Product of the Month: Tempo Vibrant, Tempo Fresh Plus from Siegwerk

Tell us about the ink series.
Tempo Vibrant and Tempo Fresh Plus are the newly developed ink series for the packaging segment. Tempo Vibrant is a base colour series used to produce spot colours. Tempo Fresh Plus is a process colour series mainly used for graphic details. This high quality conventional offset series is mineral oil (MO)-free. It is vegetable oil-based and does not contain petroleum derivatives and cobalt driers as intentionally added ingredients.

How does it score on the main merits such as intense colours, high gloss, sharp dot retention and tack?
Tempo Vibrant is a high strength ink series. Generally, it is 12-15% higher in colour strength as compared to regular base colour series available in the market. These inks are built on robust resin chemistry. They are colour intensive and have excellent gloss and dot sharpness.

Any certifications like ISO 2846-1: 2006 and ISO 12647 on-press compliance...
ISO 12647 is an international standard, which specifies a number of process parameters and their values to control process parameters on the press such as pre-press calibration, machine calibration, right ink selection with defined colorimetric values (LAB) and transparency. To meet ISO 12647 on-press compliance, an ink must qualify to ISO 2846-1 colourimetric standard. Tempo Fresh Plus process colour series belongs to Tempo Vibrant segment (MO and Co-free) and fully qualifies.

How good is it for spot colours?
Existing Tempo Vibrant series consists of more than 25 base colours, which are capable of matching wider range of spot colours (colour gamut) of the packaging segment. This series does not contain any fanal colour in its product range, therefore eliminating any risk of ink bleeding or colour shifting on sealing. Fanal inks are those which have low resistance properties (alkali, polar solvents, light fastness) that are prone to changes in colour – called bleeding, when overprint varnishing (WB/UV) or lamination process is carried out. These colours are very aggressive to the migration in the packed material.

How does it differ from previous products?
Conventional ink system contains good amount of petroleum distillates in the form of mineral oils, which have limitation to perform at high-speed presses and compromise on product safety due to the presence of mineral oils and fanal colours.

Tempo Vibrant base with Tempo Fresh Plus process colour series are capable of running at high-speed presses of up to 18,000 impressions per hour, which help improve productivity. These inks demonstrate good drying, setting, roller stability and excellent ink transfer properties during printing. As these series are MO and cobalt-free, they also do not have any fanal colour in their product range, thus most suitable for safe packaging.

What’s the USP?
The USP of the product includes higher printing strength with intense colours and higher optical density; better trapping with dot sharpness; moderate tack, which make these inks suitable to perform on wide range of paper and board substrates; no misting at high speed; wider ink-water balancing operating window; fast drying on substrate with good press stability; excellent runability on high-speed machine at different speed; and rich with renewable raw materials.

How easy is it to use?
It offers faster makeready process with required or standard print density, which minimises start-up wastage. It offers quick set up of ink-water balance and remains stable throughout the print run, which results in consistent print quality. It offers stable ink transfer properties throughout the run and its overnight duct freshness reduces cleaning time.

In what form is it supplied?
Generally, Tempo Vibrant base series is supplied in 17 kg and 25 kg pack size since it is used to manufacture spot colours through blending. Tempo Fresh Plus is available in 2.5 kg vacuum pack, 1 kg vacuum and slip lid.

What technical support is on offer?
We have a team of expert application technologists which supports our valued customers in various ways. These include standardisation of printing process in the framework of ISO 2846-1, ISO 12647-2 and G-7. We provide process management consultancy and leads the TCO studies (total cost of ownership) to prove and demonstrate cost advantage on shifting from regular inks to Vibrant inks. We also offer ink management that includes ink room design, ink blending, press return inventory and waste management and on-press support — from proofing to final approval — at the level of brand owners with critical packaging designs.  

What’s the price?
Considering all factors such as ink mileage, productivity, reduction in waste, these inks are definitely lower in cost although per kg cost is higher than regular inks.

Ink specifications

• Colours available: 24
• Suitable papers: Coated and uncoated board and paper
• Light fastness: 4-8
• Fountain solutions: Compatible with available conventional fountain solutions
• Manufacturing compliance: GMP
• Print standard: Qualify ISO 2846
• Containers: 17 kg, 25 kg, 2.5Kg, 1 kg