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Did you know that there is a dark side to black packaging? ⚫ How well packaging can be recycled also depends on its colour. More precisely: on whether it is black or not. Why is that? In recycling, NIR scanners (near-infrared scanners) help sorting packaging waste. They use the spectral properties of the reflected light to recognise which materials the packaging on the conveyor belt is made of. However, the scanner reaches its limits with black plastics in particular: plastics that contain carbon black as a pigment are more difficult to sort as the pigment absorbs the radiation from the NIR scanner. However, it depends on how much of the surface of the respective product is printed in black. The limit is around 50%: If only slightly less than half is coloured black, the scanner usually still recognises the material. However, this also depends on the specific design. Black text or images with black colouring are therefore not a problem. The situation is somewhat different when sorting paper waste. Here, black printed surfaces do not appear to have any influence on sorting. Nevertheless, black printed paper products are more difficult to deink in recycling. It is therefore twice as important to think about the material and colours of our packaging. We are delighted to be working with such experienced partners as epda (european brand & packaging design association) on such issues. Have you ever thought about the influence of colours on recycling? Let us know in the comments down below! ♻️ #printing #inks #recycling #plastics #paper #sustainability

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