Interview with Jan Museler, Product Manager Metal Decoration at hubergroup

The food packaging industry is undergoing an accelerated transformation driven by increasingly stringent regulations, the need to reduce energy costs, and the pursuit of more sustainable processes. In a recent interview, Jan Museler, Product Manager Metal Decoration at hubergroup, analyzed the challenges and opportunities facing the sector, particularly around the development of a new LED ink for food packaging: NewV tin LED MGA.

An LED ink tailored to the requirements of food packaging

As Jan Museler explains, this new ink meets a growing market need: to have LED-compatible solutions that simultaneously comply with stringent food safety requirements.

Development has been driven by the evolution of the European regulatory framework, especially the German Ink Ordinance and the Swiss Ordinance, which set very strict limits on substance migration. These regulations require manufacturers to continuously reformulate their systems to ensure legal compliance without compromising industrial performance.

The new LED ink has been designed precisely around this principle: to deliver process stability, low migration, and reliability in high-volume production environments.

Industrial validation under real-world conditions

One of the key aspects of development has been its validation in real production environments. Before its commercial launch, the ink underwent extended testing together with selected customers in the packaging sector.

Museler emphasizes that, in food packaging applications, short-term tests are not sufficient. Therefore, extended trials were carried out to assess migration behavior, system stability in continuous production, and consistency in high-demand jobs.

The results confirm stable performance over long printing cycles, a critical factor in the metal packaging industry, where process continuity is essential to ensure final quality.

Regulation and continuous reformulation: the sector’s major challenge

The European regulatory environment remains one of the main drivers of innovation, but also a constant challenge. Regulations such as REACH, together with German and Swiss national regulations, create a scenario in which requirements change frequently.

This forces ink manufacturers to continuously reformulate their products, seeking to maintain regulatory compliance, technical performance, and production stability at the same time.

As a result, hubergroup’s new LED ink is positioned as a response focused on regulatory stability and on reducing the risks associated with future regulatory changes.

LED technology: efficiency and sustainability on the rise

The introduction of NewV tin LED MGA is part of a clear global trend: the expansion of LED technology in the printing and coatings industry.

The advantages of LED curing over conventional systems include lower energy consumption, reduced operating costs, higher process speed, and a significant improvement in environmental sustainability.

In markets such as Europe and the United States, these factors are accelerating the replacement of traditional technologies. In Asia, in addition, export pressure toward European markets is driving the adoption of solutions compatible with stricter standards.

Raw materials and pressure on the supply chain

Another factor shaping the development of new inks is volatility in the raw materials market. Recent geopolitical developments have led to significant increases in the costs of key components, many of them indirectly derived from oil, such as alcohols and pigments.

As Museler explains, these increases inevitably carry through the value chain, as the industry cannot fully absorb the impact without affecting its viability.

Toward smarter production

Looking ahead, digitalization and artificial intelligence are emerging as key elements in the evolution of the packaging sector.

The ability to standardize global processes through intelligent systems would make it possible to replicate print jobs across different international plants without any loss of quality or efficiency, improving production flexibility.

However, this progress will require greater collaboration between manufacturers, suppliers, and end users to establish common standards that enable effective integration.

The NewV tin LED MGA developed by hubergroup represents a significant step in the evolution of food packaging toward more efficient, safer processes aligned with current regulatory requirements.