Date: Oct 13 2025 from: StarColor Ink Views:
As an efficient and eco-friendly printing consumable, flexographic UV ink has become the mainstream choice for food packaging and label printing. However, many common UV inks on the market still struggle with issues such as slow curing, low-temperature brittleness, and migration failure, creating production bottlenecks for printing companies.
As a leading UV ink manufacturer in China, Zhongzhixing has spent over a decade advancing the industry. Based on feedback from more than a thousand printing plants, the company has comprehensively upgraded its StarColor Flexographic UV Ink.
From ultra-fast curing to low-temperature flexibility, from zero-migration safety to broad substrate compatibility, every improvement precisely targets real-world production pain points — bringing printers a new experience of higher efficiency, stable quality, and lower costs.
“Low curing speed, sticky ink layers, endless overtime — that’s our daily routine.”
This is a common complaint among printers using traditional flexo UV inks, which usually require 1.2–1.5 seconds to cure. At 300 m/min high-speed presses, incomplete curing often causes smudging and high waste rates.
StarColor solved this problem with a triple photoinitiator innovation, combining 1173 + TPO + MBF.
1173 ensures surface flash curing (280–320 nm),
TPO penetrates deep resin layers (350–400 nm),
MBF enhances mid-range wavelength absorption.
This synergy shortens curing time to 0.6–0.8 seconds (UV energy: 100 mJ/cm²).
Tests show that even at 280 m/min, StarColor UV ink enables continuous printing–curing–rewinding, with over 95% crosslinking degree (verified by DSC), zero tackiness, and a waste rate reduction from 8% to 1.5%.
A food label converter using StarColor ink increased daily output from 300,000 to 450,000 labels, shortening delivery cycles by 40% — eliminating overtime and boosting profitability.
For winter logistics and frozen food packaging, traditional UV inks often crack or peel off due to poor flexibility under low temperatures — costing printers valuable high-end contracts.
StarColor tackled this by upgrading the resin system with Modified Polyurethane Acrylate (PUA).
The PUA content was increased to 35%, paired with Epoxy Acrylate (EA) to achieve a “tough yet flexible” balance. PUA’s soft segments absorb impact stress in cold environments, while EA provides hardness and chemical resistance.
Third-party testing verified that the improved StarColor UV ink endured 100×180° bends at −25 °C with no cracking or flaking, achieving 18% elongation at break (vs. 8% for conventional inks).
A frozen food packaging plant reported zero damage after 3 months of −20 °C cold storage, securing an annual supply contract with a multinational ice cream brand — generating around USD 280,000 in additional annual revenue.
In food packaging, ink migration is a critical safety concern.
Traditional UV inks often fail migration tests due to residual monomers, blocking export qualification.
StarColor enforces strict material and process control — using FDA-certified resins (21 CFR 175.300 compliant) and low-migration photoinitiators, produced in a sterile filling environment.
Specific migration: ≤ 0.005 mg/kg (well below China’s GB 4806.10-2022 limit of 0.01 mg/kg)
VOC content: ≤ 5 g/L
Free of benzene, heavy metals, and other harmful substances.
StarColor Flexo UV Ink meets EU 10/2011, German LFGB, and U.S. FDA triple certification standards — effectively providing a “passport” for food-contact packaging exports.
A beverage label exporter using StarColor ink achieved first-pass migration testing, with complaint rates dropping from 12% to 0.3%, and export orders rising from 30% to 55% of total sales.
For printers, a great UV ink is not just a consumable — it’s a productivity engine.
Every upgrade in StarColor Flexographic UV Ink directly targets industry challenges:
Faster curing for high-speed lines
Flexible performance under low temperatures
Food-safe and migration-free for export packaging
Broad substrate adaptability for easier process integration
Today, StarColor Flexo UV Inks are widely used across food packaging, personal care labels, and decorative materials, serving over 2,000 printing enterprises.
Contact us now to receive your custom ink selection plan + process optimization guidance, and apply for a free 5 kg trial sample to experience the upgrade firsthand.
Choose StarColor — make your printing faster, more stable, and worry-free.