Exclusive Interview with... Paul Winstanley, Vice President of R&D at Flint Group

How does Flint Group incorporate circular economy principles into the development and production of its printing consumables and equipment?

Promoting sustainability and circular economy principles in print and packaging ranks among Flint Group’s highest priorities, as demonstrated by the company’s recent Gold Rating by EcoVadis, which puts Flint Group in the Top 5% of companies rated in a similar industries. The company’s PRISM framework outlines its commitment to the Planet, its Products and People and is focused on creating more sustainable inks and coatings. The framework includes targets for waste reduction, water management, and more. PRISM outlines Flint Group‘s strategy for product development, which is centred around circular economy principles. As a result, all new products are designed with sustainability and circularity as core objectives, ensuring that they meet specific criteria related to recyclability, regulatory compliance, and alignment with regional packaging regulations, such as the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). This approach ensures Flint Group solutions are not only effective but also future-proofed for evolving industry needs.

What steps is Flint Group taking to reduce waste and improve the recyclability of inks, coatings, and printing materials?

Although substrate selection is a common consideration in the packaging industry’s pursuit of circularity, the role played by inks and coatings in facilitating effective recycling is increasingly being recognised. All Flint Group inks and coatings are designed with minimising waste and recyclability in mind and are formulated to align with existing recycling infrastructures, with due consideration given to any relevant regional regulations relating to packaging design and recyclability.

For example, Flint Group has introduced Nitrocellulose-free (NC-free) ink systems that are designed to offer a solution that is more compatible with mechanical recycling processes than conventional NC-based alternatives, offering greater chemical stability at high temperatures. NC-based inks can release volatile compounds when heated during the recycling process and may compromise equipment performance, reduce processing efficiency, and ultimately undermine circularity efforts. As a result, these NC-free solutions offer printers an effective way to enhance the recycling of their products.

Flint Group also provides professional services under its 360°ServiceCode platform, helping packaging professionals to optimise their operations for waste reduction and improved material efficiency.

How can Flint Group’s digital printing technology contribute to more sustainable and circular packaging solutions?

Flint Group’s digital printing technologies, under the Xeikon brand, contribute significantly to circular packaging solutions by enabling precise, on-demand printing that minimises material usage and waste. These technologies also support the use of more environmentally responsible substrates, further enhancing their compatibility with recycling processes.

As an example, Xeikon has developed a new series of dry toner for their digital presses which consists out of 60% recycled PET, significantly reducing the carbon footprint of the labels and packaging printed on the press. Furthermore, Xeikon also developed a "sustainability score card " system to provide an objective comparison between different technologies in terms of carbon footprint and chemical substances used.

What role does colour management and standardization play in reducing material waste and improving the efficiency of printing processes?

Efficient colour management is critical for reducing waste in printing operations – any efforts during make-ready which are not to the brand owners’ specifications may result in press downtime, substrate, ink and coating waste. Implementing colour management strategies supports significant improvements in print quality and consistency and in reaching ‘right first time’ results, significantly decreasing the amount of waste generated due to colour inconsistencies or errors. With colours more accurately managed and standardised, printers can reduce the likelihood of customer rejections and subsequent reprints, saving materials, time, and energy spent on correcting mistakes.

Flint Group supports colour management with its VIVO Colour Solutions platform, which helps printers ensure consistent and accurate colour reproduction. ‘Right first time’ (RFT) is one of the most difficult objectives for a converter to achieve. This tool simplifies achieving RFT results, and contributes to minimising press downtime and material waste. By centralising colour standards and streamlining communication between stakeholders, VIVO Colour Solutions enhances operational efficiency and supports printers’ sustainability goals.

How does Flint Group address the environmental impact of conventional and energy-curable inks in the flexible packaging and label printing? 

With UV LED inks and coatings for Narrow Web and flexible packaging applications growing in popularity worldwide, Flint Group is leading the industry in developing energy-curable inks that help printers reduce their environmental impact. The company’s UV LED dual-curing inks deliver excellent print results under long-lifespan lamps that provide improved curing. UV LED lamps are capable of instant activation and deactivation and are generally more energy efficient than UV arc lamp alternatives, while delivering superior curing quality. Flint Group was an early pioneer of dual-curing inks that work with conventional and UV LED technology and offers the EkoCure® product range designed to provide flexibility for printers who are transitioning their presses to UV LED lamps.

What innovations has the company introduced to enhance the sustainability of flexographic, gravure, and offset printing applications?

Flint Group offers a comprehensive range of environmentally-focused technologies for print market segments including Flexible Packaging, Paper & Board, Label & Narrow Web, and Sheetfed printing. These products include multiple eco-conscious solutions such as inks designed to compost after use, and technologies that support deinking to simplify the packaging recycling process and promote circularity.

For Paper & Board, the company’s primary eco-conscious product range comprises water-based inks under the TerraCode brand. TerraCode consumables are bio-based and compostable, reducing reliance on petrochemicals. TerraCode Bio contains up to 90% renewable content, while still maintaining the high print quality and resistance standards that today’s printers expect.

Flint Group offers multiple solutions for enhancing the sustainability of flexible packaging. Solvent-based inks under the ZenCode brand are de-inkable, whereas the VertixCode and MatrixCode ink ranges offer NC-free formulations that are ideal for improving recycling efficiency. These solutions offer a direct replacement for NC-based inks that may make recycling more complex and less efficient. The company’s next-generation barrier coatings are also enabling the replacement of difficult-to-recycle multilayer packaging structures, facilitating mono-material designs that provide high product protection and ease of recycling.

For Sheetfed offset printing, Flint Group’s Novasens P670 PRIME delivers quality and unmatched performance and provides a comprehensive solution to increase efficiency and reduce waste in Sheetfed Offset package printing. Compliant with INGEDE de-inking requirements, the ink series aligns with multiple environmental standards and is formulated with 75% renewable raw materials. The series complies with standards including FDA, ISEGA, EuPIA, Swiss Ordinance, and the Dutch Commodities Act.

For Narrow Web printing, Flint Group’s Evolution primers and varnishes provide a way to enhance the recyclability of shrink sleeve labels. These formulations are specifically designed to cleanly separate during recycling, or remain bonded to materials intended for alternative recovery streams. For example, Evolution enables PET labels to be processed alongside PET bottles to enhance rPET yields, helping to recover up to 99% of substrate material in a form that can be reused. This offers a significant advantage over conventional processes where label contamination could render large amounts of recycled material unsuitable for further use.

Finally, EkoCure dual-curing inks and coatings offer another way to enhance the sustainability of Narrow Web operations. These products cure under both conventional UV arc lamps and more energy efficient UV LED bulbs, and mean printers can use one ink across both lamp types. This minimises stock holding complexity and helps printers transition to a more sustainable curing method with ease.

How does Flint Group support customers in adopting more circular printing and packaging practices?

Flint Group actively supports its customers to adopt more circular practices by offering tailored solutions through its 360°ServiceCode services. This professional service platform focuses on helping printers manage cost and complexity while making their production more efficient. It includes colour management tools and waste reduction projects alongside sustainability performance assessments. The company’s regulatory expertise ensures that customers can navigate complex compliance requirements while working towards their sustainability and circularity objectives. In particular, Flint Group has extensive knowledge of packaging and print regulations as well as environmental legislation across all regions of the world, and its team is available to work with customers to find the right solutions for them.

How can Flint Group leverage its global network to promote circular economy practices across different printing industries?

Flint Group works extensively around the world to support the ongoing push towards a circular economy. Under its PRISM framework, the company is actively promoting circular economy practices with a range of internal targets regarding more sustainable product development. This is achieved through close collaboration with stakeholders in every geography, including suppliers, industry associations like CEFLEX and the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), and customers.

These partnerships have directly contributed to some of Flint Group’s most innovative circularity-focused products. For example, working with CEFLEX and the APR on recycling-compatible technologies led to the development of the Evolution range of deinking primers. Through these efforts, Flint Group is not only advancing more sustainable packaging solutions but also reshaping the industry’s approach to circularity.

In addition, Flint Group collaborates with its partners and suppliers to ensure stringent responsible sourcing policies are enacted across the supply chain. The procurement team works closely with suppliers to ensure Flint Group’s strict vendor requirements regarding responsible sourcing and compliance are adhered to. By leveraging these partnerships and its global presence, Flint Group promotes circular economy practices across the packaging and label industries, driving innovation and sustainability throughout the supply chain.

For more information on this, please visit www.flintgrp.com