Tobacco Packaging

Q: How does HCOLOR ensure tobacco packaging inks strictly conform to YC/T 207 and YQ 57-2015 VOC limits?

All HCOLOR tobacco-series water-based inks and functional coatings are synthesized using purified deionized water and high-purity food-grade ethanol, strictly barring restricted benzene, ketones, and heavy aromatic fractions. Finished production batches undergo rigorous head-space gas chromatography (GC-MS) verification to guarantee total volatile organic emissions remain far below the 2.0 mg/m² industry ceiling.

Q: Can your water-based mirror silver ink fully replace laminated aluminum foil in cigarette inner liners?

Yes. Our WLG leafing mirror silver utilizes chemically passivated nano-platelet aluminum flakes dispersed in an ultra-transparent acrylic polymer vehicle. When printed on high-smoothness paperboard, it aligns horizontally to create an intense mirror-like metallic reflectivity, eliminating composite plastic/foil lamination, reducing pack VOCs, and facilitating paper recyclability.

Q: How do your UV reverse and tactile effect inks perform inline with water-based base colors on high-speed presses?

Our UOP and UVS UV systems are rheologically tailored with proprietary surface-tension moderating agents. When applied inline over dry WLG water-based color films, they deliver immediate wetting without pinholing, fish-eyes, or intercoat delamination, curing fully at press speeds exceeding 150 m/min.

Q: What technical support does HCOLOR provide to cigarette packaging converters converting from solvent to water-based inks?

We deploy experienced field engineers to customer plants (including long-standing partners such as JinJia and YUTO). We assist in plate cell engraving optimization (typically 28–36 µm depth for water-based gravure), drying tunnel temperature/airflow calibration, and real-time press viscosity/pH monitoring routines.

Tobacco packaging demands ultra-low residual odour, strict volatile organic compound (VOCs) control, zero heavy metal migration and high-speed mechanical machinability. HCOLOR provides integrated ink and functional coating solutions across cigarette outer cartons, soft/hard packs, inner-frame paper, tipping paper, and innovative aluminum-free liner papers.

The portfolio features our flagship WLG80000-T water-based gravure tobacco packaging inks and leafing mirror silver ink (widely adopted by provincial China Tobacco enterprises to replace composite foil paper), complemented by WOF1000/2000 functional overprint varnishes, WOF22002 velvet soft-touch coatings, and UOP/UVS fast-cure UV reverse, snowflake, and relief embossing systems.

Backed by technical partnerships with major packaging converters including JinJia, YUTO, Hucai, and Zhongrong, our formulations deliver stable print rheology at line speeds up to 250 m/min with excellent scuff resistance and crisp dot fidelity.

Technical Specification Matrix

Technical Specification Matrix of Inks for Tobacco Packaging
Target Substrates	SBS/FBB coated paperboard (210–350 g/m²), transfer metallized paper, aluminum-free inner liner paper, tipping paper
Core Ink Chemistries	Water-based nano-dispersed acrylic (WLG80000-T), leafing mirror silver, functional polyurethane-acrylic OPV (WOF), solvent-free UV acrylates (UOP/UVS)
Printing Process & Press Speed	High-speed gravure (150–250 m/min), Sheetfed offset (7,000–12,000 sheets/h), Silk screen
VOCs & Hygienic Safety	VOCs ≤ 2.0 mg/m² (YC/T 207 gas chromatography standard); zero benzene or ketone detection
Adhesion & Rub Fastness	Adhesion ≥ 95% (3M 610 tape); Rub resistance ≥ 400 cycles (ASTM D5264); zero flaking
Optical & Tactile Effects	High specular reflectivity mirror silver; velvet micro-cushion touch; sharp gloss-matte contrast
Industry Compliance	China Environmental Labelling (Ten-Ring), YQ 57-2015 tobacco packaging hygiene standard, RoHS & EN 71-3 compliant

SHOWCASE

Ink series available for tobacco packaging

Water-based gravure tobacco pack & mirror silver inks

WLG80000-T

ULTRA-LOW VOC COLOR AND METALLIC SYSTEMS FOR CIGARETTE CARTONS & LINERS

Engineered specifically for high-speed gravure printing of cigarette cartons, soft packs, and green aluminum-free inner liner paper. Provides dense color saturation, sharp dot fidelity, and outstanding leafing metallic brightness with total compliance with YC/T 207.

Product Platform: WLG80000 Unified Waterborne Paper Inks (WLG80000-T)
Formulation Base: Waterborne acrylic resin + food-grade ethanol co-solvent
Viscosity (25°C): 16 – 22 s (Zahn #3 Cup)
Press Speed: 150 – 250 m/min web gravure
VOCs Compliance: YC/T 207 & YQ 57-2015 tobacco packaging standards
Rub Resistance: ≥ 400 cycles under 4 lb load (ASTM D5264)
Key Application: Cigarette cartons, inner frames & aluminum-free inner liners

Water-based gravure tobacco pack & mirror silver inks - Showcase Image 1

High-speed sheetfed UV offset color systems for cigarette cartons

UVF Series

FAST-CURING, HIGH-FIDELITY PROCESS & SPOT INKS FOR PREMIUM CIGARETTE PACKS

Formulated for high-speed sheetfed UV offset printing on premium cigarette folding cartons and vacuum metallized PET transfer board. Delivers brilliant color strength, ultra-sharp highlight dot reproduction, high solid ink density, and zero scuffing on high-speed pack-makers (400–600 packs/min).

Product Platform: UVF Series High-End UV Sheetfed Offset Inks
Ink Chemistry: UV / LED-UV free-radical curing acrylic system
Press Speed: 10,000 – 15,000 sheets/hour
Dot Fidelity: Holds 1% – 99% dots at 175 – 200 lpi screen ruling
Substrates: Metallized transfer paperboard, aluminum-laminated paper & SBS board
Environmental Rating: YC/T 207 compliant; low odor, free of heavy metals
Key Application: Premium cigarette cartons, luxury hinge-lid boxes & soft packs

High-speed sheetfed UV offset color systems for cigarette cartons - Showcase Image 1

Water-based functional overprint varnishes & tactile coatings

WOF Series

HIGH-GLOSS, ULTRA-MATT, METALLIZED PRIMER AND VELVET SOFT-TOUCH FINISHES

A comprehensive waterborne coating portfolio for tobacco packaging lines. Includes high-gloss OPV (WOF1001/1002), anti-glare matt (WOF2001/2004), luxurious skin-feel velvet touch (WOF22003/22050), and anchor adhesion primer (WOF6014B-1) for vacuum metallized transfer board.

Product Platform: WOF Functional Overprint Varnishes (WOF 1000/2000/6000/22000)
Functions: High-gloss protective OPV, Deep matt, Velvet soft-touch & Primer
Viscosity (25°C): 20 – 35 s (Zahn #3 Cup) / 30 – 50 s (DIN 4mm)
Gloss Rating: High-gloss ≥ 88 GU (60°); Deep-matt ≤ 10 GU (60°)
Slip & Blocking: Dynamic COF 0.25 – 0.35; anti-blocking at 60°C / 24h
Tape Adhesion: 100% (3M 610 tape cross-hatch test)
Key Application: Cigarette outer cartons, inner frames, and tipping paper

Water-based functional overprint varnishes & tactile coatings - Showcase Image 1

UV drip-off reverse & optical contrast effect systems

UOP / UVF Series

INLINE HIGH-CONTRAST SANDY TEXTURE AND MIRROR-GLOSS FINISHES

Engineered for inline high-contrast sensory printing on cigarette cartons. Pairs offset primer varnish UVF-2007C with high-gloss UV topcoat UOP-1102H3 (or rotary gravure UOP-2230A/2231), producing sharp delineation between frosted tactile micro-relief and high-specular glossy windows.

Product Platform: UV Drip-Off Reverse System (UVF-2007C + UOP-1102H3 / UOP-2230A/2231)
Optical Contrast: Distinct separation between sandy grain (matte) and mirror gloss (> 90 GU)
Solids Content: 100% reactive solids, zero solvent dilution
Curing Conditions: Mercury UV lamp (≥ 120 W/cm) or LED-UV (395nm, ≥ 8 W/cm²)
Scratch Resistance: Pencil hardness ≥ 2H; superior case-packing abrasion fastness
Compatibility: Fully compatible with UV offset process colors & foil stamping
Key Application: Cigarette cartons, collector hinge-lid boxes & gift outer cases

UV drip-off reverse & optical contrast effect systems - Showcase Image 1

Specialty sensory & anti-counterfeiting screen inks

UVS-1000 Series

TACTILE WRINKLE, AROMA, LUMINOUS AND PEARLESCENT EFFECTS FOR LUXURY EDITIONS

High-impact screen printing specialty inks designed for limited-edition cigarette packs and brand security. Features include UV wrinkle relief (UVS-1876H3), orchid aroma micro-encapsulation (UVS-1682C1), photo-luminescent night glow (UVS-1084D-6), and refractive coarse/fine snowflake textures.

Product Platform: UVS-1000 Tobacco Specialty Screen Ink Series
Sensory Effects: 3D Wrinkle, Micro-encapsulated Aroma, Glow-in-the-dark, Snowflake
Screen Mesh: 168 – 350 mesh/inch polyester / nickel rotary mesh
UV Curing: Standard UV curing at 40 – 80 m/min line speed
Film Thickness: 15 – 45 µm structured build
Anti-Counterfeit: Distinct physical tactile and optical verification properties
Key Application: Limited edition cigarette packs, anniversary editions & seal labels

Specialty sensory & anti-counterfeiting screen inks - Showcase Image 1

STRENGTH

What our formulations are measured on

Dot Reproduction

Clean highlight and shadow dots held across the run, so vignettes and skin tones stay smooth without press-side compensation.

Lightfastness

Pigment selection rated on the Blue Wool scale, keeping shelf-display shades stable under prolonged retail lighting.

Scuff Resistance

Binder systems engineered to survive conveyor abrasion, case packing and transit without marking the printed face.

Batch Consistency (QC)

Every batch is checked by spectrophotometer against the reference standard before release, tightening repeat-order tolerance.

FLOWCHART FOR CUSTOMIZATION

From first enquiry to delivered batch

Step 1Technical Enquiry & Substrate Analysis
Tell us your substrate (BOPP, CPP, PET, PE, PVC, Kraft paper, gold/silver cardstock), press type (rotogravure, flexo, screen), line speed (150-400 m/min), drying tunnel specs, and target color standards.
Step 2Lab Formulation & Spectrophotometry
Our senior ink chemists formulate eco-friendly water-based resin matrices and disperse high-purity pigments, achieving precise color coordinates (L*a*b*) under standard D50/D65 illuminants with ΔE < 0.8 spectral accuracy.
Step 3Sampling & Pressroom Verification
We dispatch 1-5 kg trial ink lots within 48h alongside detailed drawdowns and viscosity guidance. Our application engineers provide remote or on-site support to optimize ink transfer, drying speed, and adhesion.
Step 4Scaled Production & Global Logistics
Backed by Dongguan, Kunming, and Yueyang production bases (30,000+ tons annual capacity), orders undergo strict QC batch release before dispatch in palletised 20kg/200kg drums or 1000kg IBCs via sea/air freight.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Key technical and application queries for tobacco packaging

How does HCOLOR ensure tobacco packaging inks strictly conform to YC/T 207 and YQ 57-2015 VOC limits?

All HCOLOR tobacco-series water-based inks and functional coatings are synthesized using purified deionized water and high-purity food-grade ethanol, strictly barring restricted benzene, ketones, and heavy aromatic fractions. Finished production batches undergo rigorous head-space gas chromatography (GC-MS) verification to guarantee total volatile organic emissions remain far below the 2.0 mg/m² industry ceiling.

Can your water-based mirror silver ink fully replace laminated aluminum foil in cigarette inner liners?

Yes. Our WLG leafing mirror silver utilizes chemically passivated nano-platelet aluminum flakes dispersed in an ultra-transparent acrylic polymer vehicle. When printed on high-smoothness paperboard, it aligns horizontally to create an intense mirror-like metallic reflectivity, eliminating composite plastic/foil lamination, reducing pack VOCs, and facilitating paper recyclability.

How do your UV reverse and tactile effect inks perform inline with water-based base colors on high-speed presses?

Our UOP and UVS UV systems are rheologically tailored with proprietary surface-tension moderating agents. When applied inline over dry WLG water-based color films, they deliver immediate wetting without pinholing, fish-eyes, or intercoat delamination, curing fully at press speeds exceeding 150 m/min.

What technical support does HCOLOR provide to cigarette packaging converters converting from solvent to water-based inks?

We deploy experienced field engineers to customer plants (including long-standing partners such as JinJia and YUTO). We assist in plate cell engraving optimization (typically 28–36 µm depth for water-based gravure), drying tunnel temperature/airflow calibration, and real-time press viscosity/pH monitoring routines.

HCOLOR Printing Ink Technical Consultation and Customer Support

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVE

Chelsea Yu

BUSINESS EMAIL
[email protected]
Gmail
WHATSAPP / DIRECT LINE+86 137 8602 5660Instant Chat

CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS & R&D

Dongguan HCOLOR Ink Technology Co., Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS TEL+86-769-81898932
OFFICE & R&D ADDRESSRoom 1102, Building 7, Times Zhihui, Sanlian Road, Luwu, Changping Town, Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China (523560)
BUSINESS HOURSMonday – Saturday: 8:40 AM – 5:30 PM (GMT+8)

Leave a Message

Specify your printing substrate, press parameters, or request free formulation trial samples. Our chemical engineers will review and respond with recommendations within 24 hours.