Toyo Ink Europe launches low-migration UV inks for food packaging

Toyo Ink Europe, the European energy-curing inks division of Japan’s Artience Group, has introduced a complete lineup of UV curable inks consisting of low-migration and low-energy solutions designed for food-safe packaging. 

The solution was developed to meet migration limits as mandated under the German Printing Ink Ordinance (GIO). Toyo Ink aims to create innovations that exceed the key safety benchmarks in Europe before they become mandatory.

Caroline Melis, sales and marketing manager at Toyo Ink Europe, tells Packaging Insights: “At Toyo Ink Europe, we recognize that food packaging must meet increasingly stringent safety, regulatory, and sustainability requirements across global markets.”

“Food packaging today is subject to strict regulatory frameworks and brand-owner specifications designed to protect consumer health. In EU countries, food packaging compliance is controlled at the EU, member state, and industry level. This complex web of interacting legislations and norms makes controlled raw material selection and migration risk management essential.”

“Furthermore, as packaging materials evolve toward thinner films, recyclable substrates, and lightweight flexible structures, natural barrier properties are often reduced, making specialized low-migration ink systems essential.”

Formulating low-migration inks

The GIO-compliant ink solutions are developed to integrate compliance, quality, and productivity into a single reliable system for printers.

“Toyo Ink Europe’s GIO-compliant inks combine low-migration chemistry with low-energy UV/LED curing to deliver strong, consistent color, excellent adhesion on flexible substrates, and low odour characteristics for food packaging,” Melis highlights.

“Carefully controlled formulations, systematic batch screening, and analytical support minimize migration risks and reduce rejected batches. Designed for high-speed converting, these inks support fast curing, stable ink transfer, and reduced downtime, enabling converters to achieve food safety assurance, premium print quality, high productivity, and more sustainable production.”

Melis explains that low-migration inks are formulated to reduce the transfer of substances from printed packaging into food, supporting converters in meeting regulatory expectations and brand-owner compliance programs. 

“These solutions are particularly critical for sensitive applications such as dairy, snacks, frozen foods, and products with extended shelf life.”

Low-energy tech demands

In flexo printing, Steraflex UV is said to provide “high color strength, fast UV curing, excellent printability, and broad substrate compatibility.” It can be used for labels and packaging on non-absorbent substrates such as PE, PP, and PET, and on absorbent ones such as paper and board. 

Steraflex GIO LED extends these benefits to LED-UV flexo printing, offering energy-efficient curing and consistent, vibrant print results.

In offset printing, Steraboard UV and Steraplast UV can be applied to paper, board, and non-absorbent substrates.

“Printers are under pressure to improve sustainability and energy efficiency. Low-energy UV and LED curing technologies enable reduced power consumption, lower heat exposure on sensitive substrates, and improved operational efficiency,” says Melis. 

“Faster curing, reduced waste, and improved press uptime contribute directly to more sustainable production processes.”

“For today’s food packaging environment, combining low-migration chemistry, regulatory alignment, and low-energy curing technology is fundamental to ensuring consumer safety and efficient manufacturing,” Melis concludes.