Coatings are used to provide product and packaging protection and enhancements in countless ways.

By Tom Polischuk

Both Dickenscheidt and Shah mention the importance of nanotechnology in future coating developments. Dickenscheidt says it will be used to develop smart coatings, while Shah reports that Siegwerk’s R&D “is heavily involved in developing coatings with nanotechnology for barrier applications.”

According to Lapin, although nanotechnolgy “is a popular buzz word, nano-sized materials have been used in coatings for many years. New nano-materials are being developed all the time, but they are just one part of equation when it comes to new coatings for packaging applications.”