On Screen: Designing Inks for a Circular Economy | Sun Chemical

As part of Sustainable Packaging News' Circular Economy Week, Sun Chemical explores how innovative washable ink technology can help improve the quality and value of recycled plastics.

Printed labels and flexible packaging play an important role in product branding and communication, but conventional inks can create challenges during the recycling process. In standard recycling operations, inks may bleed during the hot caustic washing stage, contaminating wash solutions and reducing the quality of the recycled plastic output.

In this video, Sun Chemical demonstrates how its washable ink technology has been designed to address this issue. Printed directly onto plastic films without the need for a primer, these inks are engineered to separate cleanly from the substrate during recycling, creating particles that can be easily filtered from the wash solution.

The result is cleaner recycling streams, higher-quality recycled plastic and greater opportunities for material to be recycled into higher-value applications rather than being downcycled or discarded.

Watch to learn how innovations in ink technology are helping support packaging recyclability, improve recycling efficiency and contribute to the development of a more circular plastics economy.