Environmental Impact Assessment of Flexible Package Printing with the “LUNAJET ® ” Aqueous Inkjet Ink Using Nanodispersion Technology

Katsuyuki Kozake, Tsuyoshi Egawa, Satoshi Kunii, Hiroki Kawaguchi, Toru Okada, Yushi Sakata, Manabu Shibata and Norihiro Itsubo
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Katsuyuki Kozake: R&D—Performance Chemical Research, Kao Corporation, 1334 Minato, Wakayama 640-8580, Japan
Tsuyoshi Egawa: R&D—Performance Chemical Research, Kao Corporation, 1334 Minato, Wakayama 640-8580, Japan
Satoshi Kunii: R&D—Performance Chemical Research, Kao Corporation, 1334 Minato, Wakayama 640-8580, Japan
Hiroki Kawaguchi: R&D—Performance Chemical Research, Kao Corporation, 1334 Minato, Wakayama 640-8580, Japan
Toru Okada: ESG Action Management Group, Kao Corporation, 1-14-10, Nihonbashi Kayabacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-8210, Japan
Yushi Sakata: ESG Action Management Group, Kao Corporation, 1-14-10, Nihonbashi Kayabacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-8210, Japan
Manabu Shibata: ESG Action Management Group, Kao Corporation, 1-14-10, Nihonbashi Kayabacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-8210, Japan
Norihiro Itsubo: Graduate School of Environmental and Information Studies, Tokyo City University, Yokohama 224-8551, Japan

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 17, 1-19

Abstract: The share of digital printing on flexible plastic packaging has been increasing rapidly in response to the market demand for agility in Japan. To meet all these challenges, our response is the aqueous inkjet ink “LUNAJET ® ”. By combining aqueous pigment nanodispersions with precise interfacial control technologies, “LUNAJET ® ” can contribute to the rapid digitization of flexible package printing while, at the same time, improving the environmental performance. Our analysis includes an evaluation of the environmental impact due to the conversion from gravure printing with an analog press to digital printing using an inkjet printer with water-based inks. In addition, inventory analyses and characterizations were carried out. It is shown that a 75% reduction in CO 2 emissions and 33% reduction in VOC (volatile organic compounds) emissions can be expected, particularly in small-lot printing, where digital printing is most desirable. An environmental impact assessment was conducted in Japan, based upon the LIME3 (life cycle impact assessment method based on endpoint modeling version 3) approach. It was found that the waste reduction rate for aqueous inkjet printing, compared to analog printing, was as high as 57% for small-lot production, assuming a large variety of products; surprisingly, the reduction rate remained at 15%, even for long production runs. As the market rushes to embrace digital printing technologies for packaging, these results indicate that implementing inkjet printing using aqueous ink for flexible plastic substrates can reduce waste and decrease the environmental burden, both for short as well as long printing runs.

Keywords: life cycle assessment (LCA); inkjet; flexible package; volatile organic content (VOC); water-based ink; digital printing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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