Closeup on Synthetics

Synthetic materials remain good options for durability and can help in the fight for sustainability, But, a couple hurdles remain.

June 2009 by Missy Smith

multipage

Synthetic materials are well known for their their ability to stand up to tough conditions or to maintain their structure and print quality once off the press and on to packages. They are often incorporated on shampoo bottles and other health and beauty packaging, as well as pharmaceutical packaging.

These strong, durable materials are impervious to water and grease, and allow for high-quality printing. They are tear-resistant, they can provide a "no-label" look for packaging, and they can be used for shrink and in-mold label applications. Customers are asking for synthetic materials to get more bang for their buck and to prevent their marketing messages from fading away with less sturdy materials.

"We use synthetic film materials for a variety of label types, running the gamut of product categories and markets," says Bill Orme, marketing communication manager for Smyth Companies Inc., Minneapolis, Minn. (www.smythco.com). He explains that synthetic film labels are typically used for the following reasons:

• The label needs to resist the harshness of the product in the package or the environment where the package will reside. Products like cleaning solutions, or packages that will be subjected to cold and wet environments, benefit from a synthetic label;

• The package label design has transparent elements; and

• The label is a shrink label, conforming to the package shape with the application of heat.

Synthetics also allow for increased efficiency, according to "The Future of Synthetic Papers," a study by Pira International (www.piranet.com), a consultant and information provider to the print, paper, and packaging industries. (For more information on the study, contact Stephen Hill on +44 (0)1372 802 025, stephen.hill@ pira-international.com.) "Prior to synthetics, printers would coat or overlaminate paper to achieve added durability or glass. Now, they gain these attributes with one stock. [Synthetic materials add] an added step on press, which increases turnaround speed and lowers cost." And, one less step can mean fewer materials used and less waste once the consumer is finished with the product.

Sustainable alternatives

Though traditional synthetic material can help the sustainability cause by using less material, several suppliers are really taking protecting the environment to heart with alternative materials that use a resource that many of times goes unnoticed: stone.

Chameleon Packaging, the environmental division of Design & Source Productions Inc. (New York City), has created TerraSkin, a waterproof tree-free paper made of minerals that degrade back into the earth as the powder of stone. The company says that TerraSkin offers strong printing capabilities and requires 20 to 30 percent less ink. The company does not bleach the paper, and it uses a closed-loop production system, so that toxic water is not dumped into the environment. Chameleon also claims that printing inks dry faster on TerraSkin than its synthetic paper counterparts, making the printing process even more efficient.

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