Film Materials?Eye-Catching Versatility

Companies developing film materials are staying one step ahead by staying in close contact with their customers.

NEW PLASTIC FILM materials are making a big splash in the marketplace and in many instances are replacing some of the tried-and-true substrates of years past, such as paper and foil. With a variety of different uses, packagePRINTING asked a sampling of film suppliers what they see as the trends in the film material market.

Ultimate world domination

Not really, but Gretchen Adams of AET Films said films such as AET's are slowly replacing more traditional printed substrates, such as paper.

"AET Films is the only independent global supplier dedicated solely to the manufacturing of oriented polypropylene (OPP) films," she says. "These films are rapidly replacing paper, foil, rigid plastics, metal containers, and polyester wrappers."

Adams said that multi-layered structures—some fairly complex—can be developed to meet virtually any need of an end user, making OPP films a hot item in the packaging arenas. AET's products include labels for bottles and cans, packaging for confectionary and snack foods, pet foods, and holographic films for gift wrap. Other uses include specially-designed barrier films used to extend the shelf life of snack foods, cheeses, meats, and fresh produce.

Adams listed some of the characteristics of AET's OPP films: clarity, gloss, overall graphic appeal, printability, dimensional stability, protection from moisture and light, and yield cost savings over other plastic films.

The company also develops specific film products to solve targeted customer needs. SynCarta® was developed for waterproof and durable tags and labels. TOppCure® was designed for high-speed labeling on glass, plastic, or metal containers.

International Graphic Films (IGF) also has a line of polypropylene films, specifically its 1250-9 and 1250-12 self-wound performance materials. Strong enough to resist oils, acid, and gasoline, the 1250-9 has been approved for automotive battery labels. IGF's 1250-12 boasts higher abrasion resistance for prolonged exposure to the elements and diverse handling, and is perfect for problematic UV letterpress and screen printing.

Sounds corny

AET and other film material specialists such as Plastic Suppliers and BI-AX International, agree that the opportunities for films in the food industry are growing.

Barry Jones, business director for AET, says that his companies supplies a rapidly growing market for gas permeability films for use with fresh cut product and lid stock applications, namely the HORT® and HORT-2 film line. "These lines employ a proprietary technology to expand the spectrum of fresh cut products where a non-perforated OPP film lamination can by utilized. This provides the product and the consumer with an extra level of protection," Jones said.

Not only are some film materials used to protect products, now some are made from produce. Plastic Suppliers has recently introduced to the market, EarthFirst™ PLA, which is 100 percent compostable because it is produced from a corn-based resin from Cargill Dow called NatureWorks™ instead of petrochemicals. Although not completely new to the industry, the company reports that this film uses 20 to 25 percent less fossil resources than petrochemical-based films.

According to Plastic Suppliers, EarthFirst is a perfect alternative to other plastic films because its properties are just as good and oftentimes surpass those of comparable films. EarthFirst is designed to provide a very good flavor and aroma barrier, while allowing moisture to breathe freely through the walls of the film. This also prevents fogging on windows and allows adhesives to dry quickly.

Plastic Suppliers lists the some of the uses for the new EarthFirst as folding carton windows, bag windows (especially for bags currently required perforation to breathe), shrink label films, and tamper evident shrink bands. Because of its clarity and gloss, this film is also said to be a good fit for uses that call for that no-label look that is so hot right now.

BI-AX International also offers a film substrate called Evlon® that is produced using the NatureWorks™ PLA resin. This film material can be used for twist wrap, labels, laminations, and window films, and offers high stiffness, superb clarity, high gloss, a wide seal range, and an excellent flavor and aroma barrier.

Interfilm Holdings Inc. also makes polypropylene films for the food packaging industry. Its Polinas Type HF product is an OPP film sandwiched between two printable, heat-sealable anti-fog films. This film causes moisture inside the package to condense in a continuous, uniform manner providing transparency and increasing the aesthetic appeal of the package. A second product from Interfilm is Propafilm™ Type RK. Recommended for the use in the salad and vegetable industry, this BOPP film has a high seal strength and a low heat-seal threshold. Unaffected by climactic conditions, the film provides an excellent barrier to water vapor, gases, and odors.

Branding is ever-so important

Branding is very important in today's tight market. With shelves overflowing with different products in the marketplace, a company has only a few seconds to catch the eye of a potential customer. FLEXcon understands this need and has developed pressure-sensitive films for companies to use to promote their corporate brands.

"Studies show the use of graphic applications further promote corporate brand recognition by pushing them to the forefront in the eyes of the consumer," said Roland Castonguay, market development, FLEXcon's product branding team. "Pressure-sensitive films create opportunity to maximize the promotional effort with eye-catching graphics and versatility. We help them [companies] realize the even greater benefit of driving home the company brand message with a variety of pressure-sensitive graphic applications."

More from the future

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is also another hot topic these days. According to Rich Witmer, marketing communications manager with Valéron Strength Film, "For our printing films and synthetic papers we are seeing a lot more interest in RFID."

Witmer said he understands that as a substrate manufacturer, his company may not be a leader in high-tech RFID capabilities, but they are working with the new technology. "We believe we have a fit in protecting the still-expensive chips and inlays with our durable Valéron Strength Film. On the packaging side, we are seeing continued interest in barrier films, either co-extruded or monolayer for the food packaging and military packaging industries," Witmer said.

To cope with rapidly changing needs and up-and-coming trends, Witmer says communication is the key. "We are continually in contact with our customers and large end users to provide film or packaging solutions. We rely on our internal research and development team, as well as the resources at the ITW Tech Center in Glenview, Ill.," he said.

Jones with AET Films said his company thrives on the tough questions and challenges. "We are currently developing films for numerous converting applications with enhanced puncture resistance, polyethylene sealability, and abrasion resistance," he said. "We are exploring new applications that demand new configurations of our synthetic material, our permeable films, and many of our other products."