Mondi workshop: Digital printing will have a role to play in the future packaging paper sector

At FachPack 2016 Mondi, the international packaging and paper Group, briefed the customers and press on a variety of technical printing options and services provided by the company through its Print Competence Centre – including a live lab show of some of the tests performed there.

During the presentation Mondi’s technical experts, Serhiy Luzan for Containerboard and Petr Jindra for the Speciality Kraft Paper segment, outlined the most crucial factors when selecting a paper grade that offers both excellent strength properties and high-quality printing results. “Well-printed packaging that is appealing to the eye and perfectly reflects the brand’s personality always starts with the right choice of paper. Besides the print process itself, good-quality printability is largely defined by a combination of the paper’s physical and chemical properties,” explains Serhiy Luzan, Technical Sales Service Manager Mondi Containerboard. “At our R&D Print Competence Centre we focus on finding ways to develop and optimise our paper grades’ printability. Strategic partnerships with research institutes, universities, raw material suppliers and original equipment manufacturers help us anticipate market trends and new technologies while achieving our goal of creating solutions for our customers’ success.”

By way of a live lab demonstration, customers and journalists were able to see how the various key properties are measured and learn about some of the quality parameters that customers need to consider when choosing a paper grade that prints well and affords good protection:

1. When it comes to paper-based packaging, strength is a must in almost all applications in which protecting customer goods is crucial. Burst strength is a key strength indicator that is measured as the force required to overcome the paper’s resistance to rupturing when placed against a pressurised rubber membrane. 
2. Every paper consists of fibres. Formation is a measure of fibre density across a paper web and serves as a guide to print outcomes. Paper with better formation has a more homogeneous structure with less fibre density variation, which gives rise to more consistent printing results.
3. Surface roughness is another key factor in determining whether a paper is compatible with high-class branding or more likely to deliver only commonplace printing results. The smoother the paper, the more consistent the ink laydown and the smaller the unprinted areas. These attributes contribute to better print quality.

Paper-based packaging: migration from analogue to digital?

Paper-based packaging is predominantly printed by analogue printing techniques, such as flexo and offset, but in recent years digital printing has emerged as a new option in the packaging market. The final test demonstrated by Mondi’s technical experts in the workshop examined how print quality can be affected by different printing techniques. In particular, they examined how printability can be evaluated in the context of analogue and digital printing.

Looking at market studies[1] that preview the development and role of digital printing for paper-based packaging in the future, Florian Stockert, Sales Director Containerboard, summarised the development by saying, “We see that digital printing will have a role to play in the packaging paper sector in the future. That’s why we are monitoring the development of this topic and pursuing opportunities for both containerboard and speciality kraft paper very closely. From several perspectives Mondi occupies a very good starting position in view of the paper grades in our portfolio that already fit the bill for high-quality flexo and offset printing. In addition, our Print Competence Centre provides us and our customers with the best R&D facilities for printing issues, and we possess a wealth of digital printing knowledge that is shared throughout the company.” His remarks were echoed by Gerhard Pachler, Sales Director Speciality Kraft Paper Mondi Europe & International.

Excellent paper grades for high-quality printing results

Within its Containerboard segment, Mondi has a special Appearance portfolio dedicated to high-class printing, including the grades ProVantage Komiwhite, ProVantage Baywhite and ProVantage Prestigewhite. Depending on the end-use – mainly corrugated packaging – and customer needs, these grades combine strength and high-class printability to deliver a premium appearance.

Mondi Speciality Kraft Paper offers paper grades for special applications, such as bags and shoppers, that perfectly reflect brand personality and project an attractive image to consumers. These include Advantage Smooth White Gloss and Strong, and MG kraft paper grades in both brown and white. They benefit not only Mondi’s own customers, but also its customers’ customers – the retail brands.

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Contact

Waltraud Seiner, Head of Marketing Packaging Paper
Tel: +43 (1) 79013 – 4754
Email: waltraud.seiner@mondigroup.com

Elisabeth Dock, Communications Manager Packaging Paper
Tel: +43 (0) 664 844 65 20
Email: elisabeth.dock@mondigroup.com

About Mondi Containerboard

Mondi Containerboard is a business segment of the business unit Packaging Paper and a leading international supplier of virgin and recycled containerboard. Within its broad product portfolio, Mondi Containerboard offers a range of appearance papers to satisfy the requirements of both customers and end-users as regards strength, high durability, excellent runnability on corrugators, and high-class printability. It also supplies a full range of kraft grades and, within the Semi Chem portfolio, solutions for packaging applications that are both stable and resistant to moisture. The Recycled range, consisting of 100% environmentally sound paper solutions, rounds off the Mondi Containerboard product portfolio.

Customer focused. Every day.

Mondi`s virgin and recycled containerboard is used to make corrugated packaging, primarily designed to protect customers’ products along the value chain and display them at the point-of-sale. With five production sites and a strong sales and logistics network, Mondi Containerboard is well positioned to offer customers a wide range of customised paper solutions. It attaches high priority to customer service, which is delivered through a broad variety of technical seminars and training sessions, technical support, assistance with product optimisation, and full-scale corrugator audits. Mondi Containerboard fulfils customers’ needs, every day.

Innovative. Every day.

Mondi Containerboard fosters innovative research and cutting-edge technology. Its commitment is reflected in the work of its Print Competence Centre where customised state-of-the-art printing solutions are developed. In addition, the team of specialists at our Food Safety Laboratory develop optimised solutions that meet highest requirements for food contact and other sensitive applications.

About Mondi Speciality Kraft Paper

Mondi Speciality Kraft Paper is a business segment of the business unit Packaging Paper and one of the leading European suppliers of speciality kraft paper grades. It maintains four production sites that are focused on achieving superior quality, excellent runnability, optimised converting machine productivity, and the best possible packaging characteristics for the end-user. Mondi Speciality Kraft Paper offers a broad selection of machine-finished (MF) - including our EcoVantage paper range -, smooth-finished (SF) and machine-glazed (MG) grades.

Customer focused. Every day.

With Mondi Speciality Kraft Paper customers can benefit from a comprehensive range of products to fit individual requirements from heavy-duty industrial packaging, to retail shopping bags, and attractive food packaging for supermarket shelves. Furthermore, Mondi strives to apply the latest technology in the paper making process to ensure that the hightest standards of customers can be met.

Innovative. Every day.

Mondi Speciality Kraft Paper fosters innovative research and cutting-edge technology. Its commitment is reflected in the work of its R&D and Bag Application Centres, the Print Competence Centre, where packaging and printing solutions are developed and tested in close cooperation with customers. In addition, the team of specialists at our Food Safety Laboratory develop optimised solutions that meet highest requirements for food contact and other sensitive applications.

We are Mondi: IN TOUCH EVERY DAY

At Mondi, our products protect and preserve the things that matter.

Mondi is an international packaging and paper Group, employing around 25,000 people across more than 30 countries. Our key operations are located in central Europe, Russia, North America and South Africa. We offer over 100 packaging and paper products, customised into more than 100,000 different solutions for customers, end consumers and industrial end uses - touching the lives of millions of people every day. In 2015, Mondi had revenues of €6.8 billion and a return on capital employed of 20.5%.

The Mondi Group is fully integrated across the packaging and paper value chain - from managing forests and producing pulp, paper and compound plastics, to developing effective and innovative industrial and consumer packaging solutions. Our innovative technologies and products can be found in a variety of applications including hygiene components, stand-up pouches, super-strong cement bags, clever retail boxes and office paper. Our key customers are in industries such as automotive; building and construction; chemicals; food and beverage; home and personal care; medical and pharmaceutical; packaging and paper converting; pet care; and office and professional printing.

Mondi has a dual listed company structure, with a primary listing on the JSE Limited for Mondi Limited under the ticker code MND and a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange for Mondi plc, under the ticker code MNDI.

For us, acting sustainably makes good business sense and is part of the way we work every day. We have been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series since 2008 and the JSE's Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Index since 2007.

[1] e.g. European Corrugated Industry Report, Part 2, by NOA-PRISM, 2015.