A research project carried out in Finland has shown how industrial side streams can be repurposed for new uses – in this case, as colorants for flexo printing inks.
The innovation has been led by Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK), alongside Siegwerk, Natural Indigo Finland, BioInk, Meira, and Hornung Verpackungen, leading to a successful print trial on fibre-based shopping bags using a water-based ink formulated with colorants derived from coffee roasting side-streams.
Meira Oy supplied the coffee side-streams, and the company’s marketing and sustainability director Heidi Päiväniemi commented: “We are proud to see our coffee-production side stream become part of a more sustainable packaging value chain. This project shows how collaboration can transform industrial by-products into valuable resources and new circular economy solutions.”
The project has been described as “an important step towards commercial adoption”, with the printing trial achieving excellent print quality, process compatibility and performance under production conditions. The participants said the ink generates no VOC emissions and uses Siegwerk’s high bio-renewable content technical varnish as a binder.
“This coffee colorant fits perfectly with our bio-renewable portfolio,” said Paul Pain, global head of water-based technology at Siegwerk. “Sustainable ink development has often focused on renewable binders. Coffee-derived colorants help complete the picture. The trial demonstrated technical and commercial feasibility for further industrial scaling.”
Dr Kai Lankinen, principal researcher and head of TAMK’s Biocolores Research Group said the innovation has significant potential in flexographic printing and beyond. “It also shows our students how higher education and industry can create sustainable innovations with real-world impact.”
“Sustainability is increasingly important across the packaging sector,” added Rüdiger Hornung, managing director of Hornung Verpackungen. “This project allowed us to evaluate an innovative bio-based ink under real production conditions.”
