at Videojet explains, “We listen carefully to our customers to understand the challenges they face so we can try to resolve them. Through this constant two-way
conversation wed is covered that certain facilities can experience poor or inconsistent ink adhesion on their products when conditions are wet or cold, or where the packaging may come into contact with oily residues or condensation.”
V418 has been carefully formulated to actively repel water and a variety of oils after drying. The ink solvents effectively penetrate through and displace oily residues on the surface and when dry, the codes can resist further oil exposure and water condensation for the intended life cycle of the product.
Wright concludes, “Extensive tests were performed on a number of standard industry flexible films to verify resistance to many types of oils and animal fats. We are very pleased that this new formula has unlocked new ways to help our customers produce better quality, longer lasting prints in harsh environments, especially on traditionally hard to print materials such as polyethylene.”
