Sustainability and environmental compatibility of sheetfed offset inks

A growing number of industry products couldn’t do without renewable resources. Vegetable oils and their derivatives are in comparison to crude oil-based products of minor importance, but the sheetfed inks have always been an exception. Reading the special press, one can repeatedly read contradictive statements about renewable raw materials and printing inks.

For the hubergroup and the Swiss production plant Stehlin+Hostag AG in Lachen (SZ), sustainability within the formulation and the production are a matter of course. The criteria for what can be called environmental friendly are unfortunately sometimes hard to demonstrate. Not only the correctly used raw materials, but also the manufacturing practice in the entire process chain (from raw material to the printing ink) are part of the whole picture. The Stehlin+Hostag AG, As the Swiss production location, can claim efficient transport for their environmental balance.

The companies of the hubergroup are producing pigments and resins for binder systems under certified, stringent guidelines 4 assurance of quality and environmental compatibility according to the international Standard ISO 14001:2004. In 2006 this has been crucial decision criteria in favor of he backwards integration. All production processes, facilities and logistics have ever since continuously been subject to the development and implementation of measures that continuously improve environmental friendliness. Where technically feasible, printing inks are equipped with a maximum quantity of raw materials from renewable resources. In some areas there still challenges to overcome. Where in sheetfed inks most binder systems are based on vegetable sources, the inks for heat set and cold set printing are not marketable due to higher production and raw material costs. The mineral oils used for these inks are however uncritical for human health, when used for their intended purpose.

Of course, all the companies of the hubergroup do strictly comply with the exclusion list of the European Printing Inks Association (EuPIA) and all the existing legal requirements.. We will gladly provide extensive information about the existing regulations and the excluded substances upon request. Using the !NKREDIBLE sheetfed offset ink series REFLECTA®, RESISTA®, PERFEXION® und IMPRESSION® manufactured in Switzerland from Stehlin+Hostag AG, the share of renewable resources and production within the product is close to 80%.

We would like to convey this advantage to you. Therefore we have developed a logo that may create added value for your customers. Placing it in an imprint, you are committing to a sustainable production, also expressing the support for job security in Switzerland.