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Common Applications


Whether industrial printers rely on high-volume flexo production or shorter runs using thermal inkjet or piezo inkjet systems, Kao offers numerous ink options for printing high-quality package designs and marking and coding, depending on the cardboard material and intended results.

 

Inks for Printing Cardboard


Our inkjet and flexo cardboard inks are widely used to print primary and secondary packaging for e-commerce, food, beverage, pharmaceuticals, and other consumer or industrial products. For marking and coding, our high-opacity inks produce 2-D coding for reliable scanability. Our process and spot-colour formulations deliver vibrant results for visually distinct package designs.

Common Industries

  • eCommerce and other Retail Packaging
  • Food and Pharmaceutical Packaging
  • Wide-format box and point-of-sale displays

Non-Porous Cardboard

Porous Cardboard

Inkjet Printing

  • UV-curable
  • LED-curable
  • Low-migration UV/LED (Food grade*)
  • Nanodispersion water-based (Food grade*)
  • EB-curable (Food grade*)

Flexo Printing

  • Solvent-based
  • Water-based

Inkjet Printing

  • Water-based dye
  • Water-based pigment
  • Oil-based
  • Bio-ink mineral-oil-free (MOF)
  • Invisible security inks
  • Fluorescent inks

Flexo Printing

  • Water-based

 

Benefits for Corrugated Printing


Water-based Inks

These cost-effective inks offer superior dry time and richer blacks. The water-based pigment inks have better lightfastness and high durability. Our eco-friendly nanodispersion water-based pigment ink has the added advantage of printing on non-porous materials.

View our Water-Based Inks

Curable inks

Our UV, LED, and EB curable inks for non-porous paperboard materials deliver vibrant colours for packaging design. These rapid-curing inks are durable and resistant to chemicals and environmental exposure. The EB-curable and low migration UV/LED curable inks may be suitable for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs), including foods, pharmaceuticals, and health and beauty products.

View our Curable Inks: UV-curable  | LED-curable | EB-curable

Solvent-based inks

These fast-drying inks support cardboard printing with superior adhesion, richer blacks, and high durability, and they are lightfast and water fast.

View our Solvent Inks

Oil-based and bio-based MOF inks

Both our oil-based inks and our mineral-oil-free alternative offer high absorption, fast-drying, and high-contrast text and images.

View our Inks: Oil-based | MOF

 

Sustainable Inkjet Inks and Flexo Inks


Kao strives for production and manufacturing methods that reduce the impact on the environment, including formulation of special inks that contribute to increased sustainability.

LUNAJET

This nanodispersion water-based inkjet ink is eco-friendly and specifically designed for printing on flexible packaging, thin films and other non-porous materials.

Bio-based Mineral-Oil-Free

This eco-friendly inkjet ink is an alternative to conventional oil-based inkjet inks. The ink offers high performance on porous substrates such as corrugated cardboard and other paperboard materials.

OK COMPOST

We offer water-based and solvent-based flexo inks that are certified for industrial composting. Both of these inks are suitable for printing on non-porous materials.

More about our Eco-friendly Inks

 

We Meet Your Needs with Custom Formulations


Please browse our catalogue of standard inks. If you’re unsure which ink is best for your application, please send us a sample of your substrate. An ink technician will promptly and thoroughly evaluate your needs and make an ink recommendation to match the printhead model and substrate. If one of our standard inks doesn’t meet your needs, our experienced chemists will customise one that will meet your requirements and specifications.

Custom Ink Formulation Services

*Third-party lab testing should be conducted to evaluate migration.