FPT 4 2021

Nabe Process Improves Efficiency with Asahi Photoproducts AWP Flexographic Plates 500-Plus Conversions to Flexo ECG with KODAK FLEXCEL NX Plates

Europe Flexible Packaging Market – Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, Forecasts

World packaging demand to break $1-trillion-mark in 2021

A preliminary study of printed electronics on flexible substrates

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Apart from the process parameters, the ink and the substrate properties are some of the variables associated with the flexographic printing. Specifically, this study investigates the ink penetration, the print uniformity, the adhesion, the fastness, and the electrical behaviour of the same conductive silver ink printed on different flexible substrates through the flexography process.

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The Europe Flexible Packaging Market has been valued at USD 52.

59 Billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3. 01% during the period 2021-2026. The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a growing demand for flexible packaging in the region due to new or heightened hygiene and consumer-safety concerns and the drive for redefined sustainability.

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In 2021, the world packaging market has returned to solid growth following a slowdown witnessed in 2020, as multiple end-use industries were disrupted by Covid-19. Total value will pass an historic landmark and reach $1.01 trillion in 2021, according to data from the new Smithers study – The Future of Global Packaging to 2026.

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In 2019 Montevideo-based Lorytex won a Gold Award at the inaugural Global Flexo Innovation Awards, sponsored by Miraclon. At the time, Roberto Dolinsky, managing director of the Montevideo-based flexo prepress tradeshop, voiced his hopes for the extended color gamut (ECG) technology for which Lorytex is an enthusiastic advocate.

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Asahi Photoproducts reported that Nabe Process a major Japanese printing company, has tested Asahi’s AWP™ CleanPrint waterwashable flexographic plates against conventional solvent-based plates to measure differences in quality and productivity between the two.

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A preliminary study of printed electronics through flexography impression on flexible substrates The work is framed within Printed Electronics, an emerging technology for the manufacture of electronic products. Among the different printing methods, the roll-to-roll flexography technique is used because it allows continuous manufacturing and high productivity at low cost. Apart from the process parameters, the ink and the substrate properties are some of the variables associated with the flexographic printing. Specifically, this study investigates the ink penetration, the print uniformity, the adhesion, the fastness, and the electrical behaviour of the same conductive silver ink printed on different flexible substrates through the flexography process. In addition to polymeric and siliconized paper substrates, which are typical used in printed electronics, two substrates were also chosen for the study: woven and nonwoven fabric.

By ANA M. RODES-CARBONELL, JOSUÉ FERRI, EDUARDO GARCIA-BREIJO, EVA BOU-BELDA Optical, scanning electronic microscope (SEM), 4-point Kelvin and colour fastness to wash and rubbing analyses have been performed.

The results concluded that, regarding the conductivity behaviour, porous sub-

strates like textiles and nonwoven fabrics without pre and post treatments do not present acceptable results, whereas polymers or silicone papers do. Nevertheless, woven and nonwoven fabrics are a suitable early option re-

garding colour fastness to wash instead of thin polymeric and paper substrates that tear at the wash machine. A solution for an optimal printing on textiles would be the surface substrates pretreatment by applying

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different chemical compounds that increase the adhesion of the ink on the fabric. The technology that allows the fabrication of electronic devices through a printing process is known as printed electronics (PE).

It is one of the fastest growing technologies in the world as it provides different printing techniques for fabricating low-cost and large area flexible electronic devices [1]. In recent years, the technology of flexible electronics has attracted considerable attention as it is applicable to wearable devices including flexible displays, flexible batteries and flexible sensors [2] in different areas such as aerospace and automotive, biomedical, robotics, and health applications [3].

Among them, wearable electronic textiles (etextiles) are of great significance, as they provide better comfortability, durability and lighter weight as well as maintaining the desira-

ble electrical [4].

property processing, such as flexography, are especially attractive as they The PE printing techoffer continuous pronique selection shall be duction and high according to the type of productivity [7]. electronic application (e.g., small, thin, light- Flexographic printing is weight, flexible, and known for depositing a disposable, etc.) to be wide range of thicknessfabricated, the produc- es with the same resotion cost nd volume. Al- lution. Impression cylinso, the materials (inks/ der, plate cylinder, pastes and substrates) anilox roller, doctor must meet certain re- blade and inking unit quirements, depending are the main parts of on the type of printing the flexographic printing technology being used [1]. Variables associatand the final applica- ed with the flexographic tion. printing process include print speed, print force/ PE technologies are diengagement, anilox cell vided in contact techvolume, anilox force/ niques (e.g., flexogengagement as well as raphy, gravure printing the ink and substrate and soft lithography properties. [8] Those techniques), in which variables have a direct the printing plate is in impact on the prints’ direct contact with the morphological and elecsubstrate and, nontrical behaviour, as well contact techniques as the print uniformity (e.g., screen printing, has a considerable influaerosol printing, inkjet ence on the final funcprinting, laser direct tionality of the device writing), where only the [9]. It must be highinks get in contact with lighted in the context of the substrate [5, 6]. printed electronics on Those techniques suitafabrics, the challenge of ble for roll-to-roll (R2R) durability and with-

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standing bending, In order to compare the stretching, abrasion and results of the impreswashing [10]. sion carried out on different laminar subNumerous reviews and strates, printed samples books have been alwere characterized usready published considing the optimal microering printed electronics scope and the scanning on substrates that are electron microscope usually used on elec(SEM). tronic devices such as glass, metal, paper or The behaviour of the polymers [3, 7]. impression is evaluated

However, the incorporation of the flexography printing technique for printed electronics in the textile field is still very recent and there are not enough studies for its application. As a result, the authors have proposed to analyse this printing methodology for conductive inks on textiles regarding their electronic performance.

chosen for the study: woven and nonwoven fabric. The four flexible substrates are characterized in table 1. Same aqueous flexo-printable conductive ink, PFI-600 – Silver ink from Novacentrix, has been used in all prints to ensure comparable results. The ink contains silver nano-

before maintenance ac- particles and has been tions such as washing formulated for high conductivity, fast curing, and rubbing. and improved levelling MATERIALS AND at lower printing METHODS speeds.

Materials

Methods

In addition to polymeric and siliconized paper substrates, which are typical used in printed electronics [3, 7], two substrates were also

Flexography is a roll-toroll direct printing technology, where an anilox roller, covered with micro-cavities on its surface, allows the collec-

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tion of ink, and then is transferred to the printing plate cylinder. At the study, the one-layer flexography printing process has been performed using flexography experimental plants (Flexo VCML Lab from RK and Lambda from Edale) for printing the samples. Different test drawings for the pattern of the printing plate cylinder were designed specifically for the study. Details of the process are described in table 2. Printed layers were dried using an inline air flow convection dryer with temperatures within 80–150°C. RESULTS AND CUSSSION

scope Field Emission Gun (field emission It is observed that both scanning electron miwoven and non-woven croscopy (FESEM)). fabric do not present uniformity at the print, They were used to anadue to the porous sur- lyse the ink penetration face. Printing electronics and the adhesion in with low viscosity inks each substrate. Table 3 onto a rough and po- shows the FE-SEM imrous textile surface is of ages obtained. These great challenge, due to images confirm that the the orientation of fibres continuity of the ink or yarns and the change does not appear on the of fibre morphology woven and non-woven constantly [4]. fabrics, being able to 20× results.

DIS-

Ink uniformity The optical macroscopic images were taken with a LEICA MZ APO stereomicroscope.

It was used to analyse the print uniformity of each layer of the electronic printed samples. Magnifications from 20 to 80 were used. Table 3 shows images of the

Ink penetration High-resolution topographic images by SE (secondary electrons) and maps of crystalline and textural orientations by EBSD (electron backscatter diffraction) were taken with a ZEISS ULTRA 55 Scanning Electron Micro-

observe a space between the ink and the surface of the fabric, not being completely adhered to the substrate. This does not observed when the ink is deposited on the paper, as it is much more uniform, the ink is completely in contact with

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the surface.

Conductivity To measure the electrical behaviour a usual two-terminal sensing unit was firstly considered. Nevertheless, a two-wire system does not provide correct output due to variation in ambient temperature, as the resistance of the lead wires (both sides) changes unpredictably.

Meanwhile, Four-Wire Kelvin resistance measurement makes it possible to accurately measure resistance values less than 0.1 W while eliminating the inherent resistance of the lead wires connecting the measurement instrument to the component being measured [11].

For that reason, 4-wire system measurements were made Resistance measurements were made with a FLUKE 8845A multimeter from FLUKE CORPORATION (Everett, Washington, USA). Table 4 shows the results obtained for each substrate.

Whereas the results for paper and polymeric substrates indicate that the printing is conductive, neither the woven nor the nonwoven fabrics present electrical conductivity. This is because poor uniformity limits the conductivity of a print, leading to functional variation and short circuits. In order to address these challenges, surface pretreatment onto rough and porous substrates or coating and lamination processes should be done in order to produce continuous conductive pathway onto textiles [4, 6].

Colour fastness The grade of colour fastness to wash and rubbing of the electronic flexo printed samples were evaluated and presented in the table 5.

Neither the siliconized paper (SC) nor the polymeric substrate (SD) could stand the washing test and were torn at the wash machine. Furthermore, the SD was not capable of with-

standing the rubbing test, crashing with the pressure of the crockmeter.

The overall results of colour fastness to rubbing of samples showed poor fastness properties in terms of discharge, which was harmonious with previous studies of other printing techniques [12]. SA and SB showed an improved grade in the rubbing degradation possibly due to the large amount of ink deposited on the surface although wet rubbing properties are lower than dry. In order to address these challenges, surface pretreatment onto rough and porous substrates should be done in order to improve the ink adhesion and therefore the electrical behaviour [4].

On the other hand, the overall results of colour fastness to wash of woven (SA) and nonwoven (SB) fabrics samples were very good to excellent. According to a previous review [13], an

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increment of ink volume improves the ink coverage, upgrading in this case the conductivity, nevertheless it enhances the ink washout effect. For this reason, the ink volume transferred to the substrate should be optimized when conductivity and colour fastness to washing are the objectives.

tion and electrical conductivity onto textile and non-woven fabrics.

For this reason, future work will explore different surface pretreatments, such as hydrophobic and oleophobic treatments, in order to improve ink uniformity and then produce continuous conductive pathway through flexography on textiles and In addition, coating and nonwoven fabrics. lamination processes could be done in order to ensure the continuous conductive pathway on textiles [10].

ty and colour fastness to washing are the objectives. Future work will also explore several coatings that could also be applied after the printing to protect the circuits and then improve the electronic behaviour after washing.

Concerning colour fastness to rubbing, even better than for thin polymeric and paper substrates, poor results

CONCLUSIONS By a comparison of the same ink printed on different flexible substrates it has been concluded that the rolltoroll flexography printing process is an effective technique to produce conductive tracks on silicone paper and polymer flexible substrates.

Nevertheless, it has been demonstrated that the same silver ink

On the other hand, woven and nonwoven fabrics are a suitable early option regarding colour fastness to wash instead of thin polymeric and paper substrates that tear at the wash machine. The ink volume transferred to the subprintings do not present strate should be optiuniformity, ink penetra- mized when conductivi-

were obtained for woven and nonwoven fabrics. For this reason, future work will be focused on surface pretreatment onto rough and porous substrates in order to improve the ink adhesion and therefore the electrical behaviour.

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tronics, In: International Journal of Precision ACKNOWLEDGEEngineering and ManuMENTS facturing, 2019, https:// This research is part of doi.org/20.10.1007/ HYBRID project that is s12541-019-00157-2 funded by the Consel[3] Cruz, S., Rocha, L., leria d’Economia SosViana, J., Printing Techtenible, Sectors Producnologies on Flexible tius i Treball, through Substrates for Printed IVACE. Application No.: Electronics, 2018, IMAMCI/2020/1. https:// doi.org/10.5772/ REFERENCES intechopen.76161 [1] Avuthu, S.G., Gill, M., Ghalib, N., Suss- [4] Karim, N., Afroj, S., man, M.R., Wable, G., Novoselov, K., Yeates,

Richstein, J.Ph., Jabil, D., An introduction to S., All Inkjet-Printed the process of printed Graphene-Silver Comelectronics, 2016 posite Ink on Textiles [2] Kim, C., Jeon, S., for Highly Conductive Electronics Kim, C.-H., Reduction of Wearable Linearly Varying Term of Applications, In: ScienReports, 2019, Register Errors Using a tific Dancer System in Rollto 8035, 1–10, https:// - Roll Printing Equip- doi.org/10.1038/s41598 ment for Printed Elec- -019-44420-y

[5] Cano-Raya, C., Denchev, Z., Cruz, S., Viana, J., Chemistry of solid metal-based inks and pastes for printed electronics – A review, In: Applied Materials Today, 2019, 15, 416-430, https:// doi.org/10.1016j.apmt.

2019.02.012 [6] Yang, K., Torah, R., Wei, Y., Beeby, S., Tudor, J., Waterproof and durable screen printed silver conductive tracks

on textiles, In: Textile Research Journal, 2013, 83, 2023-2031, https:// doi.org/10.1177/00405 17513490063 [7] Søndergaard, R., Hosel, M., Krebs, F., Roll to roll fabrication of large area functional organic materials, In:

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Journal of Polymer Sci- [12] Vasić, J., Kasikovic, ence, 2012, 51, 16–34 N., Delic, G., Đurđević, M., Impact of type of [8] Mogg, B., Claypole, ink and substrate on T., Deganello, D., Philcolorimetric values of lips, C.O., Flexographic inkjet prints, 2018, 365 printing of ultra-thin –372, https:// semiconductor polymer doi.org/10.24867/GRIDlayers, In: Translational 2018-p44 Materials Research, 2016, 3, 015001, [13] Kasikovic, N., Vlahttps:// dić, G., Milic, N., Novadoi.org/10.1088/2053- ković, D., Milošević, R., 1613/3/1/015001 Dedijer, S., Colour fastness to washing of mul[9] Davide, D., Control tilayered digital prints of morphological and on textile materials, In: electrical properties of Journal of the National flexographic printed Science Foundation of electronics through taiSri Lanka, 2018, 46, lored ink rheology, In: 381, https:// Organic Electronics, doi.org/10.4038/ 2019, 73, 212–218 jnsfsr.v46i3.8489 [10] Yang, K., Torah, R., Wei, Y., Beeby, S., Tudor, J. Waterproof and durable screen printed silver conductive tracks on textiles, In: Textile Research Journal, 2013, 83, 19, 2023–2031 [11] Revuelta, P., Litrán, S., Thomas, J., Electrical Power Terms in the IEEE Std 1459 Framework, 2016, https:// doi.org/10.1016/B978-0 -12-803216-9.00002-X

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Europe Flexible Packaging Market – Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, Forecasts (2021-2026) The Europe Flexible Packaging Market has been valued at USD 52. 59 Billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3. 01% during the period 2021-2026. The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a growing demand for flexible packaging in the region due to new or heightened hygiene and consumer-safety concerns and the drive for redefined sustainability.

Technological innovation, sustainability trepidations, and attractive economics are the major factors driving the growth of innovative and more sustainable, flexible packaging. Also, the increasing market demand for customerfriendly packages and heightened product protection is expected to drive the growth of the market in Europe.

Key Highlights The need for longer shelf life, increased adoption of flexible

packaging over rigid packaging, demand for lightweight products, and changing lifestyle of people in Europe have been the primary drivers of the market.

As flexible packaging is known to have better barrier capabilities, it can effectively protect the product from moisture and oxygen, which is particularly important in the pharmaceutical industry, where the production capacity is of prime importance.

Various food and beverage manufacturers have

been turning to flexible packing to add convenience and improve the consumer experience.

Also, the price of the pouches is lower and provides high convenience, which has increased the demand for pouches across the region. In the food industry, beyond convenience, the other characteristics, such as sustainability, transparency, food safety, and reduction in food waste, are influencing the flexible packaging choice for meat, poultry, and

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seafood.

The growth of the ecommerce industry and the increasing need for convenience are shaping new customer expectations in Europe.

Some E-commerce and home delivery businesses are experiencing a massive boost during the pandemic, where packages require better impact and puncture resistance, driving a shift from rigid to flexible packaging for liquid products, as enhanced integrity is required with e-commerce purchases, thereby driving the growth of the market in the region.

The consequences of the financial crisis on the consumer’s purchasing power, rising prices of the commodities, and other such factors can be challenging to the market in Europe. Also, there are some environmental concerns about recyclability and sustainability, which may slightly hamper the growth of the market due to the

common use of plastic material for flexible packaging.

Furthermore, regulations with respect to disposal and recycling are becoming stringent in several European countries, which might be challenging to several vendors in the region.

With the covid-19 pan-

demic, restaurants have shifted to take-away and food deliveries during lockdowns, driving the demand for packaged food, such as Frozen meat, fish, etc., which increased the need for flexible packaging. Also, the use of at-home refill packaging for home and personal

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care products has generated a new potential for flexible plastic refill pouches that minimize shipping weight and parcel size in transit.

Key

Market

Trends

Flexible Packaging is expected to play a major role in E-Commerce Industry that is growing significantly in the region.

The COVID-19 pandemic has enhanced the growth of the Ecommerce industry that many of the online

shopping habits European consumers adopted over lockdown. Moreover, with increased Ecommerce intensifying consumers’ concerns about packaging, there has been an increasing demand for sustainable, flexible packaging in the region.

Various companies have been focusing on expanding their portfolio to cater to the demand for flexible packaging in Europe. For instance, Mondi has been investing in its European operations to improve and grow its services to cus-

tomers, upscaling MailerBAG production to approximately 350 million bags per year, responding to strong growth and customer demand for flexible packaging in eCommerce. When used to replace standard plastic mailers, the company’s scale-up in production is expected to have the potential to substitute approximately 7,000 tonnes of plastic per year. Furthermore, in June 2021, Mondi also expanded its paperbased MailerBAG range to replace plastic pack-

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aging in e-commerce with a recyclable solution made of responsibly sourced, renewable materials.

The E-Commerce industry requires flexible packaging such as bags, mailers, and folders that use less material than similar-sized boxes, weigh less, and conform around the product, taking up less space than a box during shipping. This makes flexible packaging to pack more orders in each load, resulting in fewer trips, less fuel burned, and a smaller carbon footprint. Such potential advantages drive the demand for the market in the region.

The E-commerce industry has been growing significantly in Europe.

According to the PPRO payment service provider company, as of Janu-

ary 2020, Romania was the country with the highest e-commerce growth in Central and Eastern Europe, followed by Ukraine and Estonia. Russia had a greater B2C ecommerce operation in Central and Eastern Europe, valued at USD 36 billion in 2020.

Flexible packaging is the lightweight alternative that can be used to eradicate costs associated with production, damage, replacement parts, returns, waste, and shipping by allowing material handlers to transport more products with less, which is an ideal solution for ecommerce professionals working with a tight budget.

In addition, many small and medium enterprises in the region have been looking for enhanced pro-

tection with extended shelf life against various ways that food can be spoiled, such as air, moisture, and sunlight, thereby driving the demand for flexible packaging.

United Kingdom witnesses significant growth opportunities in the market The growing urban population in the United Kingdom, altering patterns in lifestyle, including decreasing the amount of time spent on the preparation of meals, is leading to a shift toward more processed, easily packed, and pre-prepared foods and snacks, which is expected to propel the growth of the market studied. Also, the rise in demand for packaged foods, ready-to-eat

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foods, frozen foods, luxury foods is also likely to increase the demand for flexible packaging solutions in the country, owing to its ability to extend the shelf life of such products.

Moreover, the growth of e-commerce sales, increasing demand from the food and beverage manufacturers for ecofriendly and recyclable packaging, increasing demand for personalization of products have been driving the growth of sustainable, flexible packaging solutions in the region.

Various vendors have been focusing on strengthening their position in flexible packaging and broadening their sustainable solutions portfolio and extending their reach across the region. In July 2021, ProAmpac acquired Ultimate Packaging, a pioneer in flexographic and digitally-printed flexible packaging based in the United Kingdom, to expand ProAmpac’s product portfolio. Ultimate

packaging specializes in developing innovative packaging solutions to increase product shelf life, convenience, and recyclability across a range of product sectors. With the acquisition, the company is looking forward to gaining further growth opportunities in the region.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Kingdom has witnessed lockdown restrictions, which led to panic buying, which imposed massive pressure on the FMCG companies to adopt flexible packaging solutions, as the food companies have increasingly witnessed an inclination towards prepackaged food in smaller, consumer-sized packaging.

Furthermore, as flexible packaging increases the product’s shelf life, customers have preferred flexible packaging in the region.

The growing public consciousness around sustainability has led to an

enormous change among UK consumers that paper-based packaging is more sustainable than plastic. In 2020, paper and board consumption in the United Kingdom amounted to 9.9. million metric tons, of which 5.6 million metric tons were consumed for packaging, which represented more than 50% of total paper and board consumption. Also, the British Plastics Federation (BPF) issued guidelines for pharmaceutical, food, drink, and cosmetic packaging to measure recycled content by including recycled packaging content in their packaging solutions. This has increased the demand for sustainable and recyclable flexible packaging offerings by various vendors in the region.

Competitive

Landscape

The Europe Flexible Packaging Market is concentrated and is dominated by a few ma-

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jor players like Amcor PLC, Mondi Group, Wipak Group, Sealed Air, and Constantia Flexibles. These major players have a prominent share in the market, and are focusing on expanding their customer base by leveraging strategic collaborative initiatives to increase their market share and profitability. With better technological advancements and product innovations, mid-size to smaller companies are growing their market presence in Europe by securing new contracts and by tapping new markets.

June 2021 – Mondi Group expanded its range of plastic-free eCommerce packaging with MailerBAG range of sustainable paper solutions, which is fully recyclable in existing paper waste streams and replaces the need for plastic packaging. The company also recently invested in its European plants to deliver approximately 350 million pa-

per bags per year for the online retail industry. Also, in the same month, Mondi’s paperbased EcoWicketBag won gold in the 2021 EUROSAC Grand Prix for its overall performance, reduction of CO2 emissions, and convenience for the customer.

March 2021 – Amcor won two Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) achievement awards for developing and producing innovative packaging technologies for its customers. Amcor dualchamber pouch secured Gold achievement award for technical innovation, and Shield Pack clear high-barrier aseptic IBC liner garnered Gold achievement award for technical innovation. This technology extends distribution range, improves product quality and color, reduces transit failures, all while delivering other important attributes, such as extended shelflife, durability, and clear packaging format.

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World packaging demand to break $1-trillion-mark in 2021 and reach $1.22 trillion in 2026, according to latest Smithers analysis In 2021, the world packaging market has returned to solid growth following a slowdown witnessed in 2020, as multiple end-use industries were disrupted by Covid-19. Total value will pass an historic landmark and reach $1.01 trillion in 2021, according to data from the new Smithers study – The Future of Global Packaging to 2026.

Asia is the largest mar- packaging sales at preket accounting for 43% sent. of world packaging This pools data from sales in 2020, across Smithers netNorth America is in sec- work and expertise in ond place accounting all packaging segments for 23% of world pack- and material types aging sales, ahead of (paperboard; metal; Western Europe with glass; rigid plastics; 19% flexible plastics, paper and foil; and other). It The emerging and deforecasts that, having veloping regions of seen 4.8% growth over Eastern Europe, South 2020-2021, there will & Central America, the be a return to a steady Middle East and Africa compound annual each account for a relagrowth rate (CAGR) of tively small share of 3.9% for 2021-2026.

This will yield a total market value of $1.22 trillion in 2026, at constant prices.

This expansion is conditional on reacting to new imperatives, consumer demand and changes in sales channels for packaged goods.

These are tracked in detail in the new Smithers study across eight regional and 57 leading national market.

This shows that China

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remains the largest national market worldwide, worth $256 billion alone in 2021. It will also be the fastest growing through to 2026, furthering its dominant position. This is ahead of the US worth $197.2 billion in 021; and Japan $53.2 billion, India $48.2 billion, and Germany $39.3 billion.

Over the next five years, North America will see the slowest rate of expansion, while China’s rapid economic and consumer recovery will make Asia the leading

contributor growth.

to

world ed board, has benefitted from the surge in ecommerce sales during Globally paperboard the pandemic. As this packaging – corrugated, translates into a more folding cartons and liq- enduring shift in conuid packaging board – is sumer purchasing patforecast to grow sales terns, it will underpin at the fastest rate over additional growth the next five years. This through the 2020s. is attributable to several factors, first a growing Simultaneously folding preference for fibre- cartons use will increase based packaging align- in four sectors luxury ing with brand owner items, pharmaceuticals, sustainability goals and beverages, and retail legislation focussed on food carryout formats. the transition towards circular economy mod- The second fastest els. Paperboard packag- growing material seging, especially corrugat- ments will be rigid and

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flexible plastics. While these are often viewed as the least sustainable packaging types, both will benefit from design innovation and a raft of new recycling technologies, both mechanical and chemical over the five-year Smithers forecast period. They will also continue to prove popular in developing markets, where they present convenient, effective, low-cost solutions as consumers transition to buying more packaged goods.

Glass, metal, other packaging and flexible papers are forecast to grow at lower rates than the global average.

Flexible foil consumption is forecast to decline, as formats like multi-layer laminates are replaced by monomaterial barrier plastics.

Industrial/transit is the largest packaging enduse application accounting for 41.6% of world sales in 2020, followed by food with 29.6% and

beverages with 13.9%.

Healthcare is forecast to grow packaging sales at the fastest rate, followed by food, and then beverages. In industrial formats, intermediate bulk container (IBC) sales are predicted to grow at the fastest rate, complimented by increased demand for plastic and steel drums due to their durability and reusability.

Combining a dataset presented in over 750 tables and figures with critical analysis of the market drivers that will redefine the industry across the next five years, the Future of Global Packaging to 2026 provides invaluable insight into current and future growth segments. It provides detailed historic current and future market data for over 55 national packaging markets, and eight regions worldwide; further segmented by packaging material/format, and end-use application.

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500-Plus Conversions to Flexo ECG with KODAK FLEXCEL NX Plates Win Lorytex the First-Ever Platinum Flexo Innovation Award In 2019 Montevideo-based Lorytex won a Gold Award at the inaugural Global Flexo Innovation Awards, sponsored by Miraclon. At the time, Roberto Dolinsky, managing director of the Montevideo-based flexo prepress tradeshop, voiced his hopes for the extended color gamut (ECG) technology for which Lorytex is an enthusiastic advocate. “I really believe ECG will change how brands and converters regard flexo,” he said. “When we demonstrate the efficiency and quality possible with ECG, there’s real interest. I believe that in the future as much as 50% of packaging could be produced with flexo and ECG.” Two years on, and Lorytex is once again on the Global Flexo Innovation Awards rostrum, this time as the proud winner of the first-ever Platinum Award, and Dolinsky’s ECG prediction shows real signs of coming true. In 2019, Lorytex met three of the criteria against which Awards are judged: creative use of graphic design, production workflow efficiency

and commitment to sustainable print. For 2021, the company went one better and added the fourth — process conversion —for successfully converting over 500 jobs to ECG in the last 18 months.

Remarkable ment

achieve-

It’s a remarkable achievement for any business, but especially for Lorytex; the compa-

ny, as Dolinsky acknowledges, is a relatively small operation.

Over the years, however, its competitive edge has been sharpened by operating in the fiercely competitive Uruguayan market. Says Dolinsky: “We face competition from Brazil and Argentina, of course, but also from China, so you need something special that makes you differ-

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ent from the competi- stability and print con- Roberto Dolinsky extion.” trol. pands on this: “The more all three are inFor Lorytex, that some- Today Lorytex is the volved, the better the thing is ECG. The com- clear leader in ECG final result. For our pany has almost five within Uruguay, and bepart, we don’t just proyears’ experience in the yond. “When a brand or duce square meters of technology, largely a converter is considerplates. We’re part of a thanks to KODAK FLEX- ing ECG, they’ll almost chain of innovation, CEL NX Technology always come to us bringing tools to imfrom Miraclon. Explains first,” says Dolinsky. prove quality and Dolinsky: “We started But more than technolproductivity in as envion the ECG path in ogy expertise distinronmentally-friendly a 2016, when we guishes Lorytex’s propway as possible.” changed to FLEXCEL NX osition to clients; the Technology because we company has a distinc- Lorytex’s winning entry believed its stability and tive vision of its role in — multiple SKUs of ceprocess control were the flexible packaging real doypacks — vividly the best route to good supply chain, one de- demonstrates not only results with ECG. It was scribed by its corporate this approach in action also around the time strapline ‘Linking but also the considerathat Miraclon released Brands With Converters ble benefits of convertAdvanced DIGICAP NX Through Color.’ ing flexible packaging Patterning Technology, from gravure to flexo, Chain of innovation which gave even more and in this case to ECG

25

instead flexo.

of

‘traditional’ sustainability premium.

Flexo ECG would enable multiple product varieBrand owner Saint Hnos ties to be ganged todel Uruguay previously gether, delivering faster had the project printed turnround of shorter gravure in China but runs of more product wanted to explore varieties and enabling ‘reshoring’ production to Saint to respond faster a local supply chain. to changing consumer Several reasons were demands. Finally, enerbehind the decision. gy, ink and solvent conSupply chain issues sumption costs would raised by the Covid-19 all be considerably repandemic were a powduced. erful argument for the shorter delivery times The converter Saint possible with local pro- worked with on the production, along with low- ject was Strong Coner transport costs and a verter SA, part of Grupo

Maccio.

Strong has worked with Lorytex for almost ten years, most recently on exploring the application of ECG, which became more serious after Lorytex’s 2019 Global Flexo Innovation Awards win. Explains print manager Gustavo Bisogno: “We’d been aware of ECG for some time, but when Lorytex won the award we thought, ‘This must be a really innovative technology.’ So, when Saint explained what they wanted to achieve

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through local production, it was logical to bring Lorytex into the team.”

‘Spectacular results’ The outcome of the project more than exceeded expectations — in fact, Marco Picorel, CEO of Saint Hnos, describes them as “spectacular.”

The ECG conversion succeeded on all counts, not only matching gravure quality but delivering significant productivity improvements over both gravure and ‘traditional’ flexo. Producing the five SKUs using the latter would have involved eight colors (CMYK + Silver + White + 2 Pantone spot colors) and taken 336 minutes. With ECG the production time was cut by 45% — to 184 minutes — and major cost savings were made in freight, gravure cylinder production, and lower ink and solvent consumption.

ECG, and is reaping other benefits besides lower costs, greater productivity and faster time-to-market.

Says Picorel: “Our marketing team now designs for ECG, and so have a new freedom to think in full color and outside the box.”

Looking to the future, he sees continuing to strengthen relationships with brands and converters as key to growing the business, both in Uruguay and overseas.

He adds that Miraclon is a key partner in this: “To grow our business and support our customers’ investments, we need a platform we can trust and one that is being continuously developed. That’s what FLEXCEL NX Technology, and the team behind it, give us.”

As a result, Saint Hnos has now moved 90% of its packaging to flexo

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Japanese Printing Company Nabe Process Improves Efficiency with Asahi Photoproducts AWP Flexographic Plates Asahi Photoproducts, a pioneer in flexographic photopolymer plate development, today reported that Nabe Process Co., Ltd., a major Japanese printing company, has tested Asahi’s AWP™ CleanPrint water-washable flexographic plates against conventional solvent-based plates to measure differences in quality and productivity between the two. The AWP™ plates, which were made with CrystalCleanConnect, demonstrated a significant improvement in print quality and productivity compared to the conventional solvent-developed flexographic plate. CrystalCleanConnect is a brandnew offering jointly developed by Asahi Photoproducts and ESKO that automates the platemaking process, reducing steps from 17 to 1 and dramatically reducing potential for error.

According to Nabe Process Co., the test was conducted using actual customer work, and all times and steps were carefully documented.

It was notable that the Asahi AWP™ plates had excellent ink transfer, which contributed to

the overall improved quality and fewer press stops for plate cleaning and other quality issues.

The design chosen by Nabe Process Co., Ltd. for this test contains fine highlights. To obtain the required quality

with solvent-based plates, the press had to be stopped several times during the run to prevent such things as ink filling. This was not the case with the Asahi AWP™ water-washable plates which offer CleanPrint technology,

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originally developed by Asahi in order to improve the ink transfer from the plate surface to the printed material.

Mr. Yasuo Naka, General Manager of Flexography Division, Nabe Process Co., Ltd., commented “From this result, we were able to confirm that we can deliver more stable and higher quality printed products to our customers using Asahi’s AWP™ waterwashable plates. With the conventional solvent plate, we also had more difficulty in the printing process due to misregistration during printing.

With the Asahi AWP™ plates, however, that problem is resolved and productivity is dramatically improved.We are very happy with the performance of the AWP™ plates as a result. In addition, in the spring of 2021, we installed CrystalCleanConnect, a fully automatic plate-making device jointly developed

by Asahi and ESKO. That has added to our overall quality and productivity, geting plates to press much faster, with less operator engagement time and with less opportuni-

ty for error. Based on these results, we are converting all of our flexographic plates to Asahi AWP™ waterwashable CleanPrint plates, and we know our customers will be even more delighted than ever with the quality they receive from us.”

Mr. Yuzo Fujiki, Chief Technology Officer, Printing Solution Project, of Asahi Kasei Corporation, commented, “We were pleased to work with Nabe Process on this project to validate the excellent plate performance of our

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AWP™ water-washable plates in terms of both print quality and productivity. And we are thrilled that Nabe Process has chosen to create even more efficiency by installing the first CrystalCleanConnect system in the world, the industry’s first fully automatic water-washable plate-making device, developed in collaboration with ESKO. As we continue to work with forward-thinking companies like Nabe Process, we will also be working toward continouos improvement of print quality as well as

keeping sustainability tion, which delivers top of mind.” ready-to-mount plates with the push of a butAsahi’s CleanPrint flexoton, platemaking time graphic printing plate and labor is also drahas excellent ink transmatically reduced, refer from the plate sursulting in a more effiface to the substrate, cient and cost-effective resulting in less ink reflexographic printing opmaining on the plate eration. surface during and after printing compared with conventional solventbased plates, dramatically reducing the number of press stops required for plate cleaning. In additon, the plate making process is water-based, using nonVOC based chemicals.

And with the CrystalCleanConnect solu-

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