Direct Food Contact Inks Using Organic Colorants
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current food packaging inks, particularly those for direct food contact, face challenges in achieving vibrant colors while ensuring safety and resistance properties, as existing pigments often migrate into food, posing health risks and lacking in color gamut and physical resistance.
Innovation Solution
Development of printing inks using organic colorants such as Paliotol Yellow D1818, Irgazin Orange D2905, Irgazin Rubine L4025, Heliogen Blue D6840, and Cromophtal Violet D5700, which are assessed for safety through migration testing and regulatory compliance, providing a broader color gamut and improved resistance to removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If inorganic pigments are used for direct food contact inks, then safety is improved, but color gamut and brightness deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by transitioning from inorganic pigments to specifically formulated organic colorants that meet food contact safety criteria. This involves changing the chemical composition parameters while maintaining safety through migration testing and regulatory compliance, thereby achieving both safety and improved color brightness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials by combining organic colorants with resin bases and additives to create ink formulations that satisfy both safety requirements and performance characteristics. The composite ink system integrates multiple components including organic pigments, binders, and functional additives to achieve the desired balance between safety and color properties.
2Illumination intensity
If organic colorants are used to achieve vibrant colors, then color gamut is improved, but safety deteriorates due to migration risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by carefully selecting and formulating organic colorants with specific molecular structures and purity levels that minimize migration. The formulation parameters including colorant concentration, resin type, and additive selection are optimized to maintain both color vibrancy and safety compliance through migration testing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses intermediary substances such as resin bases and encapsulating agents that bind the organic colorants and prevent their migration into food. These intermediary materials act as barriers while allowing the organic colorants to provide vibrant colors, thus resolving the conflict between color performance and safety.
3Reliability
If traditional inorganic pigments are used, then safety is maintained, but physical resistance and chemical resistance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials by formulating inks that combine organic colorants with resin bases and functional additives designed to enhance adhesion and resistance properties. The composite formulation includes components that provide both safety compliance and improved physical/chemical resistance through synergistic interactions between ingredients.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by optimizing specific components of the ink formulation to provide enhanced resistance at the ink-food interface. The resin base and additive selection are tailored to improve adhesion to packaging substrates and resistance to removal during food contact, while maintaining safety throughout the formulation.
4Reliability
If food-approved colorants are used, then safety is improved, but color gamut and resistance properties deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by expanding the range of approved organic colorants and optimizing their formulation parameters to achieve broader color gamut. This involves selecting from multiple approved colorant options, adjusting concentrations, and modifying formulation conditions to maximize color versatility while maintaining safety compliance.
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein are printing inks that are safe for direct contact with food. The inks contain colorants and other substances which comply with regulations governing the amounts of substances determined to be safe in the event one or more of the ink-containing substances were to migrate into foods or beverages, The inks exhibit resistance to removal. Also described are sets of inks. The inks provide wide color gamut.