Sappi and HP Indigo partner on paper soup pouches as manufactures demand recyclability

12 Mar 2021 --- Functional paper packaging specialist Sappi is joining forces with digital printing leader HP Indigo to advance recyclable paper pouch solutions as alternatives to conventional plastic options. 

The collaboration says its efforts will answer growing calls for more environmentally sustainable solutions.

Sappi and HP Indigo combined their technologies to create special paper-based, sealable soup pouches to meet food manufacturers’ demands. 

The duo point to research showing paper and cardboard packaging ranks highest with consumers for sustainability attributes, including being home compostable (72 percent), better for the environment (62 percent) and easier to recycle (57 percent).

Innova Market Insights recently pegged “Fiber-based Frenzy” as a top trend in the packaging industry, with half of US consumers believing paper’s recyclability to be its most important sustainability characteristic. 

Technical challenges
This project came with difficulties, says the partnership. Not only did each of the pouches have to be uniquely designed and personalized, but silver and invisible yellow had to be applied for brand protection as well. 

A material that could endure the different steps from printing to further processing by varnishing through sealing was required along with sustainability demands. 

A decision was made in favor of Sappi’s Guard Gloss 4-OHG in a grammage of 91 g/m² for the soup pouches. 

Over 80 percent of the high-barrier paper’s materials originate from renewable sources, says Sappi. 

The glossy paper features a high-functional barrier against oxygen, water vapor, grease, mineral oil and aroma, and is coated on the reverse side. This makes laminations redundant, and the materials can be recycled in the paper stream.

High-quality appearance produced by HP Indigo Ink.

Printing process
After employing Sappi’s material, HP Indigo created the “elaborate design” of the pouches. 

At its Graphic Experience Center in Barcelona, Spain, the three-side-seal soup pouches were given individual designs, developed by the company’s team. 

The artwork for the pouches, in six designs, leveraged HP Indigo’s proprietary variable data printing (VDP) capabilities.

A narrow-web HP Indigo 6K Digital Press was deployed for the printing process, using HP Indigo’s full-color range, silver and special invisible yellow inks. 

A water-based gloss coating with high heat- and a high scratch-resistance was applied to avoid an extra lamination process. This also ensures the results and color design within the pouch-making process are protected through the processing, filling and transport to the point of sale with consumers. 

The pouches were then finished by Bossar Packaging, a company specializing in the design and production of horizontal form-fill-seal equipment for manufacturing flexible packagings like spouted pouches, zippered pouches and sachets. 

The three-side-seal bottom-folded pouches were produced using Bossar’s fully servo-controlled machines belonging to the BMS series.

“With the printing, finishing and sealing processes now being adaptable to small print runs, the industry can meet the requirements of new target groups that include small and medium-sized brands, enterprises and start-ups, as well as a new generation of customers who want more individually designed packaging solutions,” says the collaboration. 

Sappi pushing flexible circularity 
Last year, Sappi presented its “second generation” of eco-friendly barrier papers to the audience of its Virtual Interpack trade show via live streams, videos and a “live chat” with its experts. 

The Sappi Guard range of barrier papers renders additional special coatings or laminations superfluous, resulting in materials that can be recycled in the paper stream.

Dutch chocolate manufacturer Tony’s Chocolonely recently adopted Sappi Guard Nature MS paper-based pouches for the secondary packaging of its “Tiny Tony’s” chocolate varieties.

Sappi also recently formed a partnership with Syntegon Technology to bring paper-based solutions to the confectionery industry. 

The Syntegon Technology collaboration will answer consumer and legislative demand for recyclable packaging by offering reliable and renewable paper-based packaging solutions to predominantly large and medium-sized customers in the confectionery sector, Sappi says. 

PackagingInsights recently explored the evolution of soup packaging with Amcor, Huhtamaki and SIG to learn how they have come to identify and address generations’ ever-changing soup preferences.

Edited

By Louis Gore-Langton