Switching to CMYK Inks for the Secondary Packaging Printing of Ethical Pharmaceuticals to Reduce Environmental Impact

When printing with special color inks—the standard for secondary packaging in Japan’s ethical pharmaceutical business—multiple inks are blended to create specific colors. In CMYK printing, a diverse range of colors is achieved through the combination of four colors: Cyan (blue), Magenta (red), Yellow, and Key Plate (black). This allows for a reduction in the variety and quantity of inks used compared to specialized ink printing methods. Furthermore, the printing machine does not need to be cleaned when switching between products printed using the CMYK process which is a continuous process not needing changeovers. Takeda is working towards a detailed life cycle assessment^*2 of the printing processes to collect further data about the reduction of the environmental impact.

Takeda intends to switch to CMYK inks for the secondary packaging of all its products, new or existing, manufactured in Japan by 2026. The company is also looking into the possibility of moving away from offset printing and implementing digital printing in the future. In digital printing, the elimination of printing plates results in a reduction of water and solvent usage. Additionally, the absence of plate disposal contributes to a decreased environmental impact. Lastly, to reduce the environmental impact further still through economies of scale, Takeda will share the progress and learnings with other pharmaceutical companies and encourage them to join this initiative.

Greg Timmons, Takeda’s Head of Global Manufacturing & Supply - Japan, said, “As part of our corporate philosophy, we are committed to delivering a stable supply of high-quality medicines to patients while reducing our environmental impact on the planet. This program is one of our efforts to meet that goal. We will continue to proactively lead efforts in environmental sustainability within the pharmaceutical industry.”

Koji Nonomura, Head of Region Japan Artwork Coordination, Japan Regional Launch Excellence & Product Lifecycle Management, who led this initiative, said, “Moving forward, in order to further minimize the environmental impact through economies of scale, we will actively share progress and achievements with other pharmaceutical companies, encouraging their active participation in this initiative.”

^*1 Designing, editing, and managing the printing and display of secondary packaging materials for pharmaceuticals, including outer packaging, user manuals, labels, and related items.

^*2 A methodology for evaluating the extent to which environmental impact is reduced at each stage, from the extraction of raw materials through manufacturing, distribution, consumption, disposal to recycle over the entire life cycle of a product.