INX Ready for a Busy FFTA Annual Forum
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.—The FFTA Annual Forum and INFO*FLEX Exhibition usually provides spirited debate for all things related to flexographic printing. This year will not be an exception, especially concerning INX International Ink Co. One of the world’s largest ink manufacturers, INX will spotlight UV, solvent, and water-based products when the FFTA event is held May 1-4 at the JW Marriott and Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.
The INX booth will feature nearly a dozen flexographic ink products that are performance driven, including INXFlex™ ITX free UV process inks, Synergy III™ solvent-based adhesive lamination inks, and VersaTech™ 100 water-based inks. Developing and offering these types of products is answering the industry’s call for such inks, says Mark Hill, assistant director of research and development and vice president of liquid technology for INX International.
“This event is highly productive because it brings together a collection of people with great ideas and open communication,” Hill said. “We always get tremendous feedback from the printers who attend and it makes an impression in our planning. Printers are always on the outlook for products that deliver outstanding performance and a reasonable return on their investment. I think the products we are bringing to this year’s show will reinforce their belief in us for finding the right mix of inks that will make their work stand out in the market.”
INXFlex ITX Free UV process inks remain a popular choice because they have been formulated to provide minimal plate swell for flexographic printing. This involves all platemaking technologies including digital and fast-curing photopolymers, as well as most tag and label, pressure sensitive, shrink, and in-mold label applications. These inks are environmentally friendly, having been formulated without benzophenone and ITX with an ultra-low viscosity pourable system. INXFlex ITX Free UV also can be used for certain shrink sleeve applications. Another UV product to be shown at FFTA—INXFlex™ Last Down Shrink White—is a premium UV-flexo, low-plate-swell ink that is ideal for reverse printing on a wide array of substrates.
Synergy III and VersaTech 100 are representative of the 25+ water and solvent-based inks in INX’s product line-up. Synergy III inks are designed for adhesive lamination and work well with a variety of solvent-based and solvent-less adhesive systems. A high performance ink blending system designed for printers who want to improve printability and lower ink inventory levels, they offer excellent film adhesion, bond strength, resolubility and adhesive smear resistance.
The VersaTech 100 series are high value water-based inks formulated for surface printing on most treated film and foil substrates, with an emphasis on polyethylene bags. Two other VersaTech products will be on display: VersaTech LSE™ is a film and foil printing ink for low surface energy substrates including metalized films, and VersaTech ODE™ is an outdoor exposure water-based film ink.
INX will feature several other inks at the show. Roto-Flex G is a base system for multiple end-use surface print applications where gloss is a consideration for both rotogravure and flexo printing. ShrinkPac F™ is a solvent-based premium ink formulated for shrinkable film labels, and INXLamII is a film printing ink for adhesive systems. MYLEX™ is a premium water-based flexo lamination ink system developed to work with solvents, water-based, and UV adhesive systems. Finally, NXT™ Universal Lamination inks are a solvent-based flexo ink system designed for adhesive or extrusion lamination.
