Functional performance and circularity – the demands on packaging today are higher than ever, and ink and coatings manufacturers are responding with innovation.
Continuing developments in barrier inks and coatings seek to meet a twin challenge: how can packaging be both functional and recyclable?
The world is looking for packaging solutions that can effectively keep the product in and keep contaminants that compromise the integrity of the product out, whether that be visible ones such as grease or moisture, or invisible ones like oxygen. That is what barrier performance is all about. However, until comparatively recently, the solutions required multi layer laminates and foils, especially with fibre-based (paper and board) packaging which does not enjoy the inherent barrier properties of plastic or film.
The problem with many of these solutions has been that, while functionally effective, their mixed material composition acts as a big obstacle when it comes to recycling and bringing forward the circularity that both consumers and brands want, and that legislators now demand.
So, barrier inks and coatings are beginning to come through as the potential answer to this twin challenge of functionality and circularity. They also can potentially play an important role in transitioning packaging formats from plastic to paper-based materials, which is another key imperative that some brands are working towards.
Aris Papaioannou, Druckfarben
Archroma Packaging Technologies is an advanced chemicals company that is working with the supply chain on developing exactly such solutions. Its Cartaseal range of food-safe, water-based, partially bio-based and re-pulpable barrier coatings is claimed to match or in some cases exceed the functional performance of legacy materials.
Dinakar Gnanamgari, VP for innovation and portfolio expansion at the business, explained: “Coatings are being designed to improve not just protection but other features, such as heat-sealability, printability and anti-slip properties – improving both the performance and shelf appeal of packaging. These innovations are part of a wider ‘design for circularity’ approach which is ensuring that protective layers in packaging don’t hinder fibre recovery at the end-of life. In fact, with the appropriate use of chemistry in a package from pulp to paper processing; to converting; to recycling – paper fibres can go through as many as 25 recycling loops.”
Developing the enablers
Naturally, leading inks and coatings manufacturers are picking up the ball and running with it. Among those is Druckfarben, whose technical development manager for inks, Aris Papaioannou, comments that these technologies are not seen simply as functional layers, but as enablers of circular design.
“The key challenge lies in achieving comparable barrier performance to multi-layer laminates. This requires deep R&D investment, expertise in material science and a thorough understanding of how barrier systems interact with various substrates. Working closely with raw material suppliers and brand owners to ensure our solutions meet stringent food safety and regulatory requirements is also key.”
That kind of work is certainly happening at some pace, looking at the products already available in the market. Flint Group, for example, highlights its DecaCode water-based barrier coatings, which it says are helping brands and converters to start reducing plastic or foil layers from packaging.
“These coatings are often formulated using water- or bio based materials, which provide robust barrier protection without relying on conventional plastic-based solutions. As a result, they enable paper and board to minimise the use of plastics while supporting recycling and compliance with food safety standards,” said Alessio Crivellari, product manager for paper and board in Europe at Flint Group.
DecaCode is part of the company’s AQUACode range and comes with credentials such as OK Compost and compliance with CEPI recyclability testing, further reinforcing environmental integrity. Flint says it is manufactured free from genetically modified organisms, palm oil, and fluorochemicals, supporting the paper and board sector’s move away from PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and other persistent substances. “This opens new applications in areas like frozen food and ready meals, which previously leaned heavily on plastic solutions due to their stringent barrier and hygiene requirements,” said Mr Crivellari.
Dr Lars Hancke, hubergroup
Hubergroup is also busy developing coating products that are designed to provide barrier performance in specific applications – a “versatile set of tools” to meet the dual demands of performance and sustainability. For example, its Beta – MVTR Coating is a moisture and water vapour barrier coating, specifically developed for flexo applications on uncoated paper and board, while Beta Contact Barrier coatings offer grease and fat resistance along with moisture protection; Oxygen Barrier Coating does as the name suggests, protecting foodstuffs such as coffee, wine and fresh pasta that are oxygen-sensitive; and within the Beta Contact Barrier range are water-based, direct food contact compliant gloss and matt products that deliver both protective and aesthetic benefits, while a solvent based UV Barrier coating serves as a recyclable alternative to aluminium lamination or metallised films for light-sensitive goods.
Dr Lars Hancke, manager for business development, flexible packaging at hubergroup, comments that all the company’s barrier coatings have been developed for compatibility with standard flexographic printing processes and typical packaging substrates, adding that the water based nature of the coatings supports industrial implementation with minimal disruption as well as aligning with modern environmental and regulatory standards.
He continued: “Our coatings are designed not just for functionality, but also for process efficiency. Printers can implement them without costly retrofitting, which lowers the barrier to adoption and accelerates the shift toward sustainability.”
Going mono
The significant move towards compatibility with mono-material structures such as mono-PE, mono PP or fibre-based packaging, will greatly simplify the recycling process in existing material recovery streams, but these materials still often require coatings and varnishes to bestow them with critical functional properties such as seal integrity, stiffness/flexibility, and printability – qualities that have traditionally required more complex multi-material laminates.
In making this observation, Oliver Waddington, business development lead for paper at Siegwerk, adds two further factors that the ink manufacturer is seeing, firstly compostability. “Another trend is compostable alternatives that can help to avoid the risk of bio-accumulation in the natural environment as well as enabling additional material recovery options in case recycling is not available or suitable – for example where the packaging materials cannot be separated from food,” he said.
Oliver Waddington, Siegwerk
“At the same time, manufacturers are introducing bio-based and natural-based products to reduce the dependency on fossil-based materials.”
He added that any circular solution must always avoid substances of concern, such as PFAS for water-based applications (even when used as an additive), and nitrocellulose for solvent-based.
“These new formulations must meet strict regulatory standards and support viable end-of-life options like composting and mechanical recycling,” said Mr Waddington.
The second factor is deinkability, with Mr Waddington saying that “deinkable coatings are also gaining traction, allowing printed packaging to be cleaned and recovered as high quality, uncoloured recyclate”. This is essential for improving the purity and usability of recycled materials, he added.
Profound change
The sustainability imperative provides a perfect platform for human ingenuity to find new and exciting approaches that achieve profound change. The packaging industry is certainly witnessing such fundamental change right now, as smart innovations in coating and ink development, as well as in the materials themselves, become key enablers for packaging that is both functional and recyclable.
As Dr Hancke of hubergroup says, “we’re not just formulating coatings – we’re shaping the future of packaging; our aim is to enable real-world change, one substrate at a time”.
Dinakar Gnanamgari of Archroma Packaging Technologies concludes by bringing the conversation back round to that twin challenge we started with: “Ultimately, the evolution of barrier chemistries reflects a systemic change – integrating performance, safety and environmental responsibility from the outset. By replacing non-recyclable and fossil-based materials with highly functional, more sustainable chemistries, the industry is closing the loop on circular fibre-based packaging without compromising on protection, appearance or regulatory compliance.”
