Printing Ink manufacturers

Below you will find a note of the current areas where the BCF are able to assist Printing Ink Manufacturers. 

• Click here for a summary of benefits of BCF membership
• Click here for application papers to join the BCF
• Click here for a list of current Members in the Printing Ink sector
• Click here for interesting facts about the Printing Ink industry

• Click here for information on current Printing Ink issues

The British Coatings Federation is the representative body for the UK’s £2 billion a year paint, printing ink, powder coating and wallcovering industries.

The goals of the BCF are to: 

• Sustain and strengthen regulatory services and industry lobbying
• Promote industry image
• Improve UK industry competitiveness

These goals are highly relevant to all those who manufacture or supply printing inks to the UK market.

Printing Ink manufacturers have gone through a torrid time over the past few years and this state of affairs is likely to continue into the future. With many market sectors shrinking, regulations becoming ever more demanding and product performance under increasing scrutiny from regulators, the BCF provides an established and widely respected industry means for manufacturers to receive early awareness of, and opportunities to address, issues of common concern.

The BCF uses its links to the Government departments in both the UK and Brussels to advocate on behalf of the industry. The Federation is also well connected with other trade associations and has built relationships that can come into play when coordination up and down stream of the Printing Ink sector is needed to fully address an issue.
Membership of the BCF provides free access to the European Printing Ink Association (EuPIA) through which Europe-wide issues are managed. With ordinances appearing in both Switzerland and Germany, and an expectation that other countries will follow suit in due course, the BCF ensures that UK members are fully up to speed on developments and also receive access to the industry-wide messages which are being used to communicate and influence.

The UK also contributes to a market statistics programme which covers the European Printing Ink market by country and by application sector.

The current debate throughout the Printing Ink industry and downstream into the packaging and recycling sectors prompted by additive migration and mineral oil concerns are perfect examples of issues that are best handled under a federation umbrella at the industry level. We expect greater emphasis in 2011 on national regulation of print on food packaging, with a focus on mineral oil and UV curable coatings and inks (which may impact on the graphic and non-food packaging sectors) in part influenced by on-going activities in other areas of Europe.

In addition, we are already seeing the impact of the REACH regulation on raw material availability and use restrictions are beginning to emerge. Timely management and communication of changes required by revised substance classifications or regulatory bans or restrictions are something dealt with by the BCF printing ink sector.

The BCF organises regular meetings of business leaders and technical staff during the year to address key issues of concern. Some 20 Printing Ink manufacturers are in membership (see full list below) and meet twice a year under the BCF umbrella, to discuss these very issues. BCF Members also deal with a wide range of other topics including toy safety, supporting the work of the HSE’s Printing Ink Advisory Committee, environmental impact of printing inks and biocides. Members are also encouraged to attend federation seminars which cover more general topics of regulatory, technical and business interest.

The BCF also funds an industry public relations programme and develops its messages and campaign targets with the agreement of member companies. The BCF is active in the trade press and is regularly quoted in industry magazines such as PrintWeek on key issues of concern to members. 

If you would like further information about membership, please email.  A separate fee is payable to CEPE which is detailed in our application papers.

Printing Inks Manufacturers in BCF Membership:
3M CENTRE
AKZO NOBEL PACKAGING COATINGS
APOLLO COLOURS
COLORGEN LTD
COLOUR-THERM LTD
CRANFIELD COLOURS LIMITED
DOMINO UK LIMITED
EUROPEAN PRINTING INKS LTD
FLINT GROUP UK LTD
FUJIFILM SPECIALITY INK SYSTEMS LTD
GARDINER COLOURS LTD
INX INTERNATIONAL UK LTD
LUMINESCENCE INTERNATIONAL LTD
MIRAGE INKS LTD
PULSE PRINTING PRODUCTS LTD
PULSE ROLL LABEL PRODUCTS LTD
SIEGWERK UK LTD
SOLAR INKS LTD
STEHLIN HOSTAG INK UK LTD
SUN CHEMICAL
VISIBLE 24/7
ZELLER & GMELIN UK LIMITED

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