In its bid to find more environment-friendly solutions and meet the growing demand for sustainable products, Mumbai-based Hi-Tech Inks is shifting its focus to compliant inks and is in the process of moving all its traditional product lines to a non-toluene category.
Toluene is a solvent that is commonly used in inks but is considered to be hazardous. Non-toluene inks are more environmentally-friendly and meet the latest safety regulations.
“Over the past year, we have been trying to move all our traditional products to a non-toluene category,” said Karan Mahajan, managing director of Hi-Tech Inks. “Not just non-toluene, we are also trying to make our inks fully compliant.”
The company’s focus on compliant inks is in line with the growing demand for sustainable products. In recent years, there has been increasing awareness of the environmental impact of inks. Toluene is a volatile organic compound (VOC) that can contribute to air pollution.
Hi-Tech Inks is a specialized manufacturer and supplier of flexo and gravure inks for an array of printing applications, and supplies inks to customers in both the domestic and international markets.
Price fluctuations impact demand
In the last year, ink prices have seen a vast fluctuation. The prices went up at the end of the calendar year 2022 but have been on a downward trend for most of 2023. According to Mahajan, the prices had hit rock bottom in the last couple of months and are now rising again. The extreme fluctuation in prices has impacted demand.
“The last year or so has been a little challenging owing to price fluctuations. This has affected demand. As India is a large exporter of inks, the uncertain economic situation in the EU and North America has added to the situation,” Mahajan said.
Excellent participation at Speciality Films & Flexible Packaging
Hi-Tech Inks put up a stand at the 10th Speciality Films & Flexible Packaging Global Summit – 2023. “Over the years, the summit has developed into a great platform to network. We get to meet all the stakeholders in the flexible packaging industry. We had a good time,” Mahajan said.
