Packaging and post-pressing process to enhance the added value of packaging

China is a big country with a large population and a big consumer country. A wide variety of packaging products can be found anywhere in the world. Packaging can be found in many fields such as food, medicine, home appliances, toys, IT products, textiles, ceramics, handicrafts, advertising, and many other fields. How to continuously improve the level of packaging and post-processing technology and increase the added value of products is a problem that the packaging industry needs to face and solve in the coming period.

Paper packaging is the most widely used in all forms of packaging. This is because paper packaging has many advantages: low material cost, convenient processing and printing, low transportation and storage costs, recycling, and environmental protection. Therefore, paper, plastic, metal, glass four pillars of packaging materials, paper packaging, the fastest growth. In all the post-printing processes, the four processes of coating, die-cutting, bronzing, and coating are the most widely used and have the fastest development. So, what is the status quo and development prospects of the post-press processing of Chinese paper packaging? In this paper, a deeper discussion of the paper packaging post-press processing and the four post-printing processing techniques was conducted.

Development status of paper packaging post-press processing technology

There is still a gap between China's post-press processing technology and that of foreign countries. For example, in packaging products, there are more mid- to low-grade products and fewer high-end products; in addition, the basic raw materials, machinery and equipment, and technologies are relatively backward, plus the industry. The overall management level is not high, resulting in the relatively slow development of the entire post-print processing industry.

Environmental protection, price is the key

Glossing is the process of coating and calendering the coating on the surface of the print to change the physical properties of the surface of the paper. When coating, the thin layer of paint applied on the paper has high transparency and smoothness; after the glossy paper packaging print, not only does the surface smoothness increase, but also the printed graphics on the package can be protected. It plays a role in beautifying, protecting, and extending the service life of paper packaging prints; it also creates good conditions for subsequent processing steps (such as die-cutting or gluing), so the glazing process is widely used in post-print processing of paper packaging.

The glazing process is simple, inexpensive, and easy to operate, and can be applied to full-size glazing or partial glazing according to actual needs, so it is popular among printing companies. The initial coating oil was a solvent type. This coating oil had poor glazing and was not conducive to environmental protection. However, the development of waterborne coating and UV coating solves this problem. Judging from the current market conditions, the trend of water-based glazing and UV glazing will eventually replace solvent glazing has become irreversible. In spite of this, there is still a certain gap between the environmental protection advocated by China and Western countries. In the United States, for example, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed restrictions on the content of organic volatiles in inks and coatings. Such restrictions will become more stringent over time. In the United States, the market share of solvent-based coatings has dropped from 80% to less than 15%.

At present, some companies in China have adopted water-based glazing and UV glazing. However, due to the high price of these two types of glazing oil, many companies will only apply water-based glazing and UV to certain high-end product packaging in consideration of cost. Glazing technology, and solvent-based glazing will still be used on most middle and low-end product packaging.

Speed, major breakthrough point in die-cutting

On various packaging products such as labels and cartons, die-cutting and indentation are performed according to the shape and design requirements of the graphic and text, so that the edge of the package print exhibits various shapes. After the packaging printing has been die-cut, it can be produced into a variety of shapes of packaging, not only beautify the product, but also enhance the ornamental appearance of the packaging and increase the added value of the product.

Postpress is the weakest link in China's printing industry. Regardless of technology, equipment, materials, or management, there is a big gap between domestic and foreign companies. Die-cutting processing is undoubtedly the key to the breakthrough in packaging and printing.
In foreign countries, packaging and printing companies have generally used laser cutting systems for die cutting. The cutting system controls the die cutting process with an automatic program, which has the advantages of high speed, high precision and good repeatability. Now many domestic companies are aware of this, some powerful companies have begun to use laser cutting systems, according to incomplete statistics, there are dozens of domestic laser die-cutting plate factory. At present, the domestic die-cutting machine products are mainly concentrated in the middle and low grades, and most of the high-grade die-cutting machines used by domestic companies are still imported products. At present, the highest precision of domestic equipment is ±0.15mm, while foreign products have reached ±0.1mm. The top speed of the die-cutting machines of the internationally renowned manufacturers BOBST, Germany, and Wuba can reach 12,000, while the maximum speed of domestic products is only 8,000. The backwardness on the equipment has severely restricted the development of the domestic die-cutting process. Therefore, the development of a high-speed die-cutting machine is a major breakthrough point in the domestic innovation of post-press processing equipment.

Improve performance, the top priority for hot stamping

Bronzing is the use of a certain pressure and temperature, using a template installed on the stamping machine to press and hot stamping foil in a short period of time, the metal foil or pigment according to the stamping template graphic is transferred to the hot stamping print surface. Its purpose is to increase the luster and decorative effect of printed materials, and to increase the commercial value and grade of printed products. Widely used in trademarks, high-end packaging, hardcover book cover, greeting cards, calendars and other high-end products on the post-press processing.

The quality of the bronzing process mainly depends on the advantages and disadvantages of bronzing equipment and bronzing templates. The speed of the bronzing machine at the Stowe company in Germany can reach 12,000 sheets/hour, and the quality of the bronzing templates is very high. The gilded packaging products produced are of superior quality. With grades. At the same time, the price of the equipment is also very expensive. Domestic bronzing equipment has obvious advantages in terms of performance and price compared with imported gilding equipment. Domestic machine prices are only equivalent to 1/5 to 1/4 of the price of similar foreign products, but the accuracy, stability, and function of imported machines are overprinted. Obviously better than the domestic machine, but also more durable than the domestic machine, more suitable for fixed bulk high-grade packaging products processing.

Film coating process is still widely used

The adhesive is applied to the corona-treated transparent plastic film surface, and the printed matter is subjected to a hot press-composite process to form a paper-plastic composite printed matter. Like the glazing process, it is used to increase the surface gloss and protect the beautifying packaging. It is widely used in the surface finishing of book covers and high-grade packaging.

As the plastic film is mainly used in the film, it brings great harm to the environment. Although the plastic film has high transparency, good gloss, and low price, it cannot be degraded, it is difficult to be recycled, and it is easy to cause white pollution. Long-term use will also endanger the health of workers. In addition, solvent-based adhesives also contain toxins that can cause harm to humans. Nowadays, in Europe and the United States, the lamination process has been included in the elimination process, and it has begun to develop the glazing process. Due to the earlier application of the lamination process in China and the aesthetic and durability of the laminating packaging, there is a large market share in the country and the application is still very extensive.

The advantages of paper packaging and post-printing

When consumers purchase products, they first touch the outer packaging of the product. Therefore, the appearance of exquisite, excellent workmanship of the outer package is very easy to attract people's attention, increase the desire to purchase. At the same time, it also requires the effectiveness of outsourcing protection products. Therefore, in the post-printing process of paper packaging, the extensive use of glazing, die-cutting, bronzing, laminating, and other post-press finishing processes has become a means favored by many packaging companies. The use of many post-printing processes in the post-press processing of paper packages has the following main advantages:

* Protect product packaging, extend the service life of the packaging;

* Display products, arouse consumers' desire to purchase and promote sales;

* Improve the beauty of the product, give people visual and spiritual enjoyment, and enhance the added value of the product.

The development direction of post-print processing technology for paper packaging

From the perspective of the development level of the entire packaging industry, the paper packaging industry still has significant gaps and deficiencies, mainly in the following aspects: First, the overall modern management level is not high, the economic benefits are not ideal; Second, the product grades need to be Improve, middle and low-end products can still meet the needs of various industries, but product renewal speed is slow, high-grade, high-performance packaging products are still in short supply; Third, the underlying raw materials and machinery and equipment are backward; Fourth, the pace of technological progress is slow .
With the development of science and technology, people's awareness of environmental protection has increased, and various drawbacks of traditional post-printing and post-processing technologies such as glazing, bronzing, die-cutting, and laminating have become more and more important. Although traditional processing methods are inexpensive, green packaging is now more advocated than the serious problem of environmental protection. Green packaging has a 3R1D principle, namely, product packaging reduction, easy reuse, Recycle, and Degradable. In addition, the outer packaging material of the product should be non-toxic and harmless to the human body and living organisms, and the packaging products should not be collected from the raw materials, processed materials, manufactured products, used products, and recycled and recycled from the waste until the entire process of its final treatment will not affect the human body. And environmental hazards, these not only meet the requirements of environmental protection, but also more adapted to the shortage of resources in the world today, to achieve the trend of sustainable development, but also to meet the development needs of a conservation-oriented society.

It is true that under the premise that China’s economy is not very developed, according to China’s national conditions, while vigorously promoting environmental protection and packaging, it is necessary to formulate relevant measures that are suitable for the development of Chinese enterprises, so as to achieve good results and implement the strategy in a one-pronged manner. In line with our country's reality. In the coming period, China's paper packaging industry should work towards the following:

* Large and well-funded enterprises must actively respond to the slogans of green environmental protection and the Green Earth, use environmentally-friendly raw materials for packaging and post-press processing, and continuously improve corporate influence; under the premise of ensuring the economic benefits of enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises can appropriately implement green packaging and printing. Post processing

* The packaging industry should increase technology research and development, develop various kinds of post-press processing equipment suitable for China's national conditions according to the specific needs of enterprises, and reduce the investment in the introduction of foreign equipment;

* Optimize modern enterprise management, continuously improve the company's modern management level, and promote the sound development of the entire packaging industry.

I believe that after several years of efforts, China's paper packaging industry will inevitably present a new fact!

Source: Network of India: Liu Xin Guo Qianqian