Finer Things in Folding Cartons

Paperboard raises its value-added appeal with new

and underused printing techniques.

By Jessica Millward, Associate Editor

THERE WERE NO easy winners in pP's Excellence Awards competition, but the "Folding Carton" categories have been the toughest races to call in the last few judgings. With a growing pool of high-end products demanding value-added packaging, a new breed of paperboard materials has emerged to support expanding printing techniques.

White noise

Today's paperboard materials have a dual mission: to enable the best possible aesthetic appearance, and to be durable throughout the post-press process.

"As a result, packaging professionals are … specifying higher-quality paperboards with exceptional brightness and blue-white styling," explains Kimberley Stearns, business manager for Global Packaging at MeadWestvaco Packaging Resources Group.

MeadWestvaco has taken an aggressive stance in paperboard product development. Recent offerings include: Crescendo®, a C1S SBS paperboard designed for high-speed runs with reduced waste; and Forte™, a 36 pt. solid fiber board with compression strength equal to or greater than that of F-, G-, or N-flute microflute corrugated materials, and a brightness level of GE 85.

Likewise, Paperboard Industries International recently introduced its ArctiKoat paperboard grade, aimed squarely at high-end packaging applications like cosmetics. The three-ply paperboard employs virgin kraft pulp on the top and bottom plies, and a stringent manufacturing process to produce an exceptional level of whiteness.

In with the old and new

Improvement in the flexographic process may open the door for a host of value-added printing techniques and finishing capabilities to be done more cost-efficiently. Avery Dennison Market Manager for Packaging, Joe Gruse notes, "In the past, most people thought of sheetfed offset for high-end printing. We are noticing a shift to narrow-web printing for high-end cartons with the improvements made in flexographic printing."

AGI Klearfold (a MeadWestvaco resource) incorporated both printing flexibility and enhanced security into its Durafold™ line of folding cartons. Constructed of a proprietary polypropylene-based synthetic paperboard, the carton is said to offer stronger seals and a higher tear-resistance factor than traditional folding carton materials. It can be printed with any type of flexo, offset, silkscreen, or hot-foil stamping processes.

Printers are finding new ways to exploit the offset process as well. Shorewood Packaging, a business of International Paper, recently announced the premier of its Extreme Packaging method, which combines the company's Extreme Vision™ lithographic lenticular technology with traditional folding carton manufacturing. Extreme Vision pairs a digitally interlaced image with a specially designed ribbed plastic lens, providing five distinct visual effects in one printed piece. The end product displays animation, depth, and image morphs meant to strikingly differentiate the carton on shelves.