Chesapeake Bristol claims it is the first self-adhesive label manufacturer in the UK to introduce an ultra-low migration (ULM) ink system as standard for all its customers.
According to the company, part of Chesapeake’s Branded Packaging division, the move to ULM-only ink is a significant one, as it follows “extensive trials and rigorous testing procedures”.
The new inks were initially tested at ISEGA by the supplier and were then independently tested by Chesapeake using another specialist business, with these additional tests covering a broader range of potential migrating components to provide greater assurance.
Chesapeake Bristol managing director Andy Walter says: “We were previously using low-migration inks but we wanted to fully move to an ultra-low migration ink system as soon as we had completed and validated the test results.
“We supply labels to some of the UK’s best-known brands and we always strive to offer our customers the latest print finishes and effects.”
For the company, Walter says, the move to an improved lower migration ink system was “an easy decision”.
According to Chesapeake’s group packaging & safety compliance officer Elaine Murray, independent testing of the new inks on paper and filmic substrates has shown “only minute trace levels” of migrating photoinitiators.
“These have a higher propensity to migrate through primary packaging into some food types,” Murray says.
“A number of products known to be sensitive such as high-fat content foods are typical of the goods which use self-adhesive labels.”
The adoption of the new ink ULM system provides an “extra layer of security for our customers”, Murray adds.
Chesapeake’s Bristol operation is the company’s lead label site in the UK for food labelling.
