The report brings together seven research projects undertaken in France and Germany to develop MOF inks in cooperation with over 30 cross-industry project participants.
Only web offset inks continue to use mineral oil-based inks in Europe, since sheet-fed offset mostly changed to vegetable oils by 2010. (In the USA, over 90% of news inks had converted to soya MOF by 1995.)
Pressure has been growing to eliminate mineral oil hydrocarbons from all inks for health and environmental issues. Web offset inks are one of the largest sources of mineral oils in the graphics industry, and consequently, a priority to eliminate to avoid the transfer of residues through recycling.
These issues led France and Germany to look for solutions with all those involved in the value chain. CITEO in France, UBA and AGRAPA in Germany have been working for several years with members of the ink, paper and cardboard packaging sectors to find alternative solutions to inks containing mineral oils.
As Germany and France represent about 35% of Coldset newsprint consumption in Western Europe (EMGE 2022), these findings will have a major influence in the sector. Each country has taken different routes to implement MOF inks. In France, a mandatory regulation is being implemented for all inks on all products printed in or imported to France, while in Germany, AGRAPA has initiated a voluntary agreement to switch to MOF newspaper inks by 2028 progressively.
WAN-IFRA members can download a copy of this report HERE
Contact and Inquiries
Ingi Rafn Olafssson, Director World Printers Forum, WAN-IFRA | ingi.olafsson@wan-ifra.org
AGRAPA (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Graphische Papiere) is the German Graphic Papers Working Group formed in 1994 as a federation of graphic industry organisations, including paper makers, printers, publishers, book sellers, and recyclers. www.agrapa.de
CITEO, the French not-for-profit Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is an organisation dedicated to the recycling of paper and packaging.www.citeo.com
UBA (German Environment Agency) has the mission to ensure a healthy German environment with clean air and water, free of pollutants to the greatest extent possible. www.umweltbundesamt.de
The World Printers Forum is WAN-IFRA’s central point for the international news media print community. Members include printing houses, materials suppliers and equipment manufacturers for the print production value chain from prepress to press and to product finishing and delivery. It addresses all print-related questions and is open to all WAN-IFRA members interested in the future of the newspaper printing business and print-related areas. wan-ifra.org