Sustainable Converting Sustainability paper chase By Tom Kerchiss, chairman of RK Print Coat Instruments. E
nvironmentalists, consumers, the media and informed others would like to see packaging providers substitute or minimize the use of certain packaging materials and take what some believe is a more responsible ‘Cradle to Grave’ or sustainable approach to packaging production. While there are many opinions as to what constitutes sustainable and environmentally acceptable packaging there is a general consensus that the product is manufactured using clean production technologies and that renewable or recycled material is used to maximum advantage.
So far so good; no one would disagree that packaging, including hard and soft plastics (flexible films) and attendant value-added processes such as printing, coating and laminating must be safe to use and pose no risk at the end-of-life cycle for individuals, communities and for generations to come.
Although the move towards more sustainable packaging is making progress, it’s not straight forward. The practicalities of package, print and converting are complex and involve many supply chain providers including suppliers of inks, coatings and adhesives - they too have their suppliers. Satisfying sustainability objectives across all processes and amongst all suppliers is understandably far from easy and may involve
some trade-offs and catch ups between functions. Paper and paperboard materials in general are regarded by climate and environmental activists, lobbyists, the media and by many consumers and package/print buyers as being renewable, and biodegradable and the material of choice. Brand owners and marketing people with a message to get across favour the various grades and types of paper and paperboard. Few packaging mediums provide so many creative opportunities for the designer to excel with colour, graphics, shape and texture.
Compared with plastics and bio-based and biodegradable material printing and converting with paper poses fewer problems, or so it would seem? Print and substrate issues generally are more readily identified and resolvable than with filmic and other materials. Every packaging medium however has its drawbacks and this applies to paper as well. Paper and paperboard on its own are permeable to water, water vapour, fatty esters, oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Poor barrier resistance makes the substrate susceptible to volatile flavour and aromas. Custom formulated coatings and internal liners and the coating and laminating of base materials with PE, PETE, EVOH and other plastic polymers considerably improve barrier performance but jeopardise paper and paperboard’s positive
environmental credentials. Research and development into alternatives are no doubt underway.
It could be said that there never has been a time when substrates and consumables have been the subject of so much attention. New or re-formulated materials including adhesives and resins need to be trialled and evaluated under real world conditions and over a period of time. How well for example would an existing ink modified with a new resin for binding, rheology and mechanical purposes perform with a given substrate? The same would apply to anyone of the many other components that go into the make-up of an ink or coating. By altering any one component it is feasible that other components will need to be adjusted or changed. New materials whether paper or a
biodegradable, bio-based compostable materials must not only meet sustainability edicts, they must be able to be mounted on and processed through a press or a coater and be able to be subjected to various other converting processes. They must not disadvantage the processor with regard to commercial viability. Colour communication devices pilot lab coaters, pilot/ production line machines and various other trialling and product development tools have an important role to play in ensuring product processing effectiveness.
Processing and application complexities has
resulted in RK Print Coat Instruments developing a wide variety of colour communication and print/ coating systems to meet the diverse needs of print, packaging, labelling and industrial users. The VCM-Lab/Pilot Coater with a working width of up to 300mm enables users to print, coat and laminate on all types of flexible substrates. Various coatings including inks, varnishes, adhesives and even paint that makes use of water-based materials or even solvents can be applied. Short run capability and configurability make this machine ideal for those companies engaged in the bringing to market of more environmentally acceptable products. Knife-over-roll, meter bar (Mayer or wire), gravure, direct gravure, offset gravure, flexo, slot die and other application technologies are available. It can be ATEX zone protected and configured for clean room conditions. Drying options include hot air, IR and UV curing.
Xwww.rkprint.com
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October 2022
www.convertermag.com
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