Printing Ink Knowledge

Hi, I’m Alex, a technical engineer at StarColor. I’ve worked in the printing ink industry for 15 years, and in the past two years, one issue keeps coming up: Water-based flexo ink rubbing off when printing on nonwoven fabric. I’ve seen customers lose thousands on rework because the printed pattern faded just by rubbing it…

Hi, I’m Alex. With over 15 years in the printing ink industry, I’ve handled hundreds of after-sales cases related to water-based gravure reverse printing. Among them, lamination bubbles are by far the most common—and the most costly. The key point upfront: bubbles after lamination are rarely caused by “poor ink quality.” They almost always result…

Hi, I’m Alex, a technical engineer at Zhongzhixing (Starcolor). I’ve been working with printing inks for over 15 years, from solvent-based systems to water-based and UV inks. One question I hear all the time from printing plants is: “Should we use water-based ink or UV ink?” My honest answer is simple: there’s no universal winner.…

With the increasingly stringent food safety regulations in the North American market, such as FDA 21 CFR 175.300 and California Proposition 65, the demand for high-quality, compliant food contact inks is soaring. Chinese manufacturers have emerged as key players in this sector, leveraging advanced R&D capabilities and strict quality control systems to meet global standards.…

Hi everyone,I’m Alex, a technical engineer at Zhongzhixing (Starcolor). I’ve been working in the printing ink industry for over 15 years now. I started out as an apprentice on solvent-based ink production lines, then moved on to water-based and UV ink R&D and manufacturing. Today, I mainly focus on technical support and after-sales service. Over…

Hey everyone, I’m Alex. I’ve been working with water-based inks for 15 years. When I first entered this industry, customers used to ask me: “Can water-based ink really be used for food packaging?” But today, almost every inquiry I get sounds more like: “Do you have FDA-compliant water-based direct food contact inks?” This shift didn’t…

As a printing consumable tailored to the flexographic process—characterized by anilox-cell metering and high-speed, low-pressure printing—the formulation of flexographic ink directly determines its transfer efficiency, curing performance, and final print quality. Under increasingly strict environmental regulations and diversified application requirements, ink systems have evolved from traditional solvent-based formulations toward more eco-friendly and functionalized systems. A…

Flexo printing is the dominant process in food packaging, and the inks used must meet stringent domestic and international regulations, adapt to high-speed production lines, and work with diverse substrates. StarColor has over a decade of experience in water-based ink development and has launched the SC Series, a flexo water-based ink designed with “comprehensive compliance,…

1. Executive Summary 2. Market Size and Structure 1) Overall market (printing + packaging) IMARC report: the Indian commercial printing market is approximately USD 36.5B (2025), with packaging printing as the primary growth engine. Note: this refers to the overall commercial printing market and is not identical to the “ink market value”, but it serves…

In 2025, India’s eco-friendly ink market is experiencing a period of accelerated growth. The market size is projected to exceed USD 1.2 billion, with a CAGR of 14.3%. As the Indian government tightens regulations on VOC emissions (≤50 mg/m³) and the FSSAI mandates compliance with IS 15495 (prohibiting toluene, phthalates, and other hazardous substances), water-based…

India’s packaging and label printing sector is undergoing a major transformation: increasing demand for high-speed production, flexible substrates, food-safe certifications and sustainable materials. In that context, flexographic UV (ultraviolet-curable) inks have become a growing preference—offering fast curing, excellent abrasion resistance, low VOC emission and compatibility with modern flexo presses. According to industry briefings, the Indian…

As Africa’s packaging and printing industry continues to expand, the demand for eco-friendly and efficient printing solutions is rapidly increasing. Flexographic UV inks, with their fast-curing, low-VOC, and high-gloss performance, are quickly becoming the go-to choice for flexible packaging, label, and commercial printing sectors across the continent. Below, we introduce five leading flexographic UV ink…