Flexo & Gravure Int'l

01/02/2011

NEWS & EVENTS





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When Phillip Van Son  founded his modest inkrnaking business in 1872, it is unlikely that he envisioned the impact his company  would have on the printing industry throughout the world. At Van Son, the ink making process has always been more methodical, it is a completely internal manufacturing process that is painstakingly precise and controlled. The company established a dedicated facility for liquid ink production back in 2000 in Hilversum in The Netherlands, and this has been dedicated to 100% solvent -free production since 2009. In fact, it now no longer produces solvent-based products for the flexo market, but rather concentrates on water-based alternatives.

 

 

AquaBase+ series

For more than 35 years Van Son has been successfully involved in the flexographic printing inks market. Throughout its history, the company has continued to develop new and innovative solutions relevant to the markets it serves. In recent years, they developed a range of water-based solutions for the multifaceted flexographic printing process, the AquaBase+ series.

 

The development has focused on the quality of the printed end product and ease of use for the printer. Each ink offers perfect adhesion, good gloss and excellent durability. The inks are a solvent-free due to the increasing awareness of environmental issues and the demand from end-users for more environmentally friendly packaged and labelled products. This makes waterbased options the way forward for flexo printers. Eliminating VOCs (volatile organic compounds) not only helps the environment, but is also kinder to employees, and does away with many health and safety issues.

 

 

Van Son's entire product portfolio of inks, application varnishes, extenders and elemental auxiliaries is checked and balanced for optimal performance. Therefore AquaBase+ enables the flexo industry to work on a wide variety of substrates - from highly absorbant corrugated to non-absorbing films - with a minimum of ingredients while creating constant high quality and value-adding press performance. There are separate formulations for envelopes, films and foils, paper and board, paper cups, labels and tickets, ruling, towel and tissue, which makes it one of the most comprehensive ranges of water based inks for the flexographic market (see tab/e).

 

The individual series have been developed to achieve optimum results in specific product market combinations and/or applications. All series are available in a concentrate quality for use with ink dispensing/mixing systems or a press ready quality. Both types are, as standard, available in different colour concentrations and formulations to meet the requirements of all modern colour-matching systems. The inks are based on a transparent colour system and have a controlled rheology and excellent resolubility. Basic characteristics (e.g. rub and/or scratch resistances) and specific characteristics, depending on application, meet or are better than industry standards.

 

AquaBase+ inks are formulated with trouble- free printing characteristics, can be used with a wide range of plates and are suitable for high speed production. As an indication of the high quality standards, the AquaBase+ products enable very delicate CMYK printing up to a 72 l/cm (183 lpi) image on coated substrates.

 

As part of the production process, semi-finished Van Son products have to pass several quality control standards before being placed in storage in the company's intermediate holding tanks from which final customer specified quantities will be dispensed. Van Son can support any customer requiring press ready inks or ink concentrate dispensing systems with quantities from 5-1000 kg (11-2205Ibs).

 

 

Product Description
Paper, Corrugated For printing on a wide variety of paper and corrugated substrates for the manufacture of products such as industrial and agricultural cartons, gift-wrapping, flat bags and (industrial) sacks. Minimal paper deformation. Acid and water-resistant according to DIN 16524.
Labels, Tickets For printing on uncoated, coated and thermal label paper (for use on thermal and thermal transfer  printers). Acid and water-resistant according to DIN 16524.
Film, Foil For printing on pre-treated and coated film and foil. Fast drying. Good blocking, wet wrinkle, cold and heat resistant. Fine  quality in solid, line, type and halftone printing.
Ruling For printing on most current papers for the manufacturing of forms, notebooks and check books.
Gravure For gravure printing on absorbent and less-absorbent papers for a wide variety of industrial packaging. Good press stability on (very) long runs. Excellent gloss levels achievable.
Elemental auxiliaries A cleverly developed group of application varnishes, extenders, conceptual and norm al additives and special aids
Paper, Board For printing on a wide variety of paper and board substrates for the manufacture of products such as carrier bags, pet food bags, sachets, gift-wrapping and wrappers. Very good resolubility. Fine quality in solid, line, type and halftone printing. Minimal paper deformation. Acid and water-resistant according to DIN 16524.
Envelopes For printing on all current types of envelope papers. Fine quality in solid, line, type and dot printing
Towel, Tissue For printing on absorbent substrates for the production of towel and wipe tissues, facial tissues and napkins. Resistant according to EN646.
Paper cups For printing on uncoated and PE-coated board. Especially developed for the production of paper cups for cold and hot drinks. Fine quality in solid, line, type and halftone printing.
Tinting For tinting of most current types of papers.
Specialities Specialty inks and colours such as metallic and fluorescent inks.
Aqueous coatings A full range of water based coatings for in-Iine application on offset printed matter by means of anilox coaters and all other conventional coating units as well as a complete line of specialty flexo coatings.