Xeikon and Sappi are celebrating the success of a joint project to combine the barrier properties of Sappi’s packaging papers with Xeikon’s UV cured Titon toner.
The development project began at the end of last year aiming to prove that digital printing with toner can achieve the functionality and quality that brands require from digitally printed packaging. The success sets Xeikon up to challenge inkjet technologies, either UV cured or water based, for this market.
Xeikon is bringing its Titon technology as its contribution to the partnership. This is a toner that requires no further protection on the packaging and which is impervious to heat that may be used at the filling stage. This means that, with compliance to Eupia regulations on food safety and to Swiss Ordinance.
Senior product manager Frank Jacobs says that requirements for colourants are challenging: “Over and above ensuring a good print result, the inks need to be extremely resistant throughout the packaging process and insensitive to temperature, eg for heat sealing. And, especially for applications in the food sector, they also need to be odourless, tasteless, food safe and migration proof.”
The toner is able to withstand temperatures to 220-260ºC. It prints to the substrate without a priming step ahead of printing and with lamination or a protective varnish to protect the printed surface.
Sappi has identified two of its functional barrier papers are suited to the Titon technology.
Sappi’s marketing manager packaging solutions Sibyelle Hajostek explains: “We achieved the best printing results with our innovative functional papers Sappi Seal Silk with a 67gsm basis weight and Sappi AvantGuard S Natural in 75gsm.
“Both papers were developed specifically for the flexible packaging market.”
The tests were run both at Xeikon’s head office site in Belgium and at ACM in Italy, the beta site for the TX500, the press developed to run the new generation toner. ACM has now committed to running all jobs with Sappi’s papers, both those that are already approved and also AvantGuard S Gloss, as a high lift flexible packaging material. Jacobs says: “Just like the other two grades, AvantGuard S Gloss has so far shown the best visual and functional results – without primer or varnish. To say the least, it’s very promising.”
This is not the first collaboration between Xeikon and a paper provider to develop a packaging solution. It has previously worked with StoraEnso on creation of a solution for inline production of CD packaging, but the solution had only limited impact.
