Technology's Edge
Rollprint's Film Offers Barrier Improvements
ADDISON, Ill.—Rollprint Packaging Products, Inc. has introduced what it believes to be the first transparent, non-aluminum foil, barrier film line for stick pack and flow-wrapped packaging applications.
The new Overture® One lamination is based on Rollprint's proprietary ClearFoil® barrier-coated polyester coupled with an aggressive sealant. The structure enables high-speed sealing for added functionality.
Overture® One is suitable for a wide variety of granular, powdered, liquid, and solid applications that can benefit from both clarity and the absence of foil. This encompasses a broad range of food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and chemical products. Stick pack examples include powdered drinks, liquid pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and household cleaners. Flow wrapped products can range from syringe and IV bag overwraps to industrial parts and electronic components.
"Our research told us that there was a need for a structure that would provide the barrier properties required without the use of aluminum foil," explains Dwane Hahn, vice president of sales and marketing, Rollprint. "The reasons varied from wanting portions of the product to be visible to consumers to overcoming metal detection interference."
The end result is a proprietary structure that can achieve comparable performance to foil-based laminations at two-thirds of the thickness, creating an opportunity for cost-savings. Oxygen barrier levels are available as low as 0.0008 cc/100 sq. in./24 hrs. and moisture barrier properties are available down to 0.0008 g/100 sq. in./24 hrs.
Further, its transparent attributes enable brand owners to use product texture and color to enhance shelf appeal. The entire structure can be kept transparent or limited to "windows" to display contents. Consumers can readily see contents, so guesswork is eliminated.
"The Overture® One lamination enables those products traditionally packaged via form-fill-seal to be considered for more cost-effective flow wrapping. The technology has improved to the point that flow wrappers offer excellent hermetic seals, making this approach suitable for more stringent pharma and medical device applications," Hahn says.
BASF Partners on Flexible Electronics
EINDHOVEN, Germany—BASF and Holst Centre, a research initiative by imec (B) and TNO (NL), announced their partnership on research for flexible electronics. By entering the existing research network around shared roadmaps and challenges, BASF will contribute to and get insight in the progress on organic circuitry and thin-film transistors on flexible substrates.
Over the past years, organic and oxide transistors on flexible substrates have gained a lot of academic and industrial interest. Backplanes for displays and complementary-logic (CMOS) circuits are among the research domains that receive considerable attention.
At Holst Centre, partners from across the value chain collaborate in shared programs to tackle the research challenges for next-generation products. Already, over 30 leading materials suppliers, equipment builders, and end-product manufacturers are actively involved with Holst Centre researchers on the domains of flexible electronics and wireless sensor technologies.
Memjet Inkjet Technology
CHICAGO—Memjet, a global supplier of color printing technologies, has launched its color on-demand printing technology for the labels and packaging markets. It represents what the company believes is a new category of technology that brings cost-effective, on-demand color printing to the manufacturing floor.
"We believe that Memjet technology is disruptive and will have a dramatic impact on how color printing is used in packaging activities," said Sean Marske, president of Memjet Labels. "The technology gives you the freedom to print exactly what you want, when you want it, and where you want it, making near-line color label printing possible for 'just-in-time' and other manufacturing operations. This reduces waste and accelerates the workflow process. It also enables brand owners and manufacturers to move their label, tag, ticket, card, and folding carton printing out of a centralized print facility and directly onto their factory or warehouse floors." pP
