The ALTANA Innovation Award is presented annually to recognize the most promising new developments within the global specialty chemicals group. This year, the award went to an interdisciplinary team from ALTANA’s ECKART division, the world’s leading supplier of effect pigments.
The team developed a new high-performance, environmentally friendly formulation for UV-curing printing inks. This formulation incorporates alcohol-based silver dollar pigments along with ultra-thin METALURE® effect pigments from ECKART’s latest generation. These pigments are produced using a specialized physical vapor deposition (PVD) process, enabling smooth, non-flaking surfaces and high-gloss mirror or chrome effects on packaging.
Customer-focused innovation for printing challenges
For customers, the innovative formulation marks a significant advancement, unlocking new possibilities for the demanding further processing of effect pigments. In printing, these pigments can present challenges such as smearing or poor adhesion to overprinted coatings. To address these issues, the award-winning team spent two years developing the new formulation based on PVD and alcohol-based silver dollar pigments.
“This innovative formulation for UV-curing printing inks is a first for the entire market. It delivers exceptional technical performance and complies with regulatory requirements for indirect food contact. Such a successful product development was only possible thanks to an interdisciplinary team with a strong customer focus,” explained Dr. Harald Weiß, chief technology officer at ECKART.
The new formulation ensures robust printability even at high printing speeds. Its precisely balanced viscosity enables excellent ink transfer and reliable curing. The result is maximum brilliance in colors that remain easy to overprint. This is achieved through a stabilized pigment paste, based on a newly developed combination of components. Food safety, health, and environmental compatibility are fully assured – the formulation meets all FPG (Food Packaging Grade) and EH&S (Environmental, Health & Safety) standards for indirect food contact.
“With this development, the winning ECKART team has delivered an impressive project that embodies ALTANA’s dynamic culture of innovation,” said Dr. Petra Severit, chief technology officer, ALTANA AG. “At the same time, the growing global demand for effect pigments produced with this formulation highlights our colleagues’ strong customer orientation.”
The ALTANA Innovation Award honors outstanding research achievements by employees. In addition to innovation, criteria such as creativity, economic viability, and sustainability are also considered. The winning product developments must also have already achieved market success.