How to Use Functional Printing Inks and Coatings to Maximize your Triple Bottom Line

Zuha Waqar
Nov 1, 2020
3 min read

Updated: Nov 13, 2020

Profitability determines the future of any business - that's a given - but with consumer demand for social responsibility and environmental consciousness, how do you manage for sustainability without risking harm to your bottom line?

In this post, we give you an overview of the functions of different packaging inks and coatings as it relates to maintaining a strong triple bottom line. Our intent is to provide you with recommendations to transform your design choices for food packaging. This will be further discussed throughout our posts each week.

Let's get started.

1. Socially Responsive Packaging

The organizational aspects of social sustainability has been well researched, whereas the idea of packaging as an agent of social change is still fairly new. The IAPRI Working Group discussion proposes the Socially Responsive Packaging and outlines that, among other requirements, it must work to provide food availability and safety. This is where antimicrobial coatings come into play. The coating works to stop the growth of disease-causing microorganisms on packaging substrates, and so your customers can trust that your products are safe to consume and worth the investment!

2. Environmental Sustainability

Along with food-safety, packaging must also be mindful of its environmental impacts. Traditional oil-based printing inks are detrimental to the environment as they are known to emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The combination of VOCs with Nitrogen Oxide forms smog, which decreases air quality and increases the risk of developing heart and lung problems. Instead, try switching to ultra-violet (UV) inks. These inks cure when exposed to UV light and so, total energy consumed in manufacturing is reduced along with an elimination of VOC emission, greenhouse gases and “end-of-pipe” pollution.

3. Economic Responsibility

Along with both social and environmental responsibilities, packaging manufacturers must add value to their single bottom line.

According to CTI Quantitative Research, “40% of consumers are consistently frustrated with the temperature of a product they buy when there is an expectation of hot or cold." For this reason, thermochromic inks are useful for packaging manufacturers that wish to provide convenience, drive sales and to ensure that when the time comes, consumers will choose your brand each time.

Water-resistant coatings work in a similar fashion to provide convenience through spoilage prevention and shelf-life extension. As a manufacturer, water-resistant coatings gives you more time to sell your products, reduce inventory shrinkage and dodge the associated costs while also minimizing waste output.

The Big Picture

As consumers ourselves, and to you as a packaging manufacturer, the onus of sustainable consumption and production is on both of us. You can create a strong triple bottom line for your packaging manufacturing business by empowering consumers through the management of environmental sustainability and social responsibility throughout your business processes.

What Comes Next?

Our team’s goal is to highlight different printing inks and coatings by bringing together our findings and having them accessible to you in this digital space.

Through the course of the next four weeks, we will discuss the following:

Thermochromic inks
UV inks and coatings
Antimicrobial coatings
Water-resistant coatings

Next week

We will dive into the details of thermochromic inks and release an exclusive interview with our mystery guests from a global brewing company credited with the creation of the world's first temperature activated beer can!

Need a Hint?

What do you get when you mix the Rocky Mountains with colour-changing inks?

Let us know in the comments below!