Domino Digital Printing Solutions and Paragon Inks have teamed to developed a full suite of varnishes specifically for overprinting on Domino’s UV95 and UV90 ink sets for use with their N-series digital inkjet label presses. Available for global use, these UV curable varnishes have been fully validated for compliance meeting multiple legislations.

Julie Cross, technical director for Domino’s Digital Printing Solutions division, says, “After listening to the challenges faced by some of our customers, we wanted to help them by providing a varnish optimised for overprinting UV95 printed output. We therefore set about finding a solution, ultimately deciding to work in partnership with Paragon Inks. And after 18 months of great collaboration between the two teams, we have developed a range of varnishes fully validated for compliance, and suitable for global use.”

Varnishes are used on labels for three reasons: to provide enhanced protection from sunlight, wear or abrasion to extend the life of the labels; for aesthetic reasons to enhance label designs and colours, add value and increase shelf presence; and to enable labels to be overprinted with variable information later in the packaging production process. 

The first set of varnishes (matte and gloss including TTO over-printable), for use with Domino’s UV95 food packaging compliant UV digital ink set, are optimized such that the output does not need to be corona treated before the varnish is applied. Not only does this reduce the complexity of the hybrid printing line, but in addition, it provides a solution for medias that are unable to be corona treated, such as some metallic foils. During testing, it was also identified that the gloss varnish can be used as a lamination adhesive enabling further simplification, as one varnish can be used for two applications.

These varnishes have been formulated for many non-direct food packaging applications and, under the right conditions, are migration compliant. They are suitable for global use, being fully compliant with Nestlé, EuPIA, Swiss Ordinance Annex 10 and the North American TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act). 

To complement these, there is a second suite of varnishes suitable for use with Domino’s general purpose UV90 ink set.  

Amanda Jones, business development and marketing director at Paragon Inks, concludes, “At Paragon Inks, we are committed to continuous improvement and customer service. We recognised that label converters were experiencing challenges applying varnishes to digitally printed labels. This partnership with Domino highlights how we have worked together as a team to develop a mutually beneficial solution for both organisation’s customers. We look forward to continuing to work with Domino in the future.”