Facing the future through innovation

2 February 2010



The paper and board market is currently facing a number of serious issues. Nick Coombes spoke to Chuck Klass, one of America’s leading experts in the development of value added papers and innovation in the paper industry, to assess what the future holds


For those involved, the knowledge that print for packaging is the only area of the market that cannot be adversely affected by the internet must come as a major relief, particularly in the current economic climate. Many forecasters are predicting that we are already ‘past the worst’, and there is the added incentive that the demand for printed packaging will continue to grow as a result of the so-called third world economies moving towards consumerism.

“Globalisation is a term one hears frequently in today’s business world, and if it is true for the leading consumer brands, it must also be true for the materials required to package them,” said Mr Klass. While environmental concerns for sustainable raw materials is perhaps a luxury only the wealthier countries can adhere to, the issue is now a major international ‘war cry’ and the leading brand owners are sufficiently aware, politically, that they need to be seen to comply.

“With high impact graphics now such an inherent part of effective packaging, the demand is increasing for brighter stocks, both coated and uncoated,” he explained, adding: “There is already a degree of blurring between the two in terms of performance, availability and cost.” As mills are pressurised into adopting more neutral/alkaline processes, the race is indeed on to see who can ‘achieve the whitest by the greenest’.

Board requirements

“Papers and boards also need to offer maximum functionality to meet today’s multi-process presses, if one considers the printing processes involved, which range from offset to inkjet, through flexo, screen and gravure. Issues of opacity, surface strength, porosity and ink receptivity are among those critical to selecting the right material,” said Mr Klass.

In the board market specifically, which has historically lagged behind paper in terms of sophistication and development, there is no room for second best. Packaging has long since left the ‘product protection’ stage for which it was initially developed, which means that all the printability and performance requirements that apply to paper also apply to board. “Increased brightness, smoothness, and gloss, and a move towards a blue shade have all given coated board a new quality mark,“ explained Mr Klass.

All modern substrates have to perform consistently well under production conditions that were unthinkable a few years ago. “They have to be lighter, brighter, more heat resistant, accept greater ink coverage using finer line screens, and be run at higher speeds than before, as well as offering greater strength, improved abrasion characteristics, and in many cases be able to cope with vast ranges of humidity and temperature,” he stated.

With flexography generally accepted to be the fastest growing impact print process worldwide, paper and board manufacturers are being faced with new performance parameters. “The trend is for more colours and more vibrancy, working with fine screens, and a need for an open coating structure that allows for a choice of pigment, caters for different binder systems, and uses synthetic lubricants,” said Mr Klaus.

In the corrugated market, this has led to the development of new coated linerboards that combine performance, quality, and cost.

“Take Micro Flute corrugated, which has been a great success in recent times,” continued Mr Klaus. “It competes with coated multi-ply recycled paperboard, but significantly is 35% lighter in weight, and stronger. It does require a coated surface for offset printing, but is still lighter than conventional linerboard. In addition, it can usually be converted on normal cartonboard equipment.”

Digital growth

Mr Klass acknowledged the onward march of digital printing technology: “We forecast it will continue to grow rapidly in the corrugated market over the next decade. However, to do so will require the development of new coated linerboards, as the existing fibre top boards will not be adequate,” he said.

Of the digital technology currently available and under development, inkjet is the process predicted to dominate in the corrugated field

Mr Klass continued: “With the coming of the digital print age, we believe it certain that demand will grow for multi-purpose papers and boards.” A combination of, for example, offset and digital is now commonplace in the commercial print sector and there is no reason to suppose that the benefits it offers in terms of quality and personalisation, will not apply to the package print market.

Combination printing (offset/flexo/screen) is already in demand in the narrow web label market, and digital in combination will undoubtedly follow.

“At present there is a dearth of papers and boards that will cater for this combination at high speed in a single pass,” he warned. “Since this is a growth market with high potential, watch this space!”


Corrugated growth

Corrugated growth Corrugated growth


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