Future-ready flexible packaging: Flint Group’s NC-free chemistry leads the way on circularity in Europe
With growing complexity around the use of nitrocellulose (NC)-based inks in flexible packaging recycling, printers and converters face growing pressure to adapt. The meaning of circular packaging is being redefined, leading to a critical question – how can we ensure that every element of packaging, including inks, supports a circular economy?
At Flint Group we have been preparing for this challenge and are excited to launch our new video showcasing VertixCode, our NC-free, polyurethane (PU)-based ink for surface printing of flexible packaging in Europe. Demonstrating a successful press run at speeds up to 400 m/minute, this video highlights the tangible steps we have taken to ensure that transitioning to NC-free chemistries is a viable path to enhancing circularity while maintaining high-performance standards.
Engineered for quality
Our NC-free inks are already proving their worth in real-world production environments in Europe. Both VertixCode, our flexographic PU-based ink range, and its rotogravure counterpart MatrixCode, deliver high colour strength across multiple substrates and are engineered for consistency even at high press speeds. With the additional benefit of excellent opacity for whites and high bond strengths, these ranges expertly blend the high performance of NC-based solutions with a formulation that supports improved recycling. Multiple customers have successfully started running VertixCode’s PU-based chemistry on their presses, demonstrating immediate benefits for quality and sustainability.
Laser-focused on circularity
The benefits of this technology go beyond performance. PU-based inks are increasingly important for supporting circularity and maintaining compliance in a changing regulatory landscape, and our VertixCode and MatrixCode series are leading this transformation.
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) has set ambitious targets in Europe, outlining that all packaging must be 100% recyclable by 2030. This regulation contains clear objectives for increasing recycled content in packaging and reinforces the importance of ensuring every part of a pack seamlessly integrates into recycling infrastructure.
Meeting these goals means that existing recycling infrastructure must be able to function effectively, and conventional NC-based inks can complicate this. Although NC-based inks are recyclable, they can cause thermal instability during the mechanical recycling process, potentially discolouring and degrading the quality of reclaimed material.
This challenge has resulted in the emergence of new standards such as Germany’s LUCID Packaging Register, which reclassifies packaging containing NC-based inks printed on polyolefin laminated materials as non-recyclable. Similarly, RecyClass has updated its Design for Recycling Guideline for coloured polyethylene and polypropylene (PE & PP), setting a limit of 0.8 wt% NC dry for surface and reverse printed packs. These measures have the combined effect of driving demand for alternative inks that are more compatible with mechanical recycling processes.
PU-based inks like VertixCode and MatrixCode provide the solution for this challenge. These ink series support effective recycling by offering greater chemical stability at higher temperatures, helping businesses across Europe prepare for the upcoming regulations and enhance recyclability.
Supporting a changing market
To support this growth, we are significantly investing in our manufacturing capacity in Europe. Earlier this year, we expanded our resin production facility in Caronno, Italy, with the goal of increasing availability of our PU-based ink solutions. As a result of this investment, we have increased our production capacity of important resin intermediates for PU and acrylic-based inks by 30% and have achieved major sustainability improvements during the installation process.
As the packaging world transitions from NC-technologies to NC-free products, this investment will be instrumental to ensuring we can maintain pace with rising global demand. Scaling up our NC-free resin production means we can offer a consistent supply of a future-ready alternative that supports recyclability and meets the requirements of a changing industry. As a result, no matter how market needs develop over time, we can ensure that our customers are always prepared and ready to respond.
To find out more about our NC-free ink ranges, go to www.flintgrp.com/segments/flexible-packaging-eu/nc-free-technology-for-flexible-packaging/