US Patent 11946204 Titanium dioxide-free cigarette tipping inks

The present invention provides a method for printing high opacity images or coatings using solvent based inks comprising hollow polymeric microspheres, wherein the inks do not contain titanium dioxide. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified titanium dioxide as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” The method of the present invention allows one to avoid the use of inks that rely on titanium oxide for high opacity, which has become of importance for articles that come into contact with one's mouth, for example, cigarette tipping papers.