Printing ink manufacturer hubergroup has developed five new coatings for food packaging printing in the haptic qualities leather, sand, textile, velvet and wood. They are suitable for flexo and gravure printing
23. July 2020
The new haptic lacquers simulate different
surfaces such as leather or sand. (Pictures: hubergroup)
Interest in additional haptic effects is growing rapidly. This is because multi-sensory marketing communication is becoming an increasingly important tool for packaging printing in order to differentiate itself on the market. The printing ink manufacturer hubergroup is serving this market with a new generation of haptic coatings that it recently developed in a pilot project.
Don't we all tend to check our perception with the help of sensory impressions? The best example is fruit shopping: the peach ends up in the shopping basket when it not only looks ripe and smells good, but also feels soft and, when gently pressed, signals that its firmness is just right. Just like when buying fruit, the packaging design must Visual, haptic and sensory impressions match.
Soft-touch and papertouch coatings have been around for quite some time. In view of the rapidly growing demand from packaging designers and brand manufacturers for new „tangible“ print finishes the hubergroup began developing innovative haptic coatings in a pilot project in 2017. This currently involves five new coatings for food packaging printing in the Haptic qualities leather, sand, textile, velvet and wood. They are suitable for flexographic and gravure printing and are marketed under the Umbrella brand Gecko offered.
How can haptics be measured?
One of the challenges in developing these coatings was to define how these impressions feel. After all, haptics are difficult to measure. Dr Ralf Büscher, R&D expert for flexible packaging at hubergroup, and his team solved the problem by Haptic criteria „The three most important pairs of opposites to describe haptic impressions are hard/soft, sticky/slippery and rough/smooth. It is the combination of these characteristics that creates the haptic impression. Soft-touch lacquer, for example, is clearly categorised as soft/smooth/slippery.“
Display
In this three-dimensional coordinate system the test subjects in the pilot project now had to categorise each newly developed haptic coating. In this way, it was possible to select and optimise the coating systems that best matched the desired haptic characteristics.
Dr Lars Hancke, hubergroup
„Anyone who touches the different surfaces - leather, sand, textile, velvet and wood - literally realises what they are feeling,“ says Dr Lars Hancke, Manager Business Development Flexible Packaging at hubergroup.
Raw materials for haptic coatings must harmonise
As not all haptic coatings are the same, either binders, fillers, waxes or other additives need to be adapted depending on the effect. The overall cocktail determines the „Feeling“. In addition, the finished coating must fulfil many different requirements: In addition to the storage stability of the lacquer, the haptic effect on a wide variety of substrates The price-performance requirements of the market demand that they function equally well.
One important aspect is food safety, which the coating must not jeopardise in any way. Thanks to strict GMP guidelines, the hubergroup's Gecko gravure and flexographic printing inks are generally suitable for use in the food industry. migration-safe food packaging printing suitable. It is ensured that no component of the printing ink or the printing varnish can migrate into the packaged food above the legal limits through migration or „invisible set-off“.
Specifications for setting up the printing press
If the ingredients of the recipe are right, the printing performance must also be optimised. After all, the coating must be easy to process on the machine. This is why the ink manufacturer provides precise information on the printing parameters of viscosity, application quantity and anilox roller configuration. He recommends adhering exactly to the specified viscosities, as even small deviations can lead to a significantly different result.
To be on the safe side, a hubergroup technician accompanies new customers through the first print runs with the new haptic coatings. This is because high application quantities of varnish are sometimes required, which makes a lower printing speed necessary. Using Papertouch varnish as an example, experience in flexographic printing indicates a recommended application of 20 cm³/m² with an anilox roller with 50 l/cm, which has a traditional honeycomb structure. For gravure printing, good results can be achieved with an autotypically lasered cylinder with 40 lines/80µm engraving, if possible.
To achieve a good effect, no less than 4 g/m2 varnish must be firmly applied.
Whether the haptic lacquer in the Flexo or gravure printing The method of application depends on the desired result and the available options. Some packaging printers print on a flexographic printing press with a subsequent gravure printing unit, on which the coating is then applied. Gravure cylinders are ideal for large-volume coatings, as they enable a significantly larger application. Engraving a gravure cylinder is definitely worthwhile for the often large print runs in packaging printing, as it can also be used again for repeat runs.
Haptics win in the age of online retail
At a time when online retailing has made the physical experience of a product the actual perception of the product becomes all the more important. As a rule, the first visual impression is no longer sufficient. The pilot project for the new generation of haptic coatings proves once again that the sense of touch plays a decisive role in perception.
