paperboard is used for high quality printed packaging applications

Paperboard (solid board) and microflute corrugated board are both very adaptable materials and products made from them can be engineered to be both very attractive and very durable.

Paperboard

Paperboard has inherent strength due to its density. It is an industry favourite and has been used successfully in many applications for over 130 years. Although it has been surpassed in performance by corrugated microflute in some respects, it still has unique qualities that make it the first choice packaging material for many uses.

Solid board packaging offers superior performance where water, moisture or condensation is a factor in packaging and distribution. Fresh and frozen foods from cereal boxes and packets of tea bags to decorative packaging for chocolates, flowers, beverages and dairy products are amongst the everyday items you will see packaged in solid board. Other uses include flat pack "pop-up" cartons, backing cards for blister packs, four corner glued boxes and lids, greetings cards, business cards and craft uses.

Paper board is suited to high quality printing. The surface can also be enhanced by foil stamping, embossing or debossing and windowing (with a film insert) to show the product packaged inside. It can be easy scored for easier opening and folded to make sophisticated structural shapes.

Paper board is liked by manufacturers as paperboard boxes can be built to laser tolerances to allow for high-speed machine filling; and because it may be folded flat, paperboard packaging is cost effective to ship. As it is 100% reusable and recyclable, it is a popular material with consumers alike and will remain one of the most popular packaging materials for generations to come.

Microflute corrugated board

Microflute corrugated is a relatively new product. It has exceptional properties which allow for a wide variety of end uses in packaging. It is structurally light-weight, has a low mass and excellent load bearing strength.
These qualities allow for excellent product protection whilst offering a platform for the use of very high quality litho printing, making it an obvious choice for consumer products.

Microflute lends itself to sophisticated print and structural designs ensuring outstanding brand impact in packaging and display applications. It is lighter than its equivalent depth of solid board which makes handling easier, plus its greater structural strength makes it an excellent product for hanging applications.
In a visit to any retail environment, the presence of microflute boxes and microflute display solutions will be prolific. It is used for small, complex specialist packaging such as jewellery packaging and cosmetics packaging through to large point-of-sale displays.

By manufacturing microflute boxes and cartons with metallic edges, or laminating them with high tech surfaces, they will stand the test of time without "degrading". Mechanical parts can also be included into a design to perform specific functions, such as document binders for example.

Environmentally speaking, microflute corrugated cardboard also offers certain advantages due to its high level of waste-base content and its ability to be easily recycled. Microflute enables packaging to be produced of equivalent rigidity and strength but a lower overall amount of fibre.

Laminating and Mounting

Paper board has an inherent flexibility allowing it to be readily litho printed or digitally printed, whereas microflute, being a more rigid material, is not flexible.

Due to its rigidity however, corrugated microflute board provides better product protection than solid board. When high quality print finishing is a requirement, a composite packaging material is formed by combining corrugated microflute and paper board (solid board). This method is commonly referred to as digital print mounting or litho-laminating.

Litho-lamination

Being the most common form of lamination or mounting, litho-lamination is low cost and therefore ideal for high volume applications such as cosmetics packaging, computer software packaging and mobile phone packaging.

A solid board sheet is litho printed and varnished in the usual manner. The printed sheet of solid board is then glued to the face surface of a sheet of corrugated microflute in a process which is called sheet laminating.

For high volume, the lamination process is undertaken using a semi-automated or fully automated corrugated sheet laminator. The glue most commonly used in the litho-laminating process is PVA glue (Polyvinyl acetate), which is manufactured using vinyl acetate, an organic compound.

When the glue between the two sheets is sufficiently dry, the composite sheet formed by combining the solid board and the sheet of microflute materials is then finished. The finishing process usually involves die cutting and palletisation.

Digital print mounting

Due to the relatively high cost of digital print, digital print mounting is usually reserved for short runs such as prototype sampling, packaging mock-ups, in-store displays and promotional packaging.

A digitally printed sheet of solid board is glued (mounted) to a sheet of corrugated microflute. This generally carried out by hand, using mounting adhesive. It is then either hand finished or die cut as required.

Bookmark and Share