Food-safe coding & marking solutions for recyclable packaging

Packaging expert, SÜDPACK and industrial printing specialist LEIBINGER  together address the need for sustainable packaging solutions. Their first joint venture assesses the compatibility of CIJ inks for use on recyclable films in food packaging, which undergo sterilization post-packaging. This system integration of packaging and printing solutions offers time efficiency and investment assurance for food manufacturers. Both companies will be live at Fachpack 2024  (booth 7-550, hall 7) to talk about the project.

Today, packaging films are expected to be resource-saving and recyclable to support a circular economy. The EU Packaging Regulation requires all packaging on the EU market to be recyclable by 2030. As a result, composite materials are being increasingly replaced by monomaterials. If these monomaterials are not equipped with a barrier function that prevents ink components from migrating to food, they may only be printed with harmless ink. This raises the requirements for the production, coding & marking of packaging films.

With special LEIBINGER inks, the recyclable food packaging from SÜDPACK can be marked and then sterilized. (From left) Michael Wöhrmann, Director Business Development at LEIBINGER  and Johann Gihr, Business Development & Innovation Management at SÜDPACK (Source: Paul Leibinger GmbH & Co. KG)

Advancing R&D for more sustainability

The packaging market is experiencing very fundamental changes. With this in mind, SÜDPACK is continuously expanding its portfolio of recyclable film solutions. The company is developing monomaterials that are very much on par with previous composite materials – both in terms of convenience and protection. For printing and coding this type of food packaging, LEIBINGER offers industrial inkjet printers and develops special continuous inkjet (CIJ) inks together with SIS Ink Solution, a LEIBINGER Group company. The interaction of these components is the focus of the joint project between SÜDPACK and LEIBINGER.

After various tests, the optimal LEIBINGER ink for marking SÜDPACK's recyclable food films was developed. (Source: Paul Leibinger GmbH & Co. KG)

In test: Sterilisation resistance of CIJ ink for marking food packaging

Are continuous inkjet inks suitable for printing on and subsequently sterilising recyclable food packaging? Specialists from both companies investigated this very question at SÜDPACK’s technical centre. The team printed the innovative single-material solutions based on PE and PP with advanced CIJ ink. During the subsequent steam sterilisation, the printed films were heated at 121°C for 30 minutes. Assessment of the print samples before and after sterilisation showed that the print was still perfectly legible. The inks used are suitable for printing on food contact materials. This means that they only contain raw materials that are approved in compliance with the German Printing Inks Ordinance and the Swiss Commodities Ordinance.

How the collaborative project came about

The idea for the joint project between the two family-run Swabian companies SÜDPACK and LEIBINGER originated at a meeting at the PackExpo trade fair in Chicago in 2022. Together, the two companies set themselves the goal of providing food manufacturers with a packaging and printing solution that had already been tested for key customer requirements.

Results can be used directly by customers

“The sterilisation resistance of ink is always a major challenge. I am delighted that we have succeeded in developing a food-approved CIJ ink that is this effective when printing on monomaterials,” explains Dr Thomas Paul, ink expert and Managing Director at SIS Ink Solution, a LEIBINGER Group company.

The companies

High-performance films and packaging solutions from SÜDPACK have been winning over customers in various industries worldwide for more than 50 years. With some 1,800 employees at 10 production sites worldwide, SÜDPACK distinguishes itself through its high level of innovation, quality and reliability.

Printers and inks from LEIBINGER in Tuttlingen, Germany, are also used worldwide. For about 75 years, the company has been an expert in industrial printing systems that are used to print expiry dates on packaging, among many other things. LEIBINGER is ideally positioned globally with 150 partners and 300 employees.