May 2024

Understanding the Interaction with Water Vapor

Nanocelluloses, which originate from plant fibers, possess excellent mechanical and barrier properties. However, their interaction with water vapor can cause swelling and lead to a loss of these advantageous properties. This has led to the investigation of water vapor transport in multilayer films with nanocelluloses combined with hydrophobic polymers like PLA to improve compatibility and barrier properties.

UPM Raflatac, a global supplier of innovative and sustainable self-adhesive paper and film products, has been formally recognized by the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) for three types of biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) label products for HDPE and PP package recycling. These include Undecorated BOPP with hotmelt adhesive, Undecorated BOPP with RW85C, and Metalized undecorated BOPP with general purpose acrylic adhesive.

Seaweed packaging startup Sway is making a splash in the fight against plastic pollution. This California-based company has launched the world's first scalable alternative to single-use plastics, using an unlikely hero: seaweed.

Sway is tackling a tremendous problem. Retail bags and polybags used for shipping make up a whopping 30% of single-use plastics. These pesky plastics sit in landfills for years, emitting methane as they decompose, which causes temperatures to rise and hurts those with compromised respiratory systems.

HP and Canva have announced a groundbreaking collaboration to offer unique design-to-print services and experiences to over 185 million monthly Canva users via HP Print Service Providers (PSPs) worldwide. This global, multi-year partnership aims to deliver an accessible, scalable, and sustainable printing experience to Canva's extensive customer base, with localized printing options facilitated by the HP PrintOS Suite automation. This will accelerate the onboarding process and increase new print volume for HP’s integrated network of PSPs.

Gerresheimer, an innovative systems and solutions provider and global partner for the pharma, biotech and cosmetics industries is pleased to announce that its sustainable packaging solution consisting of the Gx Amsterdam glass jar in combination with the bio-based forewood closure has been selected for the launch of an innovative cosmetic product by the German start-up 4peoplewhocare. The new product was presented at the Vivaness trade show, February 13-16,2024 in Nuremberg, Germany, and will be available online and in selected stores by April 2024.

When examining historic packaging print technologies—flexography, offset, gravure, and electrophotographic—we now observe the rising competition from production inkjet, which is finally achieving the quality, size, and performance necessary for many packaging applications. However, unlike the transformational technologies affecting commercial print, packaging demands even higher standards in quality, productivity, and cost. Offset printing has reduced many labor functions and preparation time to defend its market share.

Unauthorized bios or portrayals usually mean someone’s going to get less-than flattering treatment.

What happens when the fictional portrayal is a movie parody around a brand owner’s iconic product, for example, Kellanova's Pop-Tarts?

Used to package FONTE’s Oat Arabic Bread, the bags make use of two food-contact, certified circular polyethylene resin grades from SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE portfolio and are produced by Napco National, a vertically integrated manufacturer of flexible film and packaging products in Saudi Arabia.