The Armadillo of Package Printing

So, where does UV stability come from? "The UV durability comes from UV stabilizers added to the resin," explained Hoag. "PEs are more UV resistant in their natural state than PPs. So, PPs must have more UV stabilizers added to the resins than PEs, and these are expensive."

Printability

While UV stabilizers make the synthetic material more durable, a topcoating or additive is provided to make the material printable—like paper. "A variety of additives or topcoatings enhance the printability, opacity, durability, and resistance properties of the synthetic paper," said John Giblin, marketing director, Granwell Products (West Caldwell, N.J.). "By varying the type of plastic material used, the processing conditions, or the additives or topcoatings used, the durability characteristics of synthetic papers can be readily modified to produce a sheet to match the desired properties of the end-use application."