Siegwerk is introducing a new approach to functional packaging design with the launch of CIRKIT OXYBAR WHITE, a solution for film-based packaging that merges oxygen barrier performance and white ink opacity into a single, printable layer. The company tells us more in this Spotlight.
Designed for flexible films, the innovation addresses a key challenge in packaging: combining product protection and visual design without adding structural complexity.
Two functions, one layer: simplifying film structures
In conventional film packaging, oxygen protection and white opacity are delivered separately. Oxygen barrier performance typically relies on materials such as EVOH, PVdC or metallized films, while white ink is applied as a distinct layer for opacity and print quality.
CIRKIT OXYBAR WHITE combines these into one. By integrating high oxygen barrier properties directly into a white ink layer, converters can achieve both functions simultaneously in a single application step.
The coating delivers strong oxygen barrier performance alongside a bright, opaque white finish suitable for demanding flexible packaging designs. This “two layers into one” approach allows converters to replace both the traditional barrier layer and the backing white with a single functional coating that enables fully recyclable packaging structures, applied inline using standard gravure or flexo processes with capabilities to run water-based systems.
Designed for high-performance film applications
CIRKIT OXYBAR WHITE has been developed to meet the demands of high-performance film packaging. Thanks to its uniquely high solid content, it achieves significantly faster drying and higher press speeds compared to standard oxygen barrier coatings.
By integrating barrier functionality directly into the white ink layer, the solution can be implemented seamlessly into existing production lines without the need for additional coating steps or capital investment.
At the same time, the pigmented white layer allows immediate visual inspection during printing, supporting in-line quality control and reducing the risk of defects.
From added materials to printed performance
The innovation forms part of Siegwerk’s broader Barrier Inks concept, where barrier functionality becomes an intrinsic property of the printed layer rather than an added material component.
This marks a shift in how film packaging is engineered. Instead of building performance through additional substrates, converters can embed it directly into the print process. In practice, this reduces the number of layers, simplifies structures and improves production efficiency while maintaining barrier performance.
Proven in monomaterial film applications
The concept has already been validated through Siegwerk’s collaboration with Enplater, where CIRKIT OXYBAR WHITE was used to develop a fully recyclable mono-material PP pouch.
In this application, the coating replaces conventional oxygen barrier materials such as aluminium foil, metallized films, PVdC and EVOH, in segments not requiring additional WVTR barriers, by simply upgrading the standard backing white layer into a functional barrier. The resulting mono-PP structure combines high barrier performance with full recyclability, demonstrating how integrated ink technologies can support the transition away from complex multi-material laminates.
Importantly, this is achieved without additional processing steps or investment, offering converters a practical pathway to more sustainable film packaging.
Enabling efficient and recyclable packaging
By merging white ink and oxygen barrier into one layer, CIRKIT OXYBAR WHITE delivers clear benefits across the value chain:
- Structural simplification with fewer layers
- Operational efficiency through one-pass application
- Reduced material usage and processing steps
- Support for fully recyclable mono-material designs
As regulatory and market pressures accelerate the shift toward circular packaging, solutions that reduce complexity while maintaining performance are becoming increasingly important.
A new role for white ink
With CIRKIT OXYBAR WHITE, white ink evolves from a purely visual element into a functional component that actively contributes to product protection.
By turning a standard design layer into a high-performance barrier, Siegwerk demonstrates how innovation at the ink level can unlock new possibilities in packaging design. The result is a clear proposition: instead of adding layers to achieve performance, converters can achieve it by making each layer do more.
You can find out more about CIRKIT OXYBAR WHITE and Siegwerk’s CIRKIT range at this link.
This content was sponsored by Siegwerk.
