Converters face a two-front challenge: EU single-use-plastics and packaging-waste rules push flexible food packaging toward plastic-free barrier layers, while high-speed HP Indigo digital label lines still demand primers with strong water and chemical resistance. Converters that wait risk a redesign under compliance deadlines instead of ahead of them.
New chemistries target both fronts. At LOUPE Americas 2026 (formerly Labelexpo), Michelman will present an expanded set of water-based primers and barrier coatings addressing these two needs. DigiPrime® Vision 9200 is an inline primer for HP Indigo 6K+ and 8K presses, intended to improve water and chemical resistance, media gamut, and press maintenance performance on high-performance labels. A second product line, Nuvita® Life 4002 (heat seal) and Nuvita® Life 4605 (topcoat), addresses the second need: bio-based, plastic-free barrier coatings for recyclable and compostable flexible packaging in dry food applications.
Substrate priming and plastic-free sealing in flexible packaging
DigiPrime® Vision 9200 applies inline ahead of printing to prepare the substrate surface for HP Indigo’s digital press process, according to Michelman. Nuvita® Life 4002 and 4605 function as a heat-seal layer and topcoat respectively, replacing plastic-based barrier components in flexible packaging structures. This supports compliance with Extended Producer Responsibility programs and the EU regulations named above.
DigiPrime® Vision 9200 fits label converters running HP Indigo 6K+ and 8K digital presses as part of Michelman’s broader DigiPrime® primer portfolio. Nuvita® Life 4002 and 4605 fit flexible packaging structures targeting dry food applications where recyclability or compostability is a design requirement. Michelman is scheduled to display prototypes of digitally printed flexible packaging built around these coatings, along with its full DigiPrime® portfolio. The display runs at LOUPE Americas 2026 (Hall D, Booth 3133), September 15–17, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Chicago.
Jan Denies, global account manager at Michelman, will present “Unleashing the Full Potential of Digital Print” on September 16 at 2:00 p.m. on LOUPE’s Spotlight Stage, addressing sustainability drivers in packaging and how aqueous coatings support a shift toward paper and mono-material film structures. “Digital printing continues to open new avenues for converters to produce more sustainable labels and packaging without sacrificing performance,” Denies said.
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